Fashion Changes; Style Endures Luke 21:5-19

We are reading the final chapters of Luke’s Gospel for Year C. Jesus is in Jerusalem and the passages we hear are talking about end times. The people gathered are obviously excited having seen how magnificent the Temple is, having come ‘up from the country’ and Jesus is trying to calm them down. The time for excitement might not be just yet. Jesus reminds them, and us, that these things are short-lived and we should not be too bothered about ‘fine stonework’ and ‘votive offerings’. These things do not last.
Jesus’ main warning is not to believe many who will come claiming to know when the end times will be.

A series of quotations from Jesus follows in which he gives comfort to the people about various crisis that will happen. Luke is almost giving us a subsequent history of the Christian community. It is not all doom and gloom, but we need to take perspective and look at the bigger picture. Endurance is the message of today’s gospel. The people of Jerusalem will witness the destruction of the Temple, the disciples will face persecution, people of faith will have tough times ahead. Whatever crisis may come, Jesus is affirming us to keep going, to stay focused and not be afraid.


“Lord, when we are young we think that we become great through our achievements. Life has taught us the truth of Jesus’ words: it is by endurance that we win our lives” Michel de Verteuil