Sermon ideas
Ideas for sermon preparation on Luke 21.5-19
- In today’s Gospel we hear that the Temple and its contents are dedicated to God. What things in our lives are, and what need to be, dedicated to God? Most of us dedicate some of our time – Sundays, and perhaps an evening or two – and a portion of our money. But have we got the balance right? We often say, and pray, that the whole of our lives belong to God, but, given that we have other things in our lives (work, homes, families, etc.), what does it mean in practice? And is it all right for different people to have different answers to these questions?
- The language and images Jesus uses, here and elsewhere, are typical of that used within the prophetic tradition – war and uprisings, earthquakes, famine, dreadful disease, tyrannical leadership, false imprisonment and betrayal. Some of these will resonate for people today: war in the Middle East; ebola and zika; terrorism, and more. Amid all this ‘end of civilisation as we know it’ talk, which never seems to go away, what does Jesus’ encouragement to ‘endurance’ (v.19) actually mean for us? How should we respond to, and how can we help those who are caught up in, these seemingly apocalyptic events?
- ‘Do not be terrified’ (v.9). When faced with uncompromising fear, rational or not, in what do we hope and trust? Have we, in better times, built the foundations of our lives on the promises of God? Foundations are so important if what is built upon them is to withstand the storms. In the words ‘do not be terrified’ there are echoes of the angel’s words to Mary, to the shepherds, and to those who found the tomb empty. When we are worried or frightened, can the incarnation and the resurrection speak of new hope, and transform our fears?
- Verses 5 to 11 in the Gospel are about the end of times. Over the centuries – and still today – people have predicted that the end is about to take place, but Jesus said that no one would know when the world will end – even he didn’t know. So the question is, how do we live in the meantime? The end of the reading suggests that every detail of our lives is known by God – what sort of story do we want our lives to tell?