“Totally unexpected?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Luke 21:29-38 (Forward, p. 38) CEV p. 1092
In some ways, Jesus sends out a double message in today’s passage. On the one hand, He says—twice, in fact—‘when you see, you know’ (verses 29-30). “When you see a fig tree or any other tree putting out leaves, you know that summer will come” (clear enough). And then immediately following, “So, when you see these things happening, you know that God’s kingdom will soon by here.” But never does He spell out exactly what ‘these things’ are. They could be the signs in the heavens, the raging of the seas, the destruction of Jerusalem, the advent of false Messiahs, the wars and rumours of war, or the earthquakes, starvation and famines, any of them or all of them. It is pretty unspecific, so that it truly is hard to ‘know’ anything for sure.
But then, on the other hand, He calls for an awareness, a readiness, of a different sort. “Don’t spend all of your time thinking about eating or drinking or worrying about life. If you do, the final day will suddenly catch you like a trap.”
But then He goes on to say, “That day will surprise everyone on earth.” Really? We are advised to monitor the signs so we know and are told not to be preoccupied with the day-to-day demands of food and drink, but even then, we, along with everyone else on earth, will be surprised. Jesus then closes out this section by saying, “Watch out and keep praying that you can escape all that is going to happen and that the Son of Man will be pleased with you”.
So, I get the sense that we are to watch out, and be ready, for whatever may happen, no matter when that might be. There will be signs that alert us and prime our readiness, but none of these signs will be absolutely clear or definite, at least in isolation. It is perhaps like the gradual erosion of the effective braking power of one’s car brakes or the anticipated failure of some household electrical appliance. With the brakes there was some grinding or squealing long before they gave out, and with the appliance there had long been some temporary or sporadic flickering of power even before it quit for good. The signs were there, which told you of a potential problem and eventual failure, but there was nothing definite by way of when it would take place.
So, with the end times and the coming of Christ, we have signs, and indeed, the signs may well be increasing—though believers have postulated this for years, so the best we can do is be ready, and not caught up in the usual hum drum things of life, no matter what. What then are we to do in the meantime? We are to continue at whatever tasks we have been assigned and remain faith to them (see Matthew 24:45-51). His coming may be ‘somewhat unexpected’, but not totally so. Even so, we are simply to continue faithful to our tasks and our callings because we can never know for sure. Only the Father knows, so it is best to simply keep on, keeping on, confident that all of this is in His loving hands. Amen.
Forward notes: “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’” (verses 29-33).
“As we near the bleak midwestern winter, I remember the daffodils that pop up near our driveway. Just that tiny promise of spring keeps me pushing on to shovel a bit more snow.
In this passage, Jesus finds the perfect metaphor to get his disciples excited about the coming kingdom. When we’re paying attention, even little things like a fig tree sprouting leaves can speak truth about the days to come.
We have the potential with our smallest actions to give others a sign of God’s immeasurable love and goodness. Today, I will call a friend, buy a card, and make my husband’s favourite meal. None of these are big actions but rather tiny glimpses of a kingdom that has no end, where we keep the good news going by showing unselfish love.”
Moving Forward: “How can you show others the love and goodness of God?”