Luke 21:5-19 (NRSV)
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Verse 5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, Verse 6"As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." Verse 7They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" Verse 8And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. Verse 9"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Verse 10Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; Verse 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. Verse 12"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. Verse 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. Verse 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; Verse 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. Verse 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. Verse 17You will be hated by all because of my name. Verse 18But not a hair of your head will perish. Verse 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Devotion
Endurance resides not in our own strength. Our endurance stems from faith in Christ Jesus. For faith in Jesus is what God regards and reckons as righteousness. As long as we know that God in Jesus regards us as righteous, as good, as welcome children, then we need not fear if the piled up stones of our accomplishments—the stones that mark our pride and greed and winning—get knocked down. To endure is to have faith in Jesus given to us anew today, and then to have that same faith in Jesus given to us the next day, and each day after. Such new faith each day knows that it is not us but Jesus on the cross whom God regards as our righteousness. When others arrest or threaten us with their disdain or laughter or teasing, Jesus promises to give us his words of love and mercy that such mockery and disbelief will not be able to withstand. In the end only the witness to Jesus as the true meaning of life is what counts for endurance.
Prayer
Our Father, you endure our hate and the wrongs we do to others through Jesus on the cross. Day after day, for Jesus' sake, forgive us, fill us with your Holy Spirit, and at the last day raise us up to be with you in your mercy forever. Amen.