This poor widow put in more than all of them
Luke Chapter 21
LUKE 21:1-19
[Luke 21:1] And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. [2] And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. [3] And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; [4] for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” [5] And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, [6] “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
[7] They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” [8] And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. [9] “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” [10] Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, [11] and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
[12] “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. [13] “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. [14] “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; [15] for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. [16] “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, [17] and you will be hated by all because of My name. [18] “Yet not a hair of your head will perish. [19] “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
LUKE 21:1-4
[Luke 21:1] And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. [2] And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. [3] And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; [4] for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
This poor widow put in more than all of them
Amount means nothing to Jesus, after all, what can we offer compare to God’s bounty? To Jesus it was intent, not amount that mattered. Do I measure people’s worth by their intent or amount? the answer to that depends a lot on how I measure myself as well. Some people judge their well being by how much they have or how busy they are. In our frenetic society, we feel like we must be continually connected or we doubt our worth. We might even say we are more “human havings” and “human doings,” than “human beings.”
As I’ve watched my father age, it has been interesting to see him deal with his own sense of worth during retirement. My father’s career had so much to do with his sense of worth. Of course, that is how his generation was raised. But we need to be wary, as many of us are also children of that culture.
Can I differentiate who I am from what I do or what I have? Ask the questions, “When do I feel most stressed?” and, “How do I respond to stress?”
Do I feel most stressed when my workload or pay grade is at it’s lowest and do I respond to stress by finding more things to buy or do?
Am I happiest when I’m busiest? Have I ever justified lack of time with my family or those in need with my career? Do I see the answer out of depression as a quasi-defined “more?” More work, more stuff, a better title, more responsibilities? Then it is quite possible that I too, judge myself — not by intent but by amount.
If that is how I judge myself, then it is very likely I will use the same means to evaluate the worth of others.
LUKE 21:5-6
[5] And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, [6] “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
“Adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts...”
What a contrast this picture paints. The altar was covered by beautiful votive gifts (expensive gifts given for the glory of God), the stones were of great size and perfectly cut (see the study from John for a detailed description of these stones) and yet, within those cold stones and among those expensive gifts the religion had grown hollow, even malevolent. Widows were preyed upon by attorneys and the clergy (they were one and the same in Judaism) the prophets and even the Messiah were persecuted by the privileged. The glorious veneer of the temple covered a dark sin within its walls. The edifice itself had become more important than the God it was supposed to house. Supporting the temple and its bureaucracy had become the central focus of the religious institution of Judaism. In fact, even supporting the institution had long been supplanted by defending its ideology; feeding its bureaucracy and propagating its lies. The edifice and the institution had become the religion and truth (the arrival of the Messiah) had become a threat to be squelched.
How do we tell when bureaucracy, ritual and buildings become more important than ministry? One good sign is to examine a church’s use of resources, both time and money. Do our budgets show as high a commitment to outreach as they do to in-reach? Do the poor and vulnerable in our community receive as many volunteer hours as our choir, bible studies and home fellowship groups? Do we put as much money into building the lives of our impoverished as we do into LCD projectors, sound systems and building campaigns?
The temple leaders of Jerusalem could not distinguish between their needs and luxuries — can we? Our churches are often resplendent in wealth while our communities are dying of neglect. How would our Lord respond to such discrepancies? Well, let’s look at how he did respond to them when he walked the earth.
“There will not be left one stone upon another...”
Jesus does what we (as his prophetic people) should always do; he presents an eternal perspective to a temporal and mortal viewpoint. He looks at the trinkets of man, even the grandiose trinkets like the temple of Herod – an eighty-year building project – and virtually says; “You think this is permanent? You couldn’t be more deceived than to place your trust in these stones or the institution that surrounds them.”
The word stone [G3037 lithos] is used elsewhere by Jesus too [Matthew 21:42, 18:5-6].
Clearly the permanent stone – the eternal stone – is Jesus the Christ and he alone is where we should we place our eternal investment. Our Lord is obviously cautioning us not to put eternal stock in votive gifts and ostentatious edifices. Our eternal investment should always be, “These little ones who believe in Me.”
Am I awed by the Eternal Stone (that the builders rejected) and investing in the gifts he cites as eternal (the ones the priests neglected) or am I duped by institutionalism and grand edifices? “Lord, please let me be awed by you – the cornerstone – and prevent my heart from turning to stone in the face of your people’s needs.”
