APOCALYPTIC - The focus in this lesson is on a particular variation of
eschatology-apocalyptic-a cosmic, other-worldly, cataclysmic End before the new beginning
ushered in by Christ. [1] Such literature usually included the total collapse of systems
and institutions and the vindication of God’s saints. In our section Jesus will speak
of the fall of Jerusalem, the Parousia of the Son of Man, the parable of the fig tree, and
the time of the coming of the Son of Man.
HOPE- When the very foundation of our ordered lives is jeopardized, when others grow
faint and the very powers of the heavens are shaken, when we feel anxious, face dangerous
experiences in life, these words can give us hope. "The message of the eschatological
discourse, therefore, needs to be proclaimed in every time because it is one of hope:
"Your redemption is drawing near" (21:28). God’s Word will never pass away
(21:33). The other side of this assurance is the exhortation not to debase life through
dissipation or worry but to pray, depending on God for strength to meet life’s
challenges. [2]
DIDACHE [fl 140] - ‘Those who persevere in their faith will be saved’ by
the Curse himself [Christ]. Then ‘there will appear the signs’ of the Truth:
first the sign of stretched-out hands in heaven, then the sign of ‘a trumpet’s
blast,’ and third, the resurrection of the dead . . . [3]
Jesus warns about preoccupation
with end-times predictions (21:8) and instead commands simple attentiveness to God’s
presence every day: "Be alert at all times" (21:36). How can you nurture what
Jean-Pierre de Caussade called "the sacrament of the present moment"? He
described it this way: "This discovery of divine action in everything that happens,
each moment, is the most subtle wisdom possible regarding the ways of God in this
life." What practices help you cultivate this simple attentiveness? [4]
Use this time and passage to move from
the known to the unknown. Begin with what notions people have of this kind of language and
theme; look to popular culture via movies, rock, country, ballad, and pop tunes, even the
grafetti along subway walls.
Review Jonathan Schell’s Fate of the Earth as a way to enter the text.
Now shift to Jesus’ words as a way to admonish attentiveness and nourish hope.
Explore what lies behind these words of Jesus-hope that when our ordered world begins to
melt down, God’s action in the universe is steady and on precise schedule. During
tough times when the heavens are falling in around us, faith looks beyond the end for new
beginnings that God promises to bring.
End with a story or perhaps with some specific ways that listeners can offer hope to
others whose world has come crashing down.
________________________________________________
[1] Fred Craddock, Interpretation: Luke (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990), page
245.
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), page 411.
[3] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture III (InterVarsity, 2003), page 324.
[4] Spiritual Formation Bible (Zondervan, 1999), page 1388.
