Today’s chapter is Luke 21

Tom writes:

This is a tricky chapter. It is OK if it feels like stepping onto a rickety rope bridge over a deep gorge… But there are some reliable planks here that we can stand on. It is always helpful to set a passage in a context, and the context for this passage is that Jesus has come to Jerusalem to launch a whole new humanity. The widow’s mite illustrates in miniature what Jesus is doing; he is turning upside down usual judgements about things; stuff that looks impressive can mean nothing to God; stuff that looks tiny can end up being the greatest. And so Jesus must have rolled his eyes when his disciples - even after hearing all of this - started going on about how impressive the temple is; “Have I really taught you nothing??!!”. Jesus then lays it out for his disciples in much more detail than before. The temple has become like a visible, impressive offering that means nothing to God. It will be smashed up as a symbol of God’s punishment of the Tenants of the Vineyard. That smashing up will be painful and lots of dust will fly around; people will faint, apprehensive of the terror. But at the same time he reassures them that they will be like widows who have given all they have to God, they will be noticed by him and given protection by him.

These small ones will become the “others” who take ownership of the Vineyard; they will in fact be the ones to raise their heads and on whom the Kingdom will come near. This is the big story Jesus is telling. Now I realise that most of us have grown up thinking that the Big Story about the Return of the Son of Man is Jesus’ second coming and so we have assumed this chapter must be about that. It may include some references to that but Jesus says this will all play out within the generation of the disciples (v32) and so that future event isn’t what most of it is about. Indeed, if we make this chapter just about The Second Coming we could end up making the same mistake the disciples did - to think that God would link his “coming in glory” more with a massive, very visible, very big event, than with a humble lover of God giving everything they have in worship and trust of him. This chapter, as confusing at it is, urges us to see the glory of the Son of Man as little people like us choosing to love him and to give him everything that we have in this life.

Question for reflection

How might God respond to you if you gave more of what you have to him?

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Luke 21 - Monday 29th January