Description
This week is the penultimate week of the Lectionary Year. Next week will be “Christ the King Sunday.” We are concluding our year long focus on the Gospel of Luke and getting ready to begin a new Lectionary year as we start the Season of Advent.
Today’s passage from Isaiah helps us prepare for this as it holds the tension between despair and hope. It points us forward to a ‘new creation’ where former things will not be remembered, and the Creator will rejoice in the new heaven and earth that is being created. This reading reminds us that no matter how much we suffer in our present time, it is not the final word: God is constantly working to re-create all things.
Our passage from Luke 21:5-19 is also apocalyptic in tone. It foretells the destruction of the temple, an event that happened c70AD. Jesus explains to the disciples using graphic imagery what will happen, and how they are to live during those times. Like all apocalyptic texts it ends with a sign of hope and gives encouragement as a way of encouraging strength and resilience in the difficult times ahead. Despite all of the dreadful portents, not a hair on their heads will be harmed. God will remain faithful to them.
As we head towards the end of our year reading Luke’s gospel, it is good to be reminded of the constancy of God’s love for God’s people, and of the compassion Jesus and the Father have for those who are the poorest and the most vulnerable. Both of today’s texts remind us that despite what may feel like dark times indeed, nevertheless God’s promise of protection and that God is always working to ‘make all things new. This ought to promote Hope and Endurance in God’s people.
