The Hope of a New Birth

Unfortunately, our gospel lesson doesn't at first seem to instill us with any sense of hope at all. In fact, after reading this passage, we can be overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. This passage sounds a bit like the one we heard two Sundays ago, only this one has more doom and gloom, more destruction, more chaos and catastrophe. We hear of these mysterious signs in the sun, moon and stars. There are images of people fainting. Heaven and earth pass away, there is talk of a trap, and our hope for escape, and by the end of the reading, it seems the walls are closing in on us.

And yet, in the midst of the chaos of this reading, if you look closely enough, calmly enough, there are some words of hope in the midst of the confusion. Jesus says, "when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near . . . when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." He speaks of fig trees, an image which may not communicate much to us, but his hearers in that time knew that the fig tree was a symbol of life out of death, a symbol of the hope that comes after the winter, the hope of new birth.

Beth Quick, Ready or Not….