In popular Jewish understanding, there was an expectation of “a prophet like Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) who would appear at the end of the age. Jesus as a type of New Moses is a theme in the Gospels, especially in Matthew. Jesus' words are taken seriously, and the crowds ask him, "Teacher, when will this happen?”
Jesus warns the crowd “not be deceived.” He warns, "…many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'” He tells them, “Do not follow them!” Prayer and discernment are necessary.
Jesus' answer, however, does not seem to be limited to the destruction of Jerusalem. Later in this same chapter, Jesus speaks more specifically about fleeing Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-24) but then moves on to describe a later time when the world and the powers of heaven will be shaken (Luke 25-28). In the book of Revelation, we see a series of prophecies concerning the return of Christ at the end of time, and these prophecies cycle and repeat each time getting more intense.
Jesus' words apply both to the imminent crisis in Jerusalem, and in a fuller way to the final persecution or ‘the great tribulation’ at the end of time. Jesus tells us in Matthew's gospel, this will be a “great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be” (Matthew 24:21; Cf. Revelation 7:14).
The belief that Christians will face this final “great tribulation” is a matter of faith. Yet, how are we to respond to this teaching?
Some of you will no doubt remember the children’s fairy tale Chicken Little. The main character, Chicken Little (Henny Penny in some versions) is a hen on a farm, who is hit on the head with an acorn. Puzzled by this, she concludes that ‘the sky is falling.’ Chicken Little then runs around the farm sounding the alarm, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” The moral of this tale is that we should not believe everything we are told.
Many times in history, popular teachers have predicted that the end is near. Some have argued that we can use the calendar for our predictions, such as the end of the first millennium, or the end of the second millennium. Perhaps the sign will be some crisis involving wars, or world powers. Perhaps some other unpredicted modern event such as the so-called Y2K crisis in the year 2000.
I knew a priest right before the Y2K event who combined fears about this crisis with the teachings of unapproved apparitions, and rumors of an approaching comet, to predict the end was near. He was literally buying guns and gold to prepare. I knew another family who sold their family home and moved to a remote cabin in the wilderness. Of course, Y2K turned out to be very disappointing event. The lights did not even flicker.
In our gospel reading, Jesus warns us, “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” (Luke 21:9). He then promises us that in the midst of life threatening persecution and martyrdom, “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute”(21:15).
This is a special grace for this moment in time. In ordinary times, St. Peter reminds us, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for the reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15-16).
It seems that in many periods of history, persecution is the norm. As Jesus reminds us, “You will be hated by all because of my name” (Luke 21:17, Cf. John 15:18-20). Yet as Tertullian reminded his persecutors in the second century, “Yet, your tortures accomplish nothing, though each is more refined than the last; rather, they are an enticement to our religion. We become more numerous every time we are hewn down by you: the blood of Christians is seed ” (Apology 50.13)[1]
Many Christians in our world today still face persecution for their faith. Yet we only rarely hear about this in our news headlines. One application of today’s reading would be to pray for persecuted Christians around the world. Especially for those Christians in Africa, India and Asia. While we stand in solidarity with them, we should also realize that this is a tremendous time of grace, resulting in many new conversions.
The second thing we can take to heart, is the fact that we should expect opposition for our faith. As our nation rapidly moves towards a post-Christian culture, we should not be surprised that our culture rejects our views as outdated and even harmful. As Jesus reminded his disciples, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first (John 15:18). St. Paul notes, “For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the latter an odor of death that leads to death, to the former an odor of life that leads to life” (2 Corinthians 2:15–16). To those who have hardened their hearts, our message is “the odor of death.”
[1] [semen est sanguis Christianorum] Tertullian and Minucius Felix, Apologetical Works and Octavius, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari, trans. Rudolph Arbesmann, Emily Joseph Daly, and Edwin A. Quain, vol. 10, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1950), 125.
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