By Baird Linke
December 9, 2024
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:25-36, NRSVUE
To tell you the truth, I find myself feeling awfully skeptical about hope these days. I don’t like admitting that. I am a pastor, a hoper by trade, and I’m trusted with that title because people find my arguments in favor of hope convincing just slightly more often than they don’t. Cynicism is a professional liability. But look at this place. What good is hope in the future when the present is a sausage casing splitting open from the pressure of so many human lives ground up as collateral damage? What future is there for us in the bloody, oily mess we make of each other, of ourselves? What good, what future, can come from this present, or for that matter, this past?
It can be challenging to read scripture and watch for the signs of the day of the Lord, not because the signs are too obscure but because they are so stupidly mundane. Which nations in distress portend the end? There was no shortage of distress in the two hundred-odd years after Christ’s resurrection during which the New Testament was written, to say nothing of the 1,800 years after that. Humanity is remarkably reliable to repeat our greatest sins against God and one another, always with the sincere belief that this time we’re doing it for the right reasons and that this time is different. We weave webs of red string on cork boards connecting roaring seas and rumors of wars, seemingly unaware that we made the signs ourselves. Still, the heavens have not parted. The trumpet has not sounded. I admit that raising my head in response to these signs as Jesus commands has left me sore with grief.
Jesus’ command is indeed for vigilance for the signs of the end, but there is another truth revealed in the life of Jesus.
The world has ended. The world ended when its creator was killed. In fact, the world ends all the time.
The world ends when the futures that seemed reliable are closed off to us, whether by a harsh word or, a forest fire, or an untreated tumor. The world ends all the time in small and large ways, and sometimes we notice. What is harder to notice is that the end of one world is the birth of another. What is even harder to notice, for me at least, is that a new world might be a good one. A world ended when Jesus was killed. Another ended when he rose from the grave. When John the Baptist says that the kingdom of God is at hand, when Jesus says that the kingdom has drawn near, I take them seriously. God drew close to us in the Incarnation and still draws close through the Spirit, water, bread and wine, and each other. We should not forget that the kingdom of God, in the best possible way, is the end of the world as we know it. I believe that the kingdom of God is on its way at some point in the future, but I also believe that it is being born among us in large and small ways and that sometimes we notice.
Noticing is the trick.
Rising seas and troubled nations, signs in heaven and below, are not the kingdom, nor do they prevent its coming. Jesus does not say that only nonbelievers will be faint with fear. What he calls for in response to fear is alertness and staying the course—continuing to love our neighbors as Christ taught us to. Steven Charleston, Choctaw elder and Episcopalian theologian, writes in We Survived the End of the World that “The degree to which we participate in the apocalyptic process can tip the scales and determine the outcome. Therefore, our greatest problem is not necessarily the event itself but our reaction to it. Resignation is the challenge.” He continues, “prophetic voices have sought to shake people awake from sleepwalking into an apocalypse because they are in a state of resignation.”
Lord, save us from the state of resignation and deliver us from evil. When skepticism and resignation offer themselves as medicine for our troubled hearts and times, we must learn to reject their false promises. The promises we cling to must be in the hope that the new world of the kingdom is coming. “Lift up your heads,” says the Lord. “Redemption has drawn near,” thanks be to God, it has.
Reflection Questions:
- What are the sources of your own skepticism about hope? How do you wrestle with this tension in your life?
- How can we, as a community, practice the “alertness” Jesus calls us to, especially when faced with overwhelming societal or personal crises?
- What does it mean to notice the “small births of a new world” in your everyday life? Can you think of a moment when you saw evidence of God’s kingdom breaking through, even in a difficult situation?
- How does the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection give you hope when the world feels like it’s falling apart?
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Baird Linke, 2024 Polaris Advisor
Baird is a pastor serving Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Bonner, Montana, tucked alongside the Blackfoot River on Salish and Kootenai lands. He also works with Lutherans Restoring Creation, Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp, and ELCA Young Adults. Baird is passionate about ecotheology and ecojustice, faith formation, community building, and strong black coffee. When he’s not working, you can find him running or mountain biking on the trails with his dog Kintla, trying to cook a new recipe, or thinking about Dungeons and Dragons.