November 16, 2025 "Good News???"

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

Malachi 4:1-2a

Psalm 98

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Luke 21:5-19

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

grace and peace to you

from the one who is making all things new. Amen

What do we do when the good news doesn’t sound so good? 

This is the predicament

the disciples find themselves in this morning.

 Jesus has been proclaiming the good news

 that the kingdom of God has come near,

that even now it is coming

 and that in the kingdom of God

 the lowly will be lifted,

 those who weep will be blessed,

lost sheep, and coins, and sons will be sought after

 and there will be rejoicing when they are found,

 and this sounds pretty good.

 But turning the world upside down

is well,

going to turn things upside down,

 which means even things that seem good,

like the temple

 are going to fall,

and the mighty are going to resist being cast down from their thrones,

 and the laughing will wish to keep laughing,

and those who benefit from disposable sheep, and coins, and sons

will try to prevent the lost from being found

and it’s going to be a whole lot of conflict before God’s fulfillment.

Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for this reality this morning,

 they are mere days away from the last supper and the crucifixion,

 Jesus knows what is going to happen

and surely the disciples must be aware

 of the tension in the air around their master,

 and yet despite everything

that Jesus has told them about the coming kingdom

they stop to admire the temple,

 perhaps they are still hoping that Jesus as messiah

 will throw off the Romans

and throw out the corrupt leadership

and take his rightful place in the temple.

 To which Jesus tells them

 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

 “when?” they ask,

 “and how do we know it’s coming?”

and Jesus tells them not to look for signs,

 or to be distracted by false prophets,

don’t read into the wars, and earthquakes,

 the day of the Lord is still coming,

 and by the way

you will be persecuted in my name,

 betrayed by family,

 even put to death,

all this will happen before the fullness of the day of the Lord

 and now this really doesn’t sound like good news.

But in the midst of all this turmoil

Jesus offers two promises:

that he will give the disciples words and wisdom

 their opponents will not be able to stand when they testify,

and that even through all of this, including death

Jesus promises that

 “not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

 and while I’m sure in the moment

 it was easy to gloss over these promises

while focusing on the chaos of Jesus’ description of things to come,

as the horrors of Jesus’ arrest, and crucifixion unfolded

 these promises came back to the disciples

 and they hung on to them as good news,

Jesus knew what was going to happen

 and still he made these promises,

 these words helped then endure.

 And a couple of generations later,

when Luke is writing his gospel account,

in the midst of a community who has experienced the destruction of the temple,

and the wars and insurrections that led up to that,

 they will hear Jesus’ words

and be comforted that the turmoil they are experiencing

is not a sign that there is no hope-

that Jesus’ mission failed,

but rather the process is underway

 just as Jesus said it would be

and Jesus has promised to be with them

 and preserve them,

 and in the hope of these words they endure.

And many many generations later

 we come to these words

and maybe they don’t sound all that good to start off with,

but then we look around

 and we see all the people claiming to come in Jesus’ name,

 who have even amassed followers,

 despite the fact that their message is antithetical to Jesus’ whole life and ministry,

and we are daily faced with news of war and disaster,

and even greater and greater skepticism at Jesus’ message,

 and we hear these promises

and perhaps some of the tension leaves our shoulders

because Jesus knew just how crazy things were going to get

even on the other side of the tomb,

Jesus knew that even as we trust that because of him death is followed by life,

we’d still need reassurance in the midst of life,

we would need to know that he is with us,

 preserving us down to the last hair follicle,

 and that what we can do

 is to testify to the truth

the good news of God’s topsy turvy world,

and Christ will be with us in those moments,

reminding us that endurance is more than enough

and then this starts to sound more like good news.

What are we to do when the good news doesn’t sound so good?

 Pause, take a step back,

 look at the world God loved so much

that God gave his only son for,

pause and notice the ways we have grown weary in doing what is right,

 and then return to the promises of God,

the promise that God is at work in the world,

the promise God is with us,

and that God will not let us perish

 even when all seems lost.

And Jesus knew that there would be times

 when we would need something tangible to go with the promises,

 something we can touch and smell and taste,

 something as real as the promises of God,

 and so Jesus gifted us with water, bread and wine.

 A splash of water reminding us that we are children of God

 and nothing, not even death can change that,

a morsel of bread and a sip of wine,

 Jesus’ body and blood given and shed for us,

 forgiving and renewing us,

 strengthening our endurance for the days to come,

 and as we feel the droplets on our forehead

 and taste and see,

suddenly the good news

seems very good indeed. Amen