Well, dear ones, that is certainly a dark passage from the Gospel of Luke. The good news does not immediately jump off the page today. Earlier my son Ash asked me “What are you preaching on?” And when I summarized the lesson, he said, “Maybe you should start with a joke first!” I said, “Like what?” He said, “A proton and an electron were walking down the street and the electron bumped into the proton and said, ‘Excuse me, are you all right?’ The proton said, ‘I’m fine.’ The electron said, ‘Are you sure?’ The proton said, ‘I’m positive!’ 

A little humor, a very little humor, may take the edge off, but the serious, disconcerting words that Jesus puts to the disciples still lie before us. The notion of crumbling temples, famines, plagues and earthquakes, insurrections, civil wars, natural disasters and cosmic calamities was a familiar concept in the age of the disciples. These men lived in desperate times. For generations, their people struggled under one oppressor or another. They saw little evidence of a better life to come. They had little hope for their children. And, when people live so long under hard conditions, they develop an apocalyptic sensibility. When the present world offers them little comfort and no promise for a better life for their sons and daughters and grandchildren, people begin to envision ‘the end of the world.” They begin to idealize how things might change. When day to day poverty, want, need, unrelenting toil stretch out for generations, people see their only relief coming with an explosive change.

The current reality is too hard and too entrenched to be altered. The only way their lives will get better is by blowing up the current structures and beginning again. For desperate people, the end of the world means new possibilities. Because when powers get turned upside down, new powers will emerge. In the new order, old tyrants will be judged and punished. There will be righteous retribution when the sun rises the morning after the devastation! In theory, the end of the world as we know it is quite appealing for those marginalized, oppressed and forgotten. It is a warm and comforting dream.

Many, many Jews in Jesus’ time were ready for such a change. They were looking for a messianic leader, a warrior figure who would bring down the establishment and raise up a new and more benevolent system. These people were waiting for, praying for, a deliverer. Anyone who promised change was enticing.

Jesus tells his followers…when the final judgment comes, when the time is right and this world passes away and the kingdom of God is again restored on earth, the process will be different from what we might expect. Before the glory comes, anarchy and chaos and many false starts will occur. So do not be fooled! Be very careful who you put your trust in. Be very skeptical and detached. Stand apart! Watch! Keep calm! But also be aware that by standing apart, you will be noticed! By refusing to join in the fray and taking sides or pledging alliance to the current order or the rising factions, you will be suspected! You will become an outcast. You’ll be seen as a threat. Keeping quiet, remaining calm, will not keep you safe. In the turmoil and terror of the times, those who remain faithful to me, will endure many hardships and unfair, undeserved treatment. Jesus tells his friends, in these times your lives will be very difficult. You can’t imagine how abandoned you may feel. But if you can remain constant – if you can persevere- if you do endure, your resolve and patience will be greatly, greatly rewarded. For all eternity, your soul will have rest and bliss! 

Jesus paints a pretty grim picture with an ultimate victory for disciples. And his predictions for their lives come true with amazing accuracy. Metaphorical aprocraphal images become reality for the early Christians. Jewish officials, Roman occupiers hunt down the followers of Jesus with determined vengeance. Christ is crucified in 30 AD. Stephen is shot full of arrows in 35 AD. James is executed in 44. Peter is imprisoned, then crucified in Patmos. Paul is imprisoned in 54. Nero burns Rome and blames the fire on the Christians in 64. Paul is martyred in 67 and Rome destroys Jerusalem in 70.

Betrayal and death certainly surrounded his first followers, but accounts taken hours and moments before their deaths, tells us that those who died in the faith, left this world in absolute peace and with absolute confidence that their end was a bittersweet beginning to a glorious afterlife. A reading of the early martyrs, Perpetua and Polycarp, prove Jesus’ promise…”Not a hair on your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gain your souls.” 

Writings from Paul in prison and the last words of Christians thrown to the lions in the Coliseum or burned at the stake tell us that those who endured, found immeasurable peace and ultimate reward. And we may wonder, how is this possible? How did these people find such courage and patience and what does their example mean for us today? 

There is a picture that hangs in many Sunday School classrooms around the world. It is a painting of Jesus kneeling by a rock. In the picture, Jesus has silky brown hair and pale skin and a very resigned look in his placid eyes. It is a passive portrait and many, many people love this image. Jesus is portrayed as peaceful and submissive to his fate. I’ve never cared for this painting. It does not fit my understanding of who Jesus is. In his own brief life on earth and in his messages to his followers, Jesus did not advocate passivity. Jesus did not say give up, give in, let the actions of the world wash over you. Jesus held himself and us to a much higher, much harder standard. Jesus said resist.   Put all your power and energy in pushing back against the way of the masses. When all those around you are giving into chaos and hysteria, you keep calm. When the world says the sky is falling, run for cover! You stay put. When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified. Do not let yourself be swept away by prevailing rhetoric and persuasive sound bites. You stay the course. You hold on to what you know to be true. Remember who God, the Lord you God is and how he operates in the world. Remember all my teachings on how to honor God and live with fellow human beings. Remember the moral, faithful high road and keep to it. Leaders change, public policies shift…you, remain consistent. You know God’s law – follow it and by doing so you’ll save your soul. People you respect, even people you love may not support you in this. They may suspect your motives. You may be criticized, but do not be moved.

Jesus then told the disciples, “Go, 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.: This is not a call to passivity or resignation. To settle one’s mind, to “let go and let God” is a Herculean task. We are programmed to do and to think, to problem solve and create our positions. To articulate in the moment is counter-intuitive. We always prepare our defense. Too much is at stake to risk random thoughts or weak points. Jesus’ directives - do not be terrified, do not prepare answers to your detractors, do not follow charismatic, popular leaders, do not betray me when following me becomes difficult. All these instructions require strength and resolve. Keeping faith is hard work! 

Our world is full of nonsense! Our lives are easily overrun with chaos. On any given day, someone we know is operating in crisis mode. Calm gives way to hysteria. On any given day our good intentions are misinterpreted. Our best motives and our good deeds are challenged. Our ancient faith is tested. We have a choice. We can join the throng following after the next sure thing. We can become part of the newest movement, the vanguard of the cutting edge. We can react to threats from a place of fear or from a place of faith. We can tremble and fold or we can call forth all the strength and resolve we have within us and say, “I’ll not be moved. I’ll not be dissuaded. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. I know the principles of God’s mercy and justice. I’ll stand on those.” 

This passage from Luke has practical implications for us today. There are nations rising against nations. There are earthquakes, and famines, droughts and pandemics in the world right now. The world has always been a dangerous place. It’s dangerous now. Our instinct tells us to avoid and circumvent the perils and pitfalls of this world. But our faith tells us we will be held accountable for our response. If we allow fear to move us from moral conduct to expedient reaction, we are lost. If we follow confident, glib, false leaders, we are lost. If we allow worry to rule our hearts, we are lost. Only calm, resolute, purposeful perseverance in our faith will protect us to our end.

Jesus said, “Be not afraid. I am with you always. If you stay with me…if you keep faith with me…by your endurance, you will gain your soul.

There are lighter, more encouraging words in the “Good News” but the ones written here are also true. The adage “stand for something or you’ll fall for anything,” has Luke’s passage at its heart. 

May the words, mission and example of Jesus Christ be the thing we stand for!

May we endure all the trials, tempests, false directions and chaos of this world so that, at our end, every hair is protected and our souls are secured.

May Christ-like patience, perseverance, control and endurance be our watch word and our way.   Amen