READINGS

Luke 21:5-19
The time is near - Ezekiel 7:1-7
Joel 2:30 -32 (portents)
Isaiah 19:2 (nation against nation)
Isaiah 14:30 Famine
Isaiah 13:13 Earthquakes
Jeremiah 21:6-9 Pestilence (various places)

HOMILY

Today we have part of Luke's apocalyptic speech.

One to do with the coming of the Kingdom; the other much more to do with Jerusalem and what will happen after the fall of Jerusalem.

We have the first half of the second of these and it's much more to do with the shift in attitude that is required of us when faced with apocalyptic happenings, as a lesson in signs.

Today's Gospel starts after Jesus has been teaching in the temple (his last teaching in the temple).

He's left the scribes and the Pharisees with a question about the son of man; he's observed a poor widow putting money into the treasury; and now some people speak to him about the temple.

In Luke's Gospel, it's not necessarily the disciples; it's just some people who were speaking about the temple: how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God.

Note that "gifts dedicated to God" has the same word as we have for anathema - the gifts are also by being dedicated to God and become the kind of sacred other that can't be touched by anyone else, that is, the sacred violence is here at work.

And He said:

as for these things that you see the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another - all will be thrown down.

Before we go on, I just want to step into this:

The Temple in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus was one of the great wonders of the world. It was made with huge pieces of brilliantly polished and bright stone. It was of extraordinary wealth.

Due to the gold plate on the dome, when the sun shined, it could be seen from the coast as far as 70 kilometers away.

It was an outstanding construction and not only noted for its beauty, but also for the fabulous richness of its treasury: it was one of the richest places in the whole of the Roman Empire.

It was hugely important for the economic life of not only Jerusalem, but the Middle East in general.

It had an amazing collection of title deeds to property, which were usually the security for loans.

It was of enormous importance for the agricultural industry for the obvious reason that so many sheep, cattle and so on were sacrificed there.

It was something much closer to being a mixture of the financial center and the religious center of the city and the bullring and the abattoir, all at once. All of those things put together; realities which have become separate in our world, were there at the time mixed up.

It was the center fascination of anything to do with God.

The Temple was not only appreciated, but also very much resented.

There were a significant number of people for whom the temple was run by crooks who used its financial part in various unjust ways and who's subjugated bondsman, because of the the debts, since the temple held their title deeds.

There were also lots of prophecies about whether it would be destroyed - and indeed the famous prophecies from Zechariah talking about this destruction.

Remember that it had already happened once: the first temple had been destroyed and this second temple was not even in the same physical place as the first temple had been.

So when people are speaking about the temple and its beauty and the anamathis - the gift, whether they are the sacred or cursed things - brings out the nature of the ambivalent fascination.

And it's also clear that Jesus is not using prophetic language when he talks about the Templo. Jesus doesn't go into a prophetic rage talking about the Temple.

There's a strangely laconic way in which Jesus talks about it: he doesn't use, at that point, the prophetic imagery, which does appear in the prophets concerning the destruction and throwing down of great signs.

So the people ask him:

“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

The word for "about to take place" has a hint of intention of "when this is programmed to take place" - the notion that there is someone else doing the work behind this, like maybe God.

Those who ask are very much within the world in which the Temple is a very significant player in the Divine sign; a game that which has to do with God.

Naturally, the destruction of the Temple would make a massive difference to that world.

It would destroy, blow apart a center of fascination that more serious than revolutions, regicides and so on and so forth.

Jesus's doesn't answer the question of "what will be the sign that this is about to take place", but says:

He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

Jesus's so-called apocalyptic discourse is really a how not to be run by an apocalyptic imagination discourse. It's how not to be fooled by this world of fascinating science.

It is literally "in my name" meaning trying to represent my person, my persona.

The Greek says "I am", which could be "I am", but it could also be "standing in the place of God", people who want to give off the notion of being a fascinating sign a god-given sign, people who will protect me proclaiming themselves the prophet, the Messiah, the Christ.

The other thing they'll say is "the time is near", and that's a direct quote from Ezekiel, where there is a passage about the time becoming near and the threat of the anger pouring upon the people.

Jesus is trying to get people off fascination, getting off charismatic people, getting off fascination with the Temple and the notion of God's anger associated with it. He's saying pay no attention to such things; do not go after them.

Then he says:

When you hear of wars and uprisings [basically upheavels], do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.

There are going to be a whole lot of quite traditional things that actually happen in the world that's not part of the Divine meaning.

Either these are just things that will happen and in part they will maybe even happen more frequently, because of what I am about to do.

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

Now rather than us imagining that Jesus is saying that's what's going to happen, in fact he's quoting four different prophetic "tropes" about Nations fighting against Nations and Kingdom against Kingdoms; earthquakes; famines; plagues; signs from Heaven.

These are from the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and particularly the Joel.

Several are more or less direct quotes, but what's interesting is, if you look at those, each one is part of a world of a prophecy in which anger rains down upon a particular out group.

So Nation will rise against Nation is in a prophecy against Egypt; there's another prophecy here against Samaria; etc.

What's wrong with this world of signs and fascinations?

It is that we look at a particular struggle or a particular upheaval and think about it in terms of it giving us meaning by there being other bad guy who are being destroyed; so we must be the good guy.

The trouble with that of course is that, if you think that you're failing to notice what is actually going on in your own group, you're still being run by the needs to justify yourself over against another group.

