When God does not give you a life free from suffering, He calls you to look for Him in the midst of suffering. There you find Him doing His work, giving you words to speak and promises to hold onto.
I was at the art museum the other weekend with a friend. “Isn’t that blue beautiful,” she said.
What I wanted to say in response was, “What on earth are you talking about?”
We were standing in front of Max Beckmann’s The Sinking of the Titanic. The painting covered almost an entire wall. It displayed disaster; close up and personal. In the distance, one could see the ship and the iceberg, but the majority of the painting was of people, clinging to boats in icy water, struggling to survive.
For some reason, the blue of the painting was beautiful to my friend, and she pointed it out. She invited me to see beauty even though it was found in the midst of an all-encompassing disaster.
I thought of that experience as I read the Gospel for this Sunday. Jesus is offering us a vision of world-encompassing disaster. As you listen, you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the violence and the terror which extends as far as your eye can see. There is nation fighting against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences. And then there are the signs from Heaven. Heaven and earth are heaving with destruction, like the waters of Beckmann’s painting, and the experience is overwhelming.
But, if you listen closely, you will hear very small moments when Jesus invites us to trust in God’s faithfulness. Like the blue in the painting, these moments catch us off-guard and give us a glimpse of hope. Even though we are subject to forces of judgment we cannot control, the One who rules over all things holds us securely in His hand.
Jesus is with His disciples in Jerusalem. Tensions have escalated. Jesus has been confronted by the religious leaders, questioned, tested, and plotted against. Now, as the disciples are leaving the Temple, they pause for a moment to reflect on its beauty. Indeed, the Temple was beautiful. Massive stones, historical significance, and religious tradition all suggested this beautiful place would endure for ages. Which is perhaps why Jesus is so strong in His words and so frighteningly sharp in his vision. Judgement was coming, the likes of which God’s people had not seen and for which they were not prepared.
Even though we are subject to forces of judgment we cannot control, the One who rules over all things holds us securely in His hand.
Jesus offers His disciples a frightening vision. While they are admiring the Temple, He predicts its destruction. The destruction comes in waves. First, one has the false Messiahs (verse 8), then the governmental persecution (verse 12), then the betrayal by family and martyrdom (verse 16), then the fall of Jerusalem (verse 20-24), and then the coming of the Son of Man (verse 25-27).
As the waves of destruction roll over the disciples, however, Jesus offers small glimpses of promise. What I find interesting here is that Jesus does not offer a long description of judgment and then turn toward a word of promise. Instead, Jesus interjects the word of promise in the midst of moments when people are still reeling from pain.
Such is the life of faith. We do not immediately move from a world of destruction to a land of promise. No. Instead, we are tested and tried with suffering, so we grow wiser and stronger in faith. We trust in God’s Word and work, even though it comes to us in the midst of trial and tribulation.
Jesus is speaking mere days before His death. The suffering Jesus will experience is for your eternal salvation. He will fight against death and die in the battle precisely so He can rise and reveal that he has overcome death for you. There is nothing in this life, therefore, which can tear you out of His strong, protective hand.
For this reason, Jesus offers His disciples glimpses of remarkable protection even in the midst of this vision of destruction. When Jesus speaks of their persecution, He promises to fill their mouths with wisdom so they might bear testimony to God’s powerful grace (verse 14-15). When Jesus speaks of their betrayal and martyrdom, He promises “not a hair of your head will perish” but “by your endurance you will gain your lives” (verse 18-19). When Jesus depicts the heavens torn open and the Temple torn down, He encourages the disciples to “straighten up and raise your head, because your redemption is drawing near” (verse 28).
No matter how terrible the force of destruction, God’s work is never defeated. When God does not give you a life free from suffering, He calls you to look for Him in the midst of suffering. There you find Him doing His work, giving you words to speak and promises to hold onto.
The disciples who gathered in Jerusalem were looking in the wrong places and talking about the wrong things. Their mouths were filled with admiration for the beauty of the Temple. What Jesus does is turn their attention to something more beautiful still: The work of God in the midst of suffering and the promises of God which sustain His people.
In our daily lives, we are immersed in a difficult news cycle. Wars and rumors of wars, fires and drought, mass shootings and riots, and it sounds like the end is coming. What Jesus does in this Gospel reading is turn our attention to what we know for certain. This may not be the end. The end may yet be far off. But what we know for certain is the One who holds us in His hand is near.
Jesus brings us a glimpse of our salvation. What promise of God have you been holding on to lately? Was there a time of suffering in your life God brought you through? Rather than talk about the end of the world, share with one another the promises and power of God which preserve us in time of trial. Though these are only small glimpses of His rule, they invite us to raise our heads in hope, because our “redemption is drawing near.”
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out our previous articles on Luke 21:5-28 (29-36).
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke 21:5-28 (29-36).
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Luke 21:5-28 (29-36).
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Charles Gieschen of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Luke 21:5-28 (29-36).