LUKE 21:7-11
[7] They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” [8] And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. [9] “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” [10] Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, [11] and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.”
“See to it that you are not misled…”
It is interesting to note what Christ tells us about the works and words of the “mis-leaders” or deceivers [G4105 planao]. Their message is two-fold:
1. They will come in Christ’s name [G3686 onoma]
2. They will claim that “the time [G2140 kairos] is near.”
Why are these people such a threat? Because they take our eye off the ball. They would have us focus on the clock – not the work at hand. It is much too easy to look for when Christ might be coming rather than on what we should be doing!
We need to remember we are supposed to be a harvest-oriented people – not a clock-watching people. Harvesters work until the harvest is in, even if the sun goes down. Clock-watchers spend more time watching the clock and wondering if it’s 4:58 or 4:59pm than they spend on swinging their scythe. Where is the focus of my faith? Where is the focus of my church?
In Matthew’s version of this story, Jesus tells us exactly when “the end” will come [Matthew 24:14].
In 2nd Peter, our Lord’s disciple has this to say about “the time” when the Lord will come [2 Peter 3:8-9].
The Lord is patient towards us, “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” When will the Lord come? Not at 5:00pm, but when the harvest is in. When the “gospel of the kingdom is preached to all the world” and “all come to repentance.”
Do we want to see the Lord come soon? Then our role is to be “in the harvest” bringing in the sheaves (bundles of wheat) and not in the grain elevators waiting for the bell to strike closing time. The prophets did their part, the Lord did his part and we must do our part by working at bringing in the harvest.
LUKE 21:12-13
[12] “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. [13] “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
“It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.”
The closer we get to Christ, the more we should expect opposition, both worldly and spiritually. In fact, a life of comfort and ease could be a sign we are growing increasingly distant from our Lord. Instead, we should be striving for a life of dedication and service. As we grow closer to Jesus, we must increasingly grow closer to the plight of the poor. Their plight should alarm us. It should break our hearts and call us to acts of radical mercy and advocacy and for those actions we should expect opposition!
Yet, how many see opposition as our “opportunity for your testimony?”
How blithely we throw around that word today; “I am going to share my testimony.”
Testimony actually comes from the word marturion [G3142] and the root of that word is martus [G3144], which means; “I would be willing to die for my testimony.” And, throughout history, many have been martyred for their love of Christ (and sadly, just as many have been martyred in the “name of Christ”).
Yet, we often think of persecution as not getting our way in our petty fiefdoms. The area where I live is facing a scarcity of labor that is shocking in its impact. Many in my town are either unemployed or grossly underemployed. Yet, I have Christian friends who see it as a sign of God’s abandonment that they are underemployed and wonder why God is neglecting them. God is not neglecting them – the economy is dysfunctional – there’s a difference! The fact that our ship does not float above the economic water line is not a sign of God’s negligence – it is a sign of man’s injustice.
Instead, it would truly be a sign of faith if we responded to this “opposition” as an opportunity, as a chance to witness to our confidence in Christ, to provide testimony.
Nor, do I make this statement casually, our family – and many mission families – choose to live “underemployed” as opportunities to witness to God’s glory. This act of simplicity is not confining, but liberating. It is wonderfully freeing to be dependent upon the Lord and akin to those around us who are experiencing similar circumstances. Indeed, I have begun to question if we understand the fullness of the Gospel if we choose not to live simply among the poor.
Yet, we must distinguish that Christianity is not about martyrdom for its own sake or poverty for the sake of asceticism. Throughout history, martyrdom and asceticism have become false gods in themselves. Yet our Lord himself sought to avoid the cup of suffering, “if it was possible [Matthew 26:39].” Yet, avoidance wasn’t possible – the cup was inevitable.
Jesus did not drink from that cup for the sake of suffering; he drank from the cup for the sake of salvation. As Christians, we do not seek suffering for the sake of enlightenment; we suffer because we throw ourselves (like Christ incarnate) into the human situation. We suffer because we refuse to turn away from Lazarus lying crippled at our gates. We suffer because someone suffers in our neighborhood and we must go to him or her.
