Gospel Reflection on Luke 21:5-19

November 16, 2025

And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” And they asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?” And he said, “Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

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As we come to this almost last Sunday of the church's year, we need to realize that these stories are not just about the end of the world.

Everything we see comes to an end, all things end. And this is not some kind of injustice, it's what happens in the world. Whatever takes place, earthquakes, famines, persecutions, they're never what they seem.

So we need to find a point of view about pain and suffering because we all have to reckon with it. Pain of human existence can't be taken away. Pain serves to warn us of danger. Pain is a symptom, and without symptoms it's not easy to diagnose problems.

Our culture is groggy because of our instinct to look for some kind of narcotic. Or we look for someone to blame to lash out, we want to have it out with the guilty one. Or we try to camouflage healing and turn it into feeling sorry for someone, which often invites them to see themselves as a victim. Or we might just try to distract someone from their suffering. But they never face what's really happening. Or we can invite someone to compare themselves to someone else who is worse off, as if pain could be measured and compared. Or finally we might say to them, 'there's a lesson here that you need to learn as if suffering is there to teach us something.'

The real challenge is to find a way to comfort those who are suffering and to find comfort.

And to see that suffering is not a terminal point, but it's a point of departure.

In fact, comforting the afflicted is one of the spiritual works of mercy: to learn how to speak to the broken heart. It's the most difficult of all the works.

It can help to look at the cross. The cross of Christ is not a final act, nor is it an accident along the way, but it shows us the true face of God. On the cross Jesus says, 'it is complete.'

Comfort only comes about when the process is complete, when the missing part is found, when we discover the complete meaning of this road that we're walking on.

True comfort comes about when we seek the peace God wants to give us. And that comes from the hope that's based on a promise. What is the thing that God has promised in the midst of our suffering? Can we finally come to see that God is still faithful? Can we rekindle the hope that's been crushed by disappointment? Can we see pain as a cross road, not a terminal point? And at this point, we need something to come to us from beyond.

We need a voice and message that can help us to see that the cross is a departure point.

On the cross Jesus transforms what seems to be an end, a tomb, into a point of departure, into a beginning. True comfort comes when we recognize and accept that our story is in God's hands, and God is the one who's going to help to carry it to completion. When we're conscious that the cross does not stop us from living, but opens up our vision.

Truly knowing how to comfort someone who's suffering needs having the memory of the resurrection. Suffering accepted always leads to an authentic life. A life that is truly beautiful because it's not simple. A life that is nourished by authentic challenges.

A real authentic human life experiences salvation over and over again, as it travels between consolation and tribulation. Such a life produces the genuine hope that we need. A hope that only comes as a gift. A hope that shines a light on a path that shows us that in the midst of despair, we can still find and believe that life is still precious.