As we grow close to the end of the Church’s liturgical year, the Gospel points us towards a future time. The words we hear today from St. Luke are situated just before the beginning of his account of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. They recall for us Jesus’ teaching about two significant events. The first of these is that the Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. This was a catastrophic prediction for the Jewish people. The Temple was so central to the faith of the people of Israel that for it to be ruined was spiritually equivalent to the end of the world. Jesus’ words did in fact come true. In A.D. 70, about 37 years after the resurrection, the Romans entered Jerusalem and razed the Temple to the ground. The destructin of the Temple came to be interpreted as a sign that one day all things as we know them will come to an end. The second area that Jesus speaks about is the forthcoming persecution of those who are faithful to Him. Jesus warns that Christians will face discrimination and injustice on account of His name.
Clearly the Gospel calls us to speak out and stand up against what is wrong and in favor of what is right.