INTERPRETING THE TIMES

Jesus is piling on the strong words and warnings. It’s not simply that bad times are coming and his hearers need to be prepared, but he himself is bringing those bad times! Jesus eagerly awaits the fulfillment of God’s purposes for the world, even though he knows that he himself will be submerged in the fiery process, on the Cross. Christian commitment will sometimes tear families apart, for loyalty to Christ must take precedence over all other relationships. Many of our believing brothers and sisters today know this only too well.

Most readers have their own local folklore to predict the weather, and the Jews of Jesus’ day certainly did. Clouds coming in from the Mediterranean inevitably brought rain; a sirocco wind from the desert south meant a scorcher. Yet those same weather prophets were not ready to apply their minds to the equally clear signs they saw unfolding in Jesus’ ministry. Nothing has changed two millennia on! Most people “who can see meanings and connections and relationships in most of the phenomena in the world around them, and all the more so as their civilization becomes more sophisticated and rationalistic, are rank hypocrites when they look at Jesus Christ and pretend that they can make nothing of the remarkable facts of his life, death and resurrection” (Michael Wilcock). Judgment is coming. All who ignore Jesus will be called to account. Notice is served. Therefore, Jesus tells the crowds, do something about it now! Don’t wait for the impending sentence before putting things right with your neighbor—and indeed making peace with the Judge himself.

Meanwhile, as believers, we return to the questions of our readings. Are we acknowledging Jesus regardless of personal cost?

Are members of your family sympathetic to your faith in Christ? If not, how are you coping with that?