Your Endurance Will Win You Your Lives

By Archbishop Joseph Harris

Gospel reading: Luke 21:5-19

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.” And they put to him this question: “Master,” they said “when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place? Take care not to be deceived,” he said, “because many will come using my name and saying, ‘I am he’ and ‘The time is near at hand.’ Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen, but the end is not so soon.”

Then he said to them, “Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defense because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.”

Homily

Before 9/11 the generality of people in the USA thought of themselves as the greatest nation. Their economic power is/was the strongest in the world, the same for its military power, and the standard of living of the majority of its people was at a level that the majority of the world’s inhabitants cannot even imagine. Then came 9/11 and now The sense of being un-attackable has been forever lost, the economy is still unstable, jobs lost to outsourcing have not been replaced, the new jobs being created pay far less, the standard of living of the working class has fallen, and for many, the words of the gospel given to us for our meditation this week are becoming true, “All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”

The presidential, congressional and senatorial elections came along with the normal promises, and again the words of Jesus in the Gospel ring true, “Take care not to be deceived,” he said “because many will come using my name and saying, ‘I am he’. But the Gospel gives us a warning “Refuse to join them”.

While it is true that all of us who are eligible have a duty to vote, so that we will be governed wisely or with as small a number of bad effects as is possible, the warning of Jesus still rings true “Refuse to join them.”

The experience that the USA is now living, was the experience of the Roman empire, and of the Greeks. It was the experience of all earthly empires. It is also however the experience of so many around us as the world that they have built up suddenly begins to crumble, perhaps because of the deception of a political party or a family break up, or loss of a job, or a devastating illness. Many will come saying, “Do this or do that” and the words of Jesus ring true “Refuse to join them.”[simpleazon-image align=”right” asin=”1928832296″ locale=”us” height=”500″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513q5TFqm2L.jpg” width=”330″]

The rest of the Gospel passage tells us why we must refuse to join them.  We must not join them because in spite of their words they are not people of faith; the solutions to the problems that they propose are all contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of this, they will lead us into war, “Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”

They will persecute us if we don’t follow them. “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name.” [Did we not lose some measure of Aid because we did not approve of the war in Iraq?]

Instead of joining those who propose solutions contrary to the Gospel, Jesus encourages us to embrace and bear witness to the values which he gave his life. “and that will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

The Gospel then speaks to us on three levels, on the international, on the national, and on the personal. The question on all three levels is the same. “How do I respond to crisis” Do I seek the easy solution or follow those who seek the easy solution?  On the international level is it simply “bomb them” or do the Christian values of dialogue and understanding find a place in my response?

On the national level is it simply blame others and destroy their reputations and divide to rule or is it problem solving through consensus building.

On the personal level, do I let my faith in Jesus Christ and his word direct my decisions?

As we approach the end of the church’s year, the church invites us to once again to come back to the fundamentals, and reminds us that ultimately we can evaluate the worth of our lives or that of our nation only by our fidelity to the values of Jesus.

“Your endurance will win you your lives.”

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Prayer

All powerful and ever loving Father we thank you for the tremendous love which you show us each day. Unfortunately, we so often take this love for granted until the crisis moments in our lives. Give us the grace to understand and remember that YOU are always there for us and that all YOU require of us is that we be faithful. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and Jesus your Son. Amen