On the surface, today’s Gospel reminds me of Chicken Little. Remember the story? An acorn falls on her head, she takes it to be a bit of the heavens that has landed upon her, and begins running hither and thither crying “The skies are falling! The skies are falling!” She decides she must report this to the king, but she’s not sure where to find him. As she runs along, others join her, all hoping to help her find her destination. At last, along comes Fox Lox who assures the fowlish group – Henny Penny, Duck Luck, Loose Goose, Turkey Lurkey – that he knows the way. Fox Lox leads them straight to his den, ushers them in, and that’s the end of the story.
Yes, on the surface this reading seems to be all doom and gloom, the sky is falling. Wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues. It goes on and on from bad to worse to downright terrifying. But keep reading. We are not lost like Chicken Little. The King has found us. And promises that the realities of this earthly world are temporary. Whether the glory of the Temple or the end of ages, through good and bad, God remains. With this assurance, we can remain humble in times of prosperity and brave in times of trouble.
In all times, but especially in those hard times, we can rejoice because these circumstances are an opportunity to testify. What a cloud of witnesses I am blessed to know. My mother facing and fighting cancer at the age of 42. My grandmother saying her goodbyes at the age of 90 certain of her reward. My dad’s steadfast love and support despite his broken heart as my brother wrestled the demons of addiction. So many who have faced financial, emotional, physical, relationship, and mental hardships, earthquakes that shake life to its very foundations, and yet they have carried on, their faith strengthened through the trials, their very being witnessing to the glory of God.
Jesus tells us these things will happen, not to frighten us, but to prepare us. But he doesn’t want us to dwell on them. He says to “make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” Do not prepare your defense; that is, don’t live like you’re under attack already. If you run around with the belief that the sky is falling, every little nut that drops into your day will have you predicting the end of the world. Preparing a defense is about proving yourself right – your perspective gets out of focus. So let us choose what we know for certain. And what we know is that this is the day the Lord has made – we will rejoice and be glad in it. We will live today. We won’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring enough worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
When that day comes – when the worst for us happens, whatever that may be – God will provide. We will have words and wisdom and peace that passes understanding. We will know that God is God in those darkest moments. Malachi tells us that there will be healing and – I love this image – that we will go out leaping like calves from the stall. Can you see it, too? All gangly and uncoordinated and newly-made, dancing into freedom.
So do not fear, little flock. God is in control. Let us not be like Chicken Little and her gang of cluckers who believe Fox Lox and follow him to their doom. Oddly, Fox Lox himself never believed the sky was falling – he played to their fears to feed his greed. But we know where to find the King. He has told us there will be days and times when it seems the sky is falling. But do not despair. Not a hair, not one single hair of our heads, will perish. And by our endurance we will gain our souls.
Or as Eugene Peterson interprets it in The Message: Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry – you’ll be saved.
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