Future Shock!


“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.


If you knew that something terrible was going to happen in the future, what would you do with the knowledge? If, for instance, you knew that a famine was imminent; or if you knew a typhoon of great magnitude was gonna hit your city; or if you knew that a tsunami was going to wash over your town; what would you do? Either stock up or sell off, right? We would be very foolish not to take the required action when we know something bad was going to happen. 

 

In today’s passage Jesus is giving his disciples a glimpse into the future and it isn’t a pleasant one. He describes wars, insurrections, famines, plagues, and other terrifying stuff that was going to take place. One can imagine the wheels turning in his disciples heads as they wonder how to prepare for this when Jesus shocks them even more. “But before all this occurs,” he tells them, “they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name” (Luke 21:12). Wow! How do they prepare for this?!

 

Jesus tells them not to worry! He would help them. How? Through the Holy Spirit whom the Father would send in his name (see John 14:16). Not only would the Holy Spirit give them the words they needed to defend themselves (see Matthew 10:20), he would teach them all they needed to know (see John 14:26). What they needed to do was to always be on the watch and pray that they may be able to stand before the Son of Man when he returned (see Luke 21:36). “Stand firm,” Jesus said, “and you will win life” (Luke 21:19).

 

His words of advice to them are also words of advice to us. If we are sensible enough to safeguard ourselves against natural disasters, we should show similar wisdom in preparing ourselves for a disaster of greater magnitude, should we not? The real disaster aren’t the things that Jesus describes here; it is what follows that. There is going to be a Judgement Day. As I’ve said before, we may not see the end of the world in our lifetime. Generations to follow may not see it. But the world ends for us when we end, no? When we die, it’s “Game Over”. 

 

The only question that then remains is: did we win life? 

 

Watch the video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/-762whsKGWE

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