NOTES for Luk 21:33

Strange, isn't it? We get used that heaven and earth, the entire world, the entire universe is something real, something we can see and show to others, which is obviously existing. And that words are ephemeral, once pronounced they are no more, they are taken off - flew away. "Words, words, words… "

But Jesus as usual “overturns” everything. A word isn't ephemeral when it comes from God (or from God-man); it {word} is more real than any material reality, because this world was brought to existence preeminently by word. The world was created, and so, it isn't eternal, it has a beginning and an end. But God's word isn't created, but is rather generated by the Eternal God; it has an eternal nature, it doesn't pass away and never remains fruitless. 

Consequently, it is necessary for us to seek God's word, listen attentively to it, accept it, to be fed by it, assimilating to Jesus - the personified word, so that we, belonging to the created world, do not pass away just the same as this world, but be part of the eternal life.

We are used to thinking that heaven and earth, this whole world, the whole universe, are something real, something one can see and show to others, something that obviously exists. But words are ephemeral: they sounded and are gone, flew out and flew away. "Words, words, words..."

But Jesus, as always, turns everything upside down. The word, when it proceeds from God or from the God-man, is not ephemeral. It is more real than any material reality, because it was precisely by the word that this world was brought into being. The world was created and therefore is not eternal; it has a beginning and an end. But God's word is not created, but begotten by the eternal God. It has an eternal nature, does not disappear, and does not remain fruitless.

So for us, who belong to the created world, still not to pass away together with it but to enter eternal life, we need to seek God's word, listen to it, accept it, and be permeated by it, becoming like Christ, the Word Incarnate.

Jesus says, “My words will not pass away,” in the context of prophetic descriptions of Jerusalem’s destruction and the trials that Christians of the last times will apparently have to endure. Everything Christ speaks of will certainly come to pass, and by seeing these prophecies fulfilled it will be possible to judge how near His coming is. For clarity, the Lord even gives the parable of the fig tree, whose leaves announce the approach of spring.

But in the context of our own lives, this phrase can be understood much more broadly. At times it seems to us that God does not fulfill His promises, that He is deaf and blind. In such moments of crisis, these words can instill confidence that the Lord says and does nothing in vain, that not one word that has gone out from His mouth and not one covenant He has made with us will pass away.

What does Jesus mean when He asks us to keep watch? He is hardly asking us not to sleep. Yet often in our lives it happens that we are, as it were, asleep while awake. We may act energetically, work a great deal, and even have fun, but we notice little of the events taking place around us or the people living beside us. Keeping watch probably means being attentive to the world and to the people created by God. By watching and praying, we learn to receive this whole world and everything that happens to us, even what does not seem joyful to us, as a gift from God, and to recognize Christ in every person we meet.

Small children live this way; for them, important and unimportant events do not seem to exist. Every event is important and significant and brings many emotions and experiences. Of course, the ability to distinguish what is essential from what is secondary is important, including for a Christian, but we must try not to lose the ability to see what is secondary, because it is sometimes precisely through it that the Lord addresses us.

It is hard to grasp the full meaning of what Christ says. We are used to thinking that heaven and earth, this whole world, the whole universe, are something real and solid, something that can be seen, studied, and shown to others. In other words, we are used to thinking that the world exists independently of anything else and unshakably. That is why the name of God, "the One Who Is," becomes such a revelation for us. Words, in our view, are the opposite: ephemeral. They sound, and then they are gone; they fly out, and fly away. "Words, words, words..."

But Jesus turns these familiar ideas of ours upside down. The word, when it proceeds from God or from the God-Man, is not ephemeral. It is more real than any material reality, because it was by the word that this world was brought into being. The world is created, and therefore it is not eternal; it has a beginning and an end. But God's word is not created. It is begotten by the eternal God, has an eternal nature, does not disappear, and does not remain barren.

Therefore, for us who belong to the created world not to pass away with it, but to enter eternal life, we must seek God's word, listen closely to it, receive it, and let ourselves be permeated by it, becoming like Christ, the Word Incarnate.

Against the backdrop of the terrible events of the apocalypse, when "people will faint from fear," amid wars and darkness, Christ's words sound paradoxical and astonishing: "...Then straighten up and raise your heads, because your deliverance is drawing near." This is precisely the dimension that has always been lost in all kinds of final predictions about the end of the world. People expected nothing good from it, and in any case they did not expect from it a meeting with Christ. Yet this is a relevant question, and not by accident these words are addressed to everyone: "this generation will not pass away until all is fulfilled." However the history of the earth as a whole unfolds, each of us has ahead of us our own personal end of the world, when history will continue its course without us. And here the most important thing is to remember that meeting God is joy and deliverance, including deliverance from fear.

In today's passage the Lord tells His disciples that in the future their life may change very sharply. Now everything is familiar to them: there is Jerusalem, there is the Temple, their beloved Teacher is near, and nothing is required of them except to follow Him. But Christ reveals to them that He Himself is going to His death, that the Temple will be destroyed, Jerusalem laid waste, and the disciples will face persecution, hatred, and betrayal.

To one degree or another, these words apply to each of us. The Lord calls us to keep watch, because we do not know when the ground will give way beneath our feet, when a time of testing will come. And here He gives us very important commandments about how to stand, how to survive, and how to win in this battle of good and evil. First, "do not be afraid and do not be terrified" - the Lord will not abandon His disciples. He will give them words for witness and wisdom that the world will not be able to withstand. The disciples are threatened with persecution and death, yet paradoxically "not a hair of your head will perish." Even the sufferings to come will be filled with meaning and will contribute to Christ's victory. Second, "by your endurance save your souls" - in trials they will need steadfastness. Third, "lift up your heads; your redemption is drawing near" - victory will inevitably belong to Christ, and therefore the final trials will be permeated for them with the joy of that victory. And finally, "keep watch; watch yourselves" - so that at the necessary moment they will not be unready and helpless, will not give in to panic, and will meet the coming Lord with a joyful heart.