GOSPEL READING
THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
The Coming of the Son of Man: Lk 21,25-36
Your Redemption is near: 20,25-28
We have seen that 21,25 picks up the theme of great signs introduced at the end of 21,11. Now the language becomes more visionary as Jesus looks to the future.
As before, examine how Luke has re-written Mk 13,24-27.
21,25-26 uses stock language of cosmic signs for future events, picking up from verse 10. Some background passages would be: Is 17,12. 34,4 Joel 2,10; Haggai 2,6.21.
Verse 27 quotes Daniel 7,13-14 as Christians frequently did.
Verse 28 with its confident message is in marked contrast to verse 26. See 13,11.
The Fig Tree - Be on your guard: 21,29-36
Note how Luke broadens Mk 13,28. What is the message of the parable, 21,29-31?
How are we to understand verse 32? See 7,31
These verses are an exhortation to watchfulness, also found elsewhere in the Gospel and in St Paul: 12,37; 1 Thess 5,7; Rm 13,13.
But note the contrast between 21,36 and Mk 13,34-37.
Conclusion: 21,37-38
Look back at 19,47-48 and recall our conclusion that these two passages form a bracket around this speech of Jesus. What is new in these verses and what is its signficance (19,29; 22,39)?
Go now to my response.
Reflections on the Discourse
What has been evident in this reading is the way that Luke has edited and re-written the discourse in Mark chapter 13.
His editing has certainly made the discourse easier to follow than Mark's version.
He has also made the whole first part more about contemporary issues for his community (and for communities of all ages). Only in the second part does the future, the end-time, become the focus. In Mark, the entire discourse is really about the future, what happens after Jesus has gone, and the end-time. Luke's different focus may well arise because he has a second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.
The Sunday Gospel
For the first Sunday of Advent in year C, the Gospel is Lk 21,25-28.34-36. The Gospel for this Sunday always looks to the second coming of Christ.
It's not clear why the lesson of the fig tree is omitted.
The next stage of our reading takes us to the climax of the Gospel in chapters 22-24, the story of the Passion and Resurrection.