NOTES for Лк 21:5-11
In today's Gospel reading, the Lord speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem. On the one hand, Christ's predictions were fully realized in AD 70, when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Romans. On the other hand, in every age we see in the world around us the fulfillment of what the Lord describes: nation rises against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there are earthquakes, famines, and other terrifying events. All this prevents us from limiting His prophecy to the events of the year 70. One way or another, the ruin and destruction of which the Lord speaks are an image of the fate of a world that does not accept Christ. In this connection, it is important for us to notice that the Lord gives us the hope of salvation precisely within this terrifying prospect. Knowing everything that is to happen and revealing it to His disciples, He says: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” Christ calls us not to fear, but to put our trust in God in the very midst of the catastrophes we witness.