Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Luke 21: 20-28
November 27, 2025 | Thursday