Saturday, June 23
Scripture Reading—Luke 21:25-28
The
gospel reading for tomorrow (Sunday) speaks about Jesus calming a fierce
storm. So the assigned readings from the
daily lectionary for the next few days have something to do with the theme of
storms. This text from Luke 21 comes in
the middle of a discourse where Luke records Jesus’ teaching in the temple and
deals with the anger of the religious leaders—chief priests, scribes, and
elders—the religious elite of Jesus’ day.
They’re not bad people, really.
Jesus was never one to beat around the bush. He was so disgusted with the temple system in
Jerusalem that he predicted its destruction and Jerusalem’s downfall. In the year 70 C.E. (A.D.) these things did
happen. Indeed, these events were at
least as devastating as the terrible tornadoes that swept through Joplin,
Missouri about a year ago. But Jesus
envisions a greater crisis. “There will
be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among
nations confused by the roaring of the sea and waves.” Jesus goes on to describe the crisis that
will come upon the earth whenever the Son of Man returns in all his glory. Jesus is talking about the crisis of
crises. The problem is that he did not return immediately after his
death. What do we make of all this? All of us will face some great crisis at some
point in our lives. For some it may be a
tornado or a hurricane, an earthquake,
war, recession, or famine. For some the
crisis may take the form of losing a job, a loved one or a relationship, or a
devastating, prolonged illness. The truth is, all of us will share in one
crisis—death. The only good thing about
any of these crises (if it can be called good) is that on the other side
of them we will find redemption. The storm will abate. Jesus told his first disciples that when they
saw the signs signaling the impending crisis of his return that they should
take courage because their redemption was near.
None of us wants to go through any of these things, but when we do, the
thing that will pull us through is the assurance that on the other side of even
the worst storm is God’s gift of salvation. And unfortunately, we will go
through some storms when that promise is all that will keep us going!
Thought
for the day: In the midst of life’s
greatest storms, we are sustained by our hope that God’s redemption lies on the
other side.
Prayer: O God, we do not know what tomorrow will
bring. When life seems to be more than I
can handle, please help me to have the courage and faith to survive, knowing
that you will bring me through safely to a place of peace, healing, and
restoration. Amen.
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