UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them.
"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately."Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
The gospel passage for this Sunday is Luke's version of what has been described as The Little Apocalypse, a nod to the notion of an approaching time of chaos. Jesus begins by predicting the destruction of the magnificent place of worship in Jerusalem which was so recently built that it still had that new temple smell. His disciples are understandable alarmed but Jesus isn't exactly reassuring when he responds with a dark picture of wars and environmental disasters and persecution, as we read above.
This resonates with the urgent, and can we say apocalyptic words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a few days ago at the beginning of the international climate conference, COP27:
The clock is ticking. We are in the fight of our lives. And we are losing. Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.
There is overwhelming scientific evidence that without a drastic change in course humans will destroy the ecological systems which sustain us. Why are we so blind to what we are doing to the Earth, to Creation?
Is what we are doing at these conferences futile, all gloom and doom, or is there hope? Luke doesn't include the words found in Matthew and Mark about the "birth pangs" of a new age, and perhaps there are some signs that humanity is recognizing the urgency of our situation.
Developing nations are not only among the most prophetic voices at COP27, they are demanding that wealthier countries, including Canada, assist them in addressing the effects of climate change. It seems as though they are finally being heard.
Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is heading to the COP27 summit this week, to reassure the world that Amazon rainforest is in safe hands after years of senseless destruction. In his previous term as president he did work to protect the Amazon and the peoples who live there.
President Joe Biden of the United States, the biggest contributor to climate change during the past 200 years gave a twenty minute address during which he laid out America's plans to invest more in climate adaptation efforts in Africa, contribute to cutting methane emissions, support Egypt’s clean energy transition and back initiatives to reduce the carbon pollution of heavy-emitting sectors like shipping. The surprising results of the US mid-terms may mean this agenda will be carried forward
Cardinal Pietro Parolin the Vatican secretary of state spoke eloquently about the growing phenomenon of migrants being displaced” by climate change is something they must act on because currently “they lack access to international protection” recognizing them as deserving special care.
There have been plenty of discussions and rallies which include young people and representatives from faith groups.
As people of the Creator and the down-to-Earth Christ, do we have any other moral choice but to hope and act accordingly, even as the apocalypse looms? Another of the readings for today can be taken as God's blessing and promise in the midst of troubling times. My desire is for the "new heavens and a new earth" in the here and now, with the joy they will bring.
For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isaiah 65: 17-22 NRSVue
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