Our relationship with the vulnerable is inevitable if we are going to wear Christ’s banner. To know Jesus is to be tied to him in his most vulnerable form. Choosing to be simple among the poor and to advocate on their behalf is to seek the opportunity for testimony. It should be the mark of our faith. To be a Follower is to be a vocal advocate for the mistreated (a prophet among, not just to the poor). To be Christian is “not to avoid the fight” – but to avoid the wrong fights. We forget about our own rights and stand up for the rights of others. Those are the fights worth fighting:
“The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing – for the sheer fun and joy of it – to go right ahead and fight, knowing you’re going to lose. You mustn’t feel like a martyr. You’ve got to enjoy it.”
1 I.F. Stone, now-deceased muckraker who exposed corruption at the highest levels of government during his lifetime.
LUKE 21:14-19
[14] “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; [15] for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. [16] “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, [17] and you will be hated by all because of My name. [18] “Yet not a hair of your head will perish. [19] “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
“Not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves…”
Does this sound like good legal advice? Does Jesus sound like an attorney you would want on retainer? Actually, this advice (that Jesus gives to us) is about far more than a legal response to personal accusers. Our Lord’s advice refers to building a character that will serve as our rejoinder to an accusatory world.
Good legal advice might help us avoid court, but this advice of Jesus tells us that if we live by his premises we should expect to be in direct confrontation with any system that is unjust. Jesus teaches us that the stance of a Christian against injustice should lead us to trial, not away from it. I believe it is a mark of the health of our outreaches to the vulnerable that – in our mentoring and advocacy programs – more and more of our volunteers and church members are finding themselves going to court with the people they mentor. Whenever justice is lopsided; the Christian must balance the scales – we should expect to be in court on behalf of the poor!
Jesus is telling us that we should “expect to be tried” for our beliefs. He doesn’t say it may happen, he says that if we truly follow him it willhappen: “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, [17] and you will be hated by all because of My name.”
The Christian should never be surprised by persecution, he should wonder why he is not being persecuted more.
LUKE 21:18-19
[18] “Yet not a hair of your head will perish. [19] “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
“By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
Every apostle except John the Beloved was martyred (however John was once boiled in oil and also sent into exile on the prison mining colony of Patmos), so how can Jesus have said, “Not a hair of your head will perish?” Once again, the original Greek words present us with a fuller meaning of this scripture:
The word for perish [G622i Apollumi] means eternally destroyed or even damned. To Jesus, the only measure of something’s worth in this life is whether or not it prepares us for an eternal life of ultimate liberation in the love of God. This is not a passage about the “resurrection of the body.” Rather than being deceived into a nonsensical debate over whether or not I will have a televangelist’s hair in the next life (when I don’t even have a full head of hair in this one), I should be awed that God holds my whole being – down to the most finite atom – in the palm of his hand.
By itself, hair was a symbol to the Jew of taking a vow, a symbol dating back thousands of years. It was the outward sign that a man had taken a vow to serve the Lord [Numbers 6:5].
Paul takes this action when he vows to return to Jerusalem for what he knows will be his final trial with the Jewish leaders [Acts 18:18]
However “cutting off the hair” was also figurative of the destruction of an entire people [Isaiah 7:17-20].
Jesus is calling upon a rich tradition to tell us that not only are the “Endurers” set apart but that they will be saved from the final and complete destruction, the “apollumi.” We shouldn't argue about how many hairs we will (or won't) have at that time; instead we should encourage each other – with all of our might – to endure to the end.
Endurance [G5281 Hupomone] is a word that the early Followers of the Way would have heard in nearly every message, on every gathering, in every church. We find it 31 times in the letters to the churches, used by every one of the writers of those letters: Paul, James, Peter and John. The most apt use of the word for endurance is “persistent and expectant perseverance.” Let’s look at how Paul uses it in Romans [Romans 5:3-6].
It is our endurance that Christ says will, “gain your lives;” our persistent and expectant perseverance through the toughest of trials. Is this the type of fruit my faith is producing? Am I like an athlete who purposely places himself in trials to grow this kind of endurance? Can I look ahead at my week and see the places I am going to go which will stretch my faith and make me stronger, more enduring? Prayer meetings, worship services and bible studies are only a part of what we are talking about here. Can I say my week takes me beyond the realm of Christian conversation, studies and prayer circles and into the realm of action and advocacy? Is there any evidence of “hupomone” in my life – of lasting commitment to the vulnerable, of Christian advocacy? Am I involved enough in my community to even know that injustice abounds about me? Do the vulnerable call me friend; do they even know my name?
These are the Patient Endurers; the ones who will know life.
