A reflection on Luke 21:29-33
Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2023 Gloria M. Chang
Jesus gives us the figgy sign of eternity, lifting our gaze from the turning seasons to the timeless kingdom already breaking in.
Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Luke 21:29-33
Nature’s Clock
In the absence of clocks and watches, ancient peoples marked the passage of time by observing the natural world. As trees flower and fruit, the orchards herald the changing of the seasons. Earlier, Jesus had alluded to “signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars… the roaring of the sea and the waves” (Luke 21:25). As time recedes, the kingdom of God ever approaches, always on the horizon to welcome the watchful and vigilant servant “because your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21:28).
God’s Eternal Now
Yet since no one knows the day of the Second Coming of Christ except the Father, speculation is useless (Mark 13:32). Disciples must redeem the time by living in the constant awareness of eternity, which is perpetually present. The cone of time and history spirals to a still point in God’s eternal NOW, within us. At the still point, the divine dance whirls in dynamic rest—the eternal Sabbath.
At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets 1
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
When the fig tree buds, summer is near.
The kingdom, too, in your heart is here.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《永恆的無花果神蹟》
當無花果樹發芽時，夏天就近了。
你們心中的神國，同樣，就在這裡。
In the ancient maple grove here,
Surrounded by yellow leaves,
Our home sits among the trees,
Tall centenarians grace our earthly sphere.
Look around, look up, receive the lessons,
God’s first Bible is nature’s instructions.