“By your perseverance you will keep your life” (Lk 21, 5-19) | RCF

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

During that time,
as some disciples of Jesus spoke of the Temple,
beautiful stones and ex-votos that decorated it,
Jesus said to them:
“What you behold,
days will come
where not one stone will remain:
everything will be destroyed. »
They asked him:
“Master, when will this happen?
And what will be the sign that it is about to happen? »
Jesus replied:
“Take care not to be led astray,
for many will come under my name,
and will say: ‘It’s me’,
or again: ‘The time is very near.’
Don’t walk behind them!
When you hear of wars and disorders,
don’t be terrified:
it has to happen first,
but it will not be the end immediately. »
Then Jesus added:
“Nation will rise against nation,
kingdom against kingdom.
There will be great earthquakes
and, in various places, famines and epidemics;
frightening phenomena will occur,
and great signs from heaven.

But before all that,
they will lay hands on you and persecute you;
you will be handed over to synagogues and prisons,
you will be brought before kings and governors,
because of my name.
It will cause you to bear witness.
So put yourself in the spirit
that you don’t have to worry about your defense.
It is I who will give you a language and a wisdom
which all your opponents will not be able to
neither resist nor oppose.
You will be delivered even by your parents,
your brothers, family and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all, because of my name.
But not a hair of your head will be lost.
It is by your perseverance that you will keep your life. »

Source: AELF

Meditation Father Emmanuel Pic

In the memory of recent years, this date of November 13 will remain that of the terrible attacks in Paris, in which so many of our compatriots were killed and which scarred many others for life.

However, this drama is very little compared to what other nations are going through: wars, epidemics, natural disasters remain the daily lot of hundreds of millions of people on earth. Didn’t we ourselves relive a few months ago what we thought had disappeared, the sneaky threat of an illness that forced us to protect ourselves sometimes beyond reason? Isn’t the implacable mechanism of war starting up again on our continent that we thought was safe? Are not the persecutions against Christians constantly increasing? Isn’t climate change now inevitable?

In view of all this, there is cause for concern. The temptation is great, for all those who exercise responsibilities in our world, to play on this fear.

In this context, the words of Jesus that we have just heard take on their full relevance: “Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and in various places pestilences and famines…” Isn’t this precisely what is happening?

Jesus does not content himself with announcing the catastrophes to come. “It has to happen first, but it won’t be the end right away. »

Yes, there will still be other wars, other catastrophes, other epidemics in our world. Yes, the followers of Christ will continue to be persecuted. Yes, men and women will rise up and present themselves as the only ones capable of solving the difficulties of time. All of this, says Jesus, are indeed “signs of the end of time”, that is to say, signs which remind us that our world is only provisional and that the foundations on which it rests are not so solid. But they are not the end of time. They are calls to strengthen in us love, faith and hope, the only ones capable of overcoming the fear that all this gives rise to. For this, we only need one thing: perseverance, that is to say the strength to withstand trials and to continue to keep the bond that unites us to Christ.