Lives [G5590 Psuche]: In this reading, Jesus makes the promise; “By your endurance you will gain your lives.” What is it exactly that our patient endurance will gain us? The word used is psuche [G5590] and translates literally into “heart, mind and soul.”
Every one of the Gospel writers uses this term when they quote Jesus in the following pronouncement:
Luke 9:24
“For whoever wishes to save his life [G5590 psuche] will lose it, but whoever loses his life [G5590 psuche] for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”
We receive our heart, mind and soul when we give our heart, mind and soul to Jesus. And this giving is not intangible, it is not hard to figure out exactly “how” to give our heart, mind and soul to Jesus:
Luke 18:22
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
To gain everything, give everything; herein is the Gospel of Jesus. The poor are our “opportunity for our testimony.” They are our opportunity to love Jesus in the flesh. Do I love Jesus... in his most vulnerable form?
Have I taken advantage of this most critical opportunity?
2 Source: Sojourners, Sojomail, www.sojo.net, 09/22/04
LUKE 21:20-37
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are 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 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. 32 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
Recognize that the kingdom of God is near
I choose to focus on this statement as opposed to other statements some people refer to as prophetically about the end times. All of the warnings Jesus preached about in these statements came true within a generation of his death. In March 70 CE, Titus — the son of Emperor Vespasian and later to become an emperor as well — laid siege to Jerusalem promising to leave no stone standing. By September, his words rang true. He left only the Western Wall as a tribute to how hard it was to siege and defeat the fortified city. It also provided shelter for his troops during the last portion of the attack.
The historian, Josephus records that 1,100,000 were killed during the siege while 97,000 were captured and enslaved. This was more slaughtered bodies than soldiers (60,000) from the four legions sent to destroy the city. Josephus also records that captors had to climb over piles of bodies to kill the remaining resisters — Who were led by Zealots — we might call them modern-day terrorists, their aim was not to lead people, but to create chaos, no matter the cost.
The Zealots were poorly organized and some say it was probably infighting that led to their rapid and complete demise. Though the Zealots had some successful skirmishes with the Romans, it wasn’t enough to do more than raise the soldiers intense hatred to the resistance resulting in the overzealous slaughter at the end of the siege.
In like manner, our focus shouldn’t be so much on the words of the end times, than the work of the Kingdom — which is near. Jesus doesn’t speak about “THE” desolation, he speaks about “HER” desolation. Referring to Jerusalem.
He warns people they “must not enter,” during those days. These words would have been well heeded. One of Titus’ craftiest moves was to allow pilgrims to enter the city during the Passover and then refuse to let them leave. This, of course, had the result of intensifying the starvation of those within the City walls.
Jesus also speaks about the “times of the Gentiles being fulfilled.” The term “times [G2520 Kairos] also means epoch, opportunity and season.
Fulfilled [G4137 Plēroō] is a term Jesus frequently uses. It means “the debt is paid” — fully preached, passed, completed and accomplished.
Versus 25-28 are prophetic verses not directly applying to the siege of Jerusalem.
Luke 21:25-28
25 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are 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 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
There are multiple ways to interpret these verses. Christ might be speaking about his post-millennial second coming. He was speaking about his ascension into glory (which the disciples witnessed — as well as many others). There were many millenarians in the early church, especially the first forty years. They purported the millennial was not the coming of Christ but a thousand year period of Christ’s perfect rule before the rise of Satan and his final attack.
During those times, the belief was known as Chiliasm (Greek term for millennialism] and there is significant writing about this belief. Including Justin the Martyr, Tertullian, Hippolytus of Rome, Jerome and many others.
Hippolytus of Rome speaks of six ages or 6,000 years [“Six Days Work,” — from various commentaries].
The phrase from the Nicene Creed, “Whose kingdom shall have no end…” was added to condemn millennialism theology, which the fourth century church declared as heresy.
Millennialism had a resurgence following the reformation. There are a variety of four different branches of this belief.
1. Post-tribulational premillennialism, in which the thousand years of tribulation precede Christ’s return.
2. Pre-tribulational (dispensational) Premillennialism, which sees the tribulation following a second coming for the church then a second coming of the church.
3. Postmillennialism sees the tribulation ending with the second coming.
4. Amillennialism sees the tribulation as symbolic, denying a literal 1000-year kingdom.
There are also secular versions of millennialism purported by Hegel, Marx and Charles A. Reich of the Harvard Law School (The Greening of America). Reich declares a utopian society to follow the “hippy age.” I suppose that means the baby boomer generation, but I haven’t personally seen Utopia come about in this generation. I don’t think our world can afford another generation as selfish as us baby boomers. We are funding our “utopia” with assets belonging to future generations. Using their economy, environment and political capital for our own gain.
