Bible notes

• Today’s passage is the last of Jesus’ public discussions before he goes to the upper room with his disciples. It addresses the concerns some were having about the end times. This is Luke’s version of the ‘little apocalypse’ found in Mark 13. It uses traditional ‘end of the world’ imagery: war, earthquakes, famine, plagues. It is as if the good order of creation is beginning to unravel. But Jesus is less concerned with predicting the future than with giving a message of reassurance, and a call to stand firm and endure through times of crisis.

• Amid all the pain and destruction, people may wonder what the point is and feel that there is no future. Although some of these catastrophic events may be considered signs of the end times, Jesus says that it is not the end yet. He deflects the disciples’ ‘when’ questions and encourages them to consider ‘how’. How will they survive during these testing times to come?
  
  
• Jesus assures us that we will not suffer alone (v.15) and that God is completely trustworthy (v.18). We are encouraged to live in hope. Active hope means we don’t have our head in the clouds dreaming of heaven, but keep our feet firmly on the  ground and live today in the best way we can, with confidence in our future. The reading from 2 Thessalonians also encourages a commitment to work and to ‘not be weary in doing what is right’ (v.13).