Scripture Luke 21:5-19
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he [Jesus] said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.
“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
“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 siblings, 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.
Sermon “Wisdom Under Pressure”
With the permission of the Corwin family, I’d like to share a slice of Bob’s life from when he was just a boy, riding around Endicott on his bike with his pal. One day they drove down to the banks of the Susquehanna, drawn by the sight of a sizeable group of people in white robes. Bob, being a curious lad, said, “Whatcha doin’?” And they replied, “Waiting for the end of the world.” Bob asked, “Can we watch?” “Sure!” was the answer. So, Bob and his friend got off their bikes and sat on the wall there and watched.
About 15 minutes later the boys came to the conclusion that watching people wait was boring. So, they hopped back on their bikes and went in search of something more interesting than the end of the world.
Throughout the ages, people have watched and wondered and waited for the end of the world. In the year 999, there was such great confidence that the end would come in the year 1000, people flocked to churches and monasteries to turn over their worldly goods in hopes of saving their souls when the end came.[i] (After the year 1000, there was a building boom, with churches being built and rebuilt throughout Europe.[ii])
It seems that just about every generation has believed it would see the end of the world. So why was Jesus talking about it almost 2000 years ago? And how do his words about it affect us?
We find Jesus today in the Temple in Jerusalem. He has been teaching there for several days. Jesus and his disciples have finished their long trek to Jerusalem, and by the end of this week Jesus will have been crucified. I have a theory that, as the end of Jesus’ life on earth drew near, he began to talk more and more about the end of all things. This moment is also taking place while Herod the Great is going about his great re-construction project on the Temple, which causes someone to remark that the Temple is looking just wonderful. Jesus responds with words that shock his audience:
“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
The people begin to ask questions. (We know these are the people, or the Pharisees, or the Sadducees, or the scribes, because only these folks call Jesus “Teacher,” never the disciples.) When? They ask. And how will we know? What will be the signs?
Jesus doesn’t answer the first question at all. Instead, he gives three warnings. The first cautions his audience against believing anyone who, in that tumultuous time ahead, claims they are him. Beware! He says, of anyone who says, “I am he!” There will be lots of fakes. Don’t follow them.
Jesus’ second “don’t” is, “Don’t be terrified.” That all this will take place in the midst of wars and insurrections, earthquakes, famines, and plagues, makes this “don’t” a hard mandate. Fear isn’t usually optional; it’s a signal from our bodies that we are in peril, and it’s usually a good thing to listen to it. Perhaps Jesus is saying, “Don’t let these things be the only ones you focus on.” In our age, we often do that when we are overwhelmed by alarming events in the world around us. One example of that is “doomscrolling,” opening our smartphones and reading about every awful thing that has happened in the last 24 hours. This kind of focus on negative news not only elevates the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in our systems, it can also lead to (or exacerbate) depression, anxiety, and stress, ruin our sleep, and give us feelings of disconnection and loneliness. Jesus is telling us, under extreme situations of national or global unrest, it is essential that we take good care of ourselves.
The third “don’t” is surprising. “Don’t prepare.” Jesus tells his audience that a time of local disruption will precede the apocalyptic wars and chaos. Specifically, he says, “before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to [the authorities], and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.” He goes on to tell the people not to prepare for their defenses; rather, to let him give them the right words to say. With Jesus as their guide, they will be able to speak with wisdom under pressure.
Two important things to remember about this passage. One is historical. The gospel of Luke was written near the end of the first century CE, at least 50 years following the crucifixion. At that time, followers of Jesus’ way were starting to find themselves objects of suspicion because of their beliefs, and they were finding themselves outcasts from communities that used to be their spiritual homes, as well as from their familial homes. This was an especially painful experience, and Luke seems to be projecting this experience back into Jesus’ lifetime and teaching.
The other important thing about this passage is the way Jesus manages the questions that prompted his response. In refusing to give specifics about place and time, he is attempting to cut off our very human temptation to look for “signs.” He doesn’t want us to spend our days imagining a terrifying future. He wants us to spend our days being faithful, courageous, and as connected to one another as we possibly can. Not by our clever calculations of God’s plans, but rather, by our endurance we will find our souls, our lives. And one place we can look to for the comfort and courage we need in chaotic times turns out to be the temple—not the broken-down Temple in Jerusalem, but the temple that is our bodies.
In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19)
My friend Adrien writes,
The resurrection theology of “a temple made of flesh” sets the followers of Jesus free from being tied … a particular location. The risen Christ, made present wherever two or three are gathered, becomes the temple where people gather in the presence of God for forgiveness, healing, restoration, and blessing. Faith in Jesus becomes freedom from a geographically located faith practice … The temple is, in effect, rebuilt again and again every time two or three come together.[iii]
If we are a dwelling place for God, Jesus’ admonition not to plan our defense but to let him guide us makes a lot more sense. If the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us, Jesus’ instructions not to be terrified seem within reach, because we have access to the Spirit of peace. If each time we gather for prayer, or worship, or study, or a meal, the temple is rebuilt again through the presence of both us and Jesus, Jesus’ warning not to try to game the end seems like the last thing any of us would attempt.
Jesus’ advice on living through unprecedented times amounts to staying present. We stay present to one another, caring for one another. We stay present to ourselves, noticing emotions and impulses as they wash over us. And we stay present to God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, who is with us as God’s eternal gift. Like Bob riding his bike, we notice what’s happening around us, but we also notice when it seems like an unfruitful endeavor to cling to it. We continue to inhabit the world around us, in search of what is good. And we are wrapped in the comfort of knowing God is and always will be present with us, and will provide us with what we need, come what may.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
[i] Bob Mayer, “What happened in 999? The end of a millennium,” Slideshare.net,
[ii] Martha Carlin, “The Church Around the Year 1000,” Extracts from Father Terry’s Verbal Conscience website (http://www.frterry.org); History Department, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, https://sites.uwm.edu/carlin/the-church-around-the-year-1000/.
[iii] Adrien Dawson, “There are many temples; we are a dwelling place of God,” Broken, Blessed, Beloved, March 3, 2024, Substack. https://brokenblessedbeloved.substack.com/p/there-are-many-temples?utm_source=publication-search.