The Italian monk, Joachim of Fiore (died in 1202), spoke of three ages.
1. The age of the Father (Old Testament)
2. The age of the Son (New Testament)
3. The age of the Holy Spirit (Post ascension when the Paraclete descended was given to the church by Christ)
There are also various interpretations of Jewish Eschatology as well as the beliefs of the Jehovah Witnesses, who believe Christ will rule from the heavens for 1000 years along with 144,000 holy ones.
Jesus (and later Peter) tells us to focus on the harvest — not the clock. Do the work of the Kingdom Commission. Not academic musings about when this age will cease and a new one begin.
As conceived by Christ, the Great Commission linked the missionary activity of the Church with that of Christ Himself (John 14:12). As the first and greatest missionary (Hebrews 3:1), He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The church’s mission was to be patterned after His (John 20:21). As His ministry included teaching, preaching and healing (Matthew 4:23), so would theirs (Acts 4:2, 5:12-16).
“The Kingdom [G932 Basilieia] of God is near [G1451 Eggus].”
This phrase basically says the reign of God is within our grasp. As discussed before when we studied the Lord’s Prayer [Luke 11:2-4]. We learned the Kingdom comes when we do the will of God [Matthew 6:10]. Jesus’ will was we should love like he loved, that was his New Commandment [John 13:24] not another or an additional commandment. Love is the command that supersedes the law. Our role on earth is to become perfected by forgiveness and give/forgive until we are made whole.
The people of every age do not starve for conjecture, they starve for love. Which meal will they receive from my ministry? Thoughts to ponder or love to fulfill?
My words will not pass away
Jesus is The Word [Revelation 19:13, 1 John 1:1, John 1:1] and his words will not pass away. The Greeks and Jews — as well as the Romans would all understand this concept. The word was a bond, as in, “I give you my word…” Let’s look at the terms for word and not pass away.
· Words [G3056 Logos] an account, instruction, preaching, report, teaching
· Will not pass [G3928 Parerchomai] be neglected, disregarded, passed over, forgotten
Jesus gives us his word that the account and teaching of his life will never be forgotten, neglected or disregarded. However, we bear responsibility and receive assistance from the Holy Spirit to carry through on that promise from generation to generation.
Let us make sure we are remembered for the accounting of our lives even more than the words of our mouth. Will people remember us for the accounting we give? The promises we keep?
Keep on the alert at all times
Jesus seems to intentionally not give a date or a time. The implication is that this is not for us to know. It is as though Jesus — understanding our nature — realizes if we knew the moments or times, we would put off change until the last minute. Rather than telling us dates that even he did not know, he tells us to “keep alert at all times.”
· Keep alert [G69 Agrupeneō] be sleepless, wakeful, keep watch.
· At all times [G2540 Kairos] see previous definition, through all eras, epochs, generations
We are to stay awake and alert always and forever, especially guarding against “dissipation, drunkenness and the worries of life.”
1. Dissipation [G2897 Kraipalē] drunken hangovers
2. Drunkenness [G3178 Methē]
3. Worries [G3308 Merimna], cares and anxieties of every day living
It is interesting that Christ equates worry with drunkenness and hangovers. In a way, these are all disorders that immobilize us and become hard-to-break habits/addictions. Socially, we seem more accepting of worrying than drunkenness. Not so, with Jesus, he sees both as incapacitating and preventing us from being alert for his return.
How would it change my perspective of life if I measured worrying to the same degree I evaluate drunkenness and dissipation? Would I be more tolerant of others? Have different expectations of myself?
I work with a lot of indigenous populations where alcohol has a huge detrimental effect on communites and individuals. Yet, would I see the equivalent habit of worrying as a similar problem in the Anglo populations around me?
We are to turn our worry into prayer. “Do not worry,” Christ admonishes us. It is not optional [Matthew 6:25-32].
How do I reformat the compulsion to worry in my life into a habit of prayer? I often tell people to visualize play, pause and rewind buttons on their foreheads and that we have a choice over what tapes, CD’s or MP3’s we play. Imagine pushing the pause button on worry and reinserting a different play list called prayer that enlists the aid of the Creator.