Some Predictions Are Not That Difficult

Preparing for the First Sunday of Advent: one Day before Sunday (Year C)

Scripture

Psalm 25:1-10; Nehemiah 9:26-31; Luke 21:20-24

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Prayer

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

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Reflection

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it, for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled (Luke 21:20-24).

The Synoptic Apocalypse refers to Jesus’ discourse on the future. It is found in three Gospels—Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus refers to the “desolating sacrilege” or the “abomination of desolation” as it comes to us from the King James Version of the Bible. What the desolating sacrilege refers to is a matter of debate among scholars, but it is interesting to note that in Luke, instead of the “abomination of desolation” we have “when Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that it’s desolation has come near” (Luke 21:20).