Each one of these is not Jesus saying this is what's going to happen; he's saying these kind of quotes, these kind of attitudes to prophetic happenings, those are all the wrong way of looking at things; that's all something in the midst of which you must learn a certain indifference; those are not real signs.

Then Jesus says:

But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.

In other words, starting from very soon; in fact starting from his crucifixion, which is not long down the road from this point: it's about within the next week.

Again he makes reference to certain quotes here:

"Seize you" is actually "they will lay hands on you", and this can be in the way one lends hands on the scapegoat.

"Bringing forth" is the same word as for instance Joseph was brought before Pharaoh.

Then he says:

This will give you an opportunity to testify

"Give you an opportunity" sounds like "okay, this is what you've been waiting for and now's your chance to give you a spiel", but it's much more like "this will turn out to be an occasion for you to testify", because the verb is to turn, to go away, to turn out as this will turn out to be for your witnessing.

It won't look to anybody like you are witnessing; they will think that they're just beating up, but in fact, in the midst of it, you will be witnessing.

So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance

But why? Well, because if you prepare your defense in advance, the chances are that you are part of the violence of what is going on and that you are taking part in it as one of the rivals in a struggle of some sort.

Therefore your mind is going to be completely colored by the struggle in which you are.

You will be being run by the sign that is the fake creation of meaning by violence.

Actually, what it says is "place it therefore in your heart not to prepare your defense in advance".

So the notion is that, in the midst of all this, we should be learning to live with a certain indifference, using the ignition understanding of indifferences not allowing rivalry to push my buttons.

This kind of indifference is what therefore enables us curiously to be creative and actually free in the midst of whatever going on and bearing witness to another reality, something that is not run by the violence of the scapegoating of this world.

For I will give you mouth and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

I will give you mouth, the facility of being able to speak.

The adversaries will not be on the same level at all as you, for they will be engaging in what they think is a victory and you as an enemy, but in fact you will be the empowering witness to the coming into being of something entirely different, something new something amazing.

You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

It's not only the in the big political sphere that these fake signs and violence works, but even comparatively close in family matters, being run by family belonging by kinship ties, by supposed friendship.

You will actually find yourselves becoming hated, because you will be bearing witness to a different reality coming in and they will still be being run by "might makes right".

You will be hated by all because of my name

This is a quote from the Psalm "they hate me without cause".

What will you do as you come to imitate me is that you will find yourself in the central lynch - all against on.

But not a hair of your head will perish.

Now this is a very odd promise given he says that some of you will be put to death.

Jesus is talking about us being held in being by a power much greater than us; presumably one not run by death.

Stand firm, and you will win life.

By your endurance, your patience, your perseverance, by standing in the midst of all that's not being run by it and so bearing witness to that which is being brought into being you will gain your souls.

That is what being brought into being as a son or a daughter of God looks like: being turned into a witness of another sign, a completely different sign instead of the world of Temple of violent sacred fake goodness of political and even of tribal and family violent construction of goodness.

In the midst of all this, working through it all not run by its meaning; being given the meaning that comes from God that is the living of the Kingdom.

SUMARY

5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God.

'Gifts dedicated to God' is the same word as Anathema. It becomes the kind of sacred other that can't be touched by anyone else. The violent sacred is very much at work in what's going on with the temple.

It brings out an ambivalent fascination.

But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

There's a strange laconic way that Jesus talks here. He doesn't use the prophetic imagery.

8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived.

The apocalyptic discourse is really a how not to be run by an apocaluptic imagination. How not to be fooled by this world of fascinating sign.

9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

There're going to be a whole lot of quite traditional things that actually happen in the world, but that's not part of the Divine meaning either.

10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

He's quoting four different prophetic tropes (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Joel).

Each quote is part of a world of a prophecy in which anger rains down upon a particular out group.

What'sd wrong in the world of signs and fascinations is that we look at a particular struggle or upheavel and think in giving us meaning by there being other bad guy who are destroying and being destroyed, so we must be the good guy.

The trouble is that, if you think that, you're failing to notice what is actually going on in your own group. You're still being run by the needs to justify yourself over against another group.

Jesus is telling us that these are not real signs.

12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.

13 And so you will bear testimony to me.

14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.

If you prepare your defenses in advance, the chances are that you are part of the violence of what is going on and that you are taking part in it, as one of the rivals in a struggle of some sort and your mind is going to be completely colored by the struggle in which you think you're taking part (being run by the sign which is the fake creation of meaning by violence).

We should be learning to live with a certain indifference, using the ignition understanding of indifferences, not allowing rivalry to push my buttons.

This is actually what enables us to be actually free in the midst of whatever actually is going and bear witness to another reality (not run by the violence of the scapegoating).

16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

17 Everyone will hate you because of me.

It's not only in the political sphere that these fake signs and violence works, but even comparatively close in family matters. You actually find ourselves becoming hated, because you'll be bearing witness to a different reality coming in.

18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

He's talking about us being held in being by a power much greater, one not run by Death.

By your endurance, your patience and your perseverance - by yourself standing in the midst of all that's not being run by it and so bearing witness to that which is being brought into being - you will gain your souls.

That is what being brought into being as a son or a daughter of God looks like.

It looks like being turned into a witness of another sign a completely different from the world of Temple, of violent sacred fake goodness, of political and even of tribal and family violent construction of goodness.