Luke 21:5-11 NRSVue
5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6“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.”
7They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8And 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.
9“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.” 10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
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Reflection on Luke 21:5-11
Inspiration from 2025-11-25 Daily Prayer
Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we focus on the end of the world. For each of us, the end-time will be when we die and meet with Jesus to whom all judgement has been given by the Father. Let us pray for the grace to be ready for our own death-day, and that it will be a joyful meeting with the One who has become, as G. M. Hopkins put it in his poem ‘The Lantern out of Doors’, ‘our first, fast, last Friend’.
Further reflection
The temple was not just the centre of the Jews' civilisation: it was the place where God lived among them. Jesus told them that it was all going to fall apart! Is there any way in which my "secure centre"--either personal or national--threatens to collapse? The fall of the Twin Towers is a powerful symbol for many of us. The key words from Jesus in all of this are: "Do not be terrified". Can I allow Jesus, the Consoler, to speak to me, wherever I am?
As we pray, the gospels of the end times call us to trust in the presence and love of God when the end of life comes, or the end of the world - however that might be. Praying these gospels may lead us to reflect on the mystery of trust in our lives and to give thanks for those we have trusted and can trust throughout our lives. People who were there for us at very bad times, or people who can share our joy. Our ability to trust in God and trust in others is closely linked.
Jesus tells us to be prepared, to remain firm in faith. He calls us to be rooted and stable while also being ready to shed everything. He reminds us that without him as the centre of our lives, we will be lost.
The telling of the daily news makes it easy to believe that our times are worse than others. While technology is used to spread gloomy and disheartening news, I give thanks that it also leads me to Jesus’ truth.
In these last days of the Church's year, we hear Jesus, in Jerusalem, as he faces his own death, foretell crises and great upset facing his followers. Jesus does not minimise or water down the difficulties. He himself went on to face the ultimate in crisis and upset. The crisis was not the last word.