“The days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down…When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first but it will not immediately end…By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Luke 21: 5-19
Jean-Baptiste Karr (1808-1890) was a French journalist, novelist and cynic. In a column he wrote in 1849, he observed: “The more things change, the more they remain the same!” (Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose!”) Even only a brief reflection on the remarks attributed to Jesus in today’s gospel-reading leaves me convinced that Karr’s cynical aphorism is very accurate. In the more than twenty centuries since the death of Jesus, the patterns of human behaviour have barely changed. Our world is still ravaged by wars, the only difference from the time of Jesus is that the weaponry is more sophisticated and more destructive. Terrorists are more numerous, human dignity is still disregarded and increasing numbers of our sisters and brothers are driven from their ancestral homes. Leaders obsessed with power and driven by greed abound, while the people they supposedly represent are paralysed by fear and insecurity. Even with the benefits of improved education and advances in technology, we human beings continue to pollute our common home and ignore the deleterious impact we are having on our world’s climate. There is scandalous inequality among the world’s countries in access to and possession of natural resources. Excessive consumerism in the world’s wealthy countries contributes to increases in destitution among the citizens of poorer nations. The UNHCR estimates that our world currently has 31-37 million refugees and 73 million people forced to flee their homes but still living within their country’s borders. Worse still is the fact that approximately 6 million children under the age of 15 are dying annually.
In today’s gospel-reading we are given an account of how Jesus confronted some of those listening to him who were making gushing remarks about the splendour of the Temple. He brought them back to reality by making reference to the natural disasters and war-mongering that were part of the world in which they lived. Pointing out that such happenings were not the punishment of a vengeful God, he went on to state that some among them would be persecuted for adhering to the values that he proclaimed and which they had taken up. He urged them not to let themselves be paralysed by fear but, rather, to maintain their faith and trust in him and in God, as they witnessed to what was right and just.
What’s more, the encouragement of Jesus applies equally to us who surely have a responsibility to consider how we might give witness and voice to countering and protesting against the injustices and warring that are going on around us. Racism, greed, discrimination, excessive consumerism are realities that touch our lives directly and indirectly. We can allow them to go unchallenged by pretending that addressing them is a responsibility that belongs to others. However, if we are serious about Jesus and his Gospel, we cannot make excuses for our failing to launch into practical action.
The lifestyles to which we have become accustomed are heavily dependent on fuel for our cars and power generated from coal. Yet, we rarely voice our disapproval to governments that import oil and petrol from countries that have been known to contribute to the finances of groups like ISIS and the Taliban. Neither are we quick to reduce our consumption of energy that powers our household appliances or to make the effort to recycle waste materials that are harming our common home. We are often silent when some of our citizens are given official approval to demonstrate against immigration and the rights of migrants to education and medical benefits. Moreover, we are reluctant to have personal contact with the disadvantaged and the homeless on the streets of our cities and are silent when local government agencies take measures to hide them from our view.
The paradox is that, deep-down, we and those beside whom we live, work and worship are generous with what we have. Yet, our consumer life-style dulls our ability to notice the needs of our sisters and brothers in serious need in countries geographically distant from ours.
Today’s gospel-reading embodies a wake-up and shake-up call to us to heighten our consciousness to the plight of our sisters and brothers in places like Syria, the Sudan, Ukraine, Palestine and the Congo, all of whom are suffering from neglect, physical violence and various kinds of terror. We can be deluded into thinking that we are safe from potential, powerful aggressors because our national leaders have acquired intercontinental ballistic missiles and top-of-the-range fighter planes, and that, on the domestic level, we have readily available to us prescription medications that will ward off illness and prolong our lives. Moreover, we have the support of artificial intelligence and very reliable internet technology. Still, the safety of our lives and our world is as precarious as that of the world and the people Jesus described in today’s gospel-reading.
In today’s first reading from Malachi, the prophet urges us to put our faith and trust in the God whose compassion, care and mercy never fail us. However beautiful and sturdy our temples, however powerful our medications and the armaments our countries have to keep us safe, none of them is imperishable. With change ever impacting on us and our world, challenges will not stop confronting us. Jesus reminded his audience and us that the God in whom he and we place our faith and trust is greater than anything that can come our way. Moreover, whatever comes to challenge us will always provide us with an opportunity to give witness to Jesus and his Gospel. Let’s not allow such opportunities to pass us by unaddressed.