A Poem a Sunday

Advent I C

November 29, 2015

Luke 21:25-36 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Commentary:  The early church experienced this Apocalypse in 70 CE – the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome.  St. Luke is referring to that pivotal tragedy and the signs that led to it. Like Jeremiah, Jesus wept over Jerusalem prior to his Passion.   The nearness of God’s reign comes when justice is done.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁹ Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰ as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Exhortation to Watch

³⁴ “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵ like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

A Poem a Sunday

Advent 1 C

St. Luke 21:25-36

Apocalypse Now

What if ‘The Apocalypse’ is over

and we’re in Post-Apocalyptic time?

And there is no rhyme or reason

for what is happening to humankind.

What if Jerusalem’s Roman destruction

ended every Apocalypse and

we are living with an illusion

that another End is next?

What if there has already been ‘The End’

- that fatal era now past

and the world will still spin

for billions of years ever to last?

Post-modern Apocalypses are an illusion

arising from confusion, propaganda, and despair

and would not be happening now

if we learned just how to care.

Care for the marginalized,

the hungry, the weak;

care for those in hopelessness,

the voices that cannot speak.

There is only need for new Apocalypses

when we stand back and refuse to decry

the suffering of others

and tell ourselves the lie:

that we are individuals, disconnected;

that we are not one

with each other on this globe

circling the sun.

The next Apocalypse

is not by Divine Decree

but comes from the human heart

unable to see:

the life that we all share,

the net that we weave;

and so it goes that we repeat

the Apocalyptic Creed.

A Poem a Sunday – Kenn Storck - November 24, 2015