Perseverance to the End
Gospel Reflection for November 27, 2024
Today we hear from St. Luke’s account of the Olivet Discourse. All three Synoptics record this discourse in the chapters which contain the events of Holy Week.1 The Gospel writers give the context that this is the final sermon of Our Lord’s life and so it can be seen both as a final warning to the people and also a final exhortation to His followers for Hope.
Today’s selection is specifically ordered to this Hope. In the face of persecution and hatred, Our Lord exhorts us to Hope in Him.
“Jesus said to the crowd: ‘They will seize and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.’” Luke 21:12-19.
It is fitting that this is offered to his followers mere days before His own passion. As He is preparing for His persecution at the hands of the Jews and Romans, He reminds His followers that forsaking this life will yield a far greater reward in the next life.
This is yet another moment where Our Lord reminds us that to follow Him requires that we take up our cross and go after Him. But even in the midst of suffering; being brought before the government, being betrayed by family, and even being put to death, we are to remember that God allows these things for our good. Any evil that befalls us is God willing our greater Good. Just as the cross is given to Christ for man’s redemption, so too, are the sufferings of our lives willed for our Good, ultimately the final Good of salvation.
This is the meaning of the final line of Our Lord’s words:
“By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.” Luke 21:19
Our Lord exhorts us to perseverance. This is the same perseverance that the Apostles and Martyrs of the last 2,000 years have shown to the point of death. But it is to this perseverance that the greatest promise is attached:
“You will secure your lives.”
These precious words make all the preceding verses about suffering, betrayal, persecution, and death worth it. In light of this Gospel message today, let us pray for the grace of perseverance to the end. This is a grace that is not guaranteed to all. It is a grace that must be asked for from God so that we might come to the fulfillment of the promise and secure our lives.
Cf. Matthew 24-25 and Mark 13.
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