(Source from “The Word Among Us”)

By your perseverance you will secure your lives. (Luke 21:19)

Apocalyptic readings in Scripture can be frightening, but passages like today’s Gospel can also fill us with hope. Today, we read about Jesus teaching in the Temple, surrounded by all its grandeur. For the Jewish people, the Temple was a sacred place. It stood as a reminder that God had chosen Israel as his own. So when Jesus warned, “There will not be left a stone upon another stone,” his message troubled his listeners (Luke 21:6).

But Jesus wasn’t just predicting the destruction of Jerusalem (which actually took place in AD 70). He was also unveiling a spiritual reality. Like the prophet Jeremiah centuries before him, Jesus was warning the people not to place all their confidence on the Temple alone (see Jeremiah 7:1-7). Rather than placing their hope in bricks and mortar, they needed to look to the God who inhabits the Temple.

It wasn’t just the Temple, either. Jesus also foretold earthquakes, famines, wars, and persecutions. Nations would fall; good health, peace, and stability would collapse. Everything the people relied on—everything we rely on—would one day pass away. Only God lasts forever.

So where’s the hope? By exposing the lie that says security comes from money, status, or well-being, Jesus is pointing us to what does last: heaven. Because he loves us, he is warning us not to rely on fleeting things that will only disappoint us. As much as we enjoy the consolations and blessings of life on earth, they can’t possibly compare to heaven!

That’s the hope: Jesus is showing us the greatness of our God and the glory of the life to come. He’s opening our eyes to the only One who lasts: our faithful God. With him, we find everlasting life. That’s why, as we persevere and cling to him, we will “secure [our] lives” (Luke 21:19).

“Lord, my hope is in you!”