The 26th Sunday after Pentecost - "By your endurance you will gain your souls"

Jesus had been sparing with the religious authorities in the precincts of the temple.  For example, last week we heard the Sadducees try to lay a theological trap for him in the question about a woman widowed seven times.  Now Jesus speaks to his disciples, but Luke tells us at the end of the previous chapter that "all the people" could hear him.

What does Jesus choose to talk about?  He chooses to speak about disasters--religious, political and natural.  Those who hope for safety will not find it in the days to come.  In the words we heard today, Jesus sounds very much like the prophets whose work populates the Hebrew Scriptures.  What seems secure now, what appears beautiful now, whoever occupies a place of authority now--none of these will last!  False prophets will try to lead faithful people astray. And you, my disciples, will experience betrayal and persecution because you follow me.

How many of us would have stayed on after hearing these uncomfortable and frightening words?  In fact the disciples were soon to face the reality of Judas' betraying Jesus and Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  By the next chapter in Luke's gospel, Chapter 22, the final events in the story of Jesus' earthly life start to happen.  We know from the gospel accounts that most of the disciples fled in the face of possible arrest and worse.

As the season of Pentecost comes to its final Sundays the scholars who created the Revised Common Lectionary seemed determined to have us listen to prophecy that says everything will be coming unraveled and lives will never be the same again.

This scripture may be all too appropriate for us today. Our latest extreme natural disaster just happened a few days ago when the enormous typhoon hit the Philippines.  The images we see of the destruction there may remind us of the pictures from the Jersey coast after Hurricane Sandy last year, the tsunami that hit Japan and the huge earthquake that hit Haiti several years back.  How fragile our human structures are in the face of nature’s systems!

In the political arena there are signs of unraveling as well.  I saw some graphs this week showing how many wars were fought and are being fought both between countries and within countries between rival ethnic groups since 1946. The number of wars going on each year was an interesting fact, and the trend is sloping downward do since the early 1990s.  But what impressed me was that in no year did the graph hit zero--or even near it.

Jesus disciples and those listening to him asked this pertinent question: when will this beautiful temple made of enormous stone be utterly thrown down?  In other words, when should we be prepared for the end of life as we know it?  When should we be expecting the Messiah and the reign of God?  What Jesus described for them as he answered their questions depicted life as it was before Jesus' time, life in first century Palestine and life as it has been so ever since!

So what advice did Jesus give his disciples? What hope did he offer? And what did it mean for early Christians and for us?

He told them not to be led astray and think the end of time was near.  He said not to be terrified, although difficult times, including betrayals and persecutions, were ahead.  He advised them to trust God to be with them, so they should never give up.  His words: "By your endurance you will gain your souls."  Their endurance would be their response to God's faithfulness.

How interesting then that the Christian community in Thessalonica was torn between those who appeared to believe that the end of time was so near that working to support themselves and the community was a waste of time and those who believed they should continue to be industrious until Christ came again to reign.  St. Paul could not have been more firm in saying that one should not be idle waiting for Jesus to come again, giving himself as the prime example.  It had been several decades since Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension to the Godhead.  In the meantime "endurance" from Paul's perspective meant doing one's work quietly and earning one's own living.  To act in this way strengthened the community as well, since all who were able could contribute the welfare of those unable to work, including orphans and widows.

Over 2,000 years later and in the midst of all sorts of turmoil, how should we "endure"?  First, I think we must listen to Jesus' encouragement to trust that God will be with us through whatever trials come our way. We need not dwell in fear, but calmly find hope and confidence in God.  This isn't to say that all things will turn out the way we want them to.  Rather, it says that we can trust God's faithfulness in all circumstances!

Then once we have placed out trust in God or, as the words of our baptismal affirmation say, once we have "put our whole trust in [God's] grace and love," then St. Paul's wise advice can become an important guide for us.  Paul commands the Thessalonians--and all Christians throughout the ages: "Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right."  Of course, at times, what seems right to you or what seems right to me may be different.  But if we do not become weary of finding common ground in most situations and acting from this new perspective, then our community will grow stronger.  We may well find our relationship with God strengthened, too.  And, finally, we may discover we have grown more and more into Christ's likeness, never to be the same again!