There are many obvious differences between our contemporary social situation and the social setting in which Jesus lived.  Among the notable differences is the difference between our language and the language Jesus spoke.  Unlike English, Aramaic had a very small vocabulary; this necessitated assigning multiple meanings to an individual word.   

For example, the word for “new” in Aramaic could also be used to say “renewed.”  In English, a “new” smartphone is very different from a “renewed” smartphone.  In Aramaic, however, the “new” Covenant that Jesus preached was a renewal of the Sinai Covenant rather than a replacement or an upgrade. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, there are also many similarities between the experiences of Jesus’ contemporaries and our experiences today.  One of those similarities features prominently in the Scripture readings for this Sunday. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus responded to a question about when the kingdom of God will come.  He said, “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” (Lk 21:9) 

Millenarian expectations were common, almost universal, during Jesus’ lifetime.  Most faithful Jews expected some form of radical intervention by God that would rescue God’s People from injustice and persecution.  These millenarian expectations, however, took a wide variety of forms.  Some people hoped for the expulsion of the Roman occupying force; others would have been fully satisfied by a change in the leadership of the Jerusalem Temple. 

Despite the diversity of expectations, the attitudes of those people long ago were very much like the attitudes of people today.  There was widespread dissatisfaction with government, that is, the Roman Empire.  There were legitimate concerns about economic and social issues, and close attention was given to the putatively prophetic nature of natural and man-made disasters.  Even pagans in the ancient world were apt to interpret natural disasters as acts of judgment by the gods. 

As different as our culture is from Jesus’ culture, people in antiquity experienced the same worry felt today by the financially insecure, the same fear felt by the persecuted, and the same powerlessness felt by those whose lives can be upended unexpectedly by the whims of the powerful.  For this reason, I suggest that Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reading are addressed directly to us. 

His response to the question about when the end of all things would occur was to warn his hearers away from speculation and millenarian interpretations of world events.  Obviously, the primary reason for this warning was that he knew that the kingdom of God would be inaugurated by his death on the Cross rather than by another event.  There is, however, another compelling reason to avoid speculation about the end of the world and discouragement due to tragic events. 

There is a common pitfall that is possible when one reads the Scriptures; it is the error of imposing one’s own meaning on the text rather than perceiving the meaning intended by the text’s author.  Sometimes, when people read the Scriptures, the text reads the reader – in the sense that the reader erroneously sees her or his own experiences in what is not at all their own experiences.   

The Scriptural authors did not intend to teach us about natural history, geography, or politics; neither did they intend to validate our personal opinions or fears.  The Scriptural authors recorded their experience of repentance, reform, and renewed faith so that we might be able to enter into the experience of repentance, reform, and renewal. 

The natural and man-made disasters that we witness are not, then, signs of coming divine judgment, but they might be warnings to us personally to reform our lives.  The injustice that we witness is neither cause for despair nor permission to judge others, but it might be a reminder to repent of the injustice we allow ourselves to commit. 

Jesus warned his hearers, and us, against looking for signs of the end of days because doing so is an effective distraction from our life’s vocation of being renewed by God’s Grace. 

If I was to paraphrase Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel, I might be tempted to say, “When you hear terrible things, or that terrible things are happening, do not be discouraged or terrified; it’s not the end of the world.  These are merely the world’s natural limitations from which faith can set you free.”