St Luke 21: 29 – 37
Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’ Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.
Reflection
I love going for walks and looking at the trees I go past – in gardens or streets or parks. I’ve learnt to appreciate them at the different times of year – in the summer where there’s such a richness of green leaves, as well as in the winter where so many trees are bare, but when I know that spring will be coming and there will be new life. As I walk, so I reflect on what God is saying to me through these gifts of creation.
In today’s passage, Jesus once more points us to the gift of a tree and asks us to reflect on what we can see and learn of God through this gift. He’s realistic about the way we can be tempted to despair. Our hearts can be full of worry, for our world, our families and friends, our own lives. These are the worries that surround all people, and from which none of us are immune.
Jesus’ words offer challenges as well, as when he says ‘this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place’. We could be tempted just to stop and think ‘but this isn’t the way things happened then – or happen now.’ But his next words bring reassurance: ‘my words will not pass away.’
When we feel like just giving up, it’s a reminder that God and God’s words are still there, just as the leaves of the fig tree keep on coming to life each spring. And we have the reminder, to be on the alert and to pray, discovering the way we can again be in God’s presence, whatever else might be happening in our lives or in this troubled world. As we grow in God’s presence, so we gain the confidence and courage we need to venture in the life of the world with God’s message of healing, hope and promise, and the trust that new beginnings might just be possible.
Prayer
Creator God, as I walk in the way of your creation,
help me to see your unfailing promise of new life.
God of hope, when I feel like my life or the life of this world are only wintry,
help me to be attentive to the spring that you bring.
God, whose word of life is eternal,
help me to live out your life in all its fullness, day by day.
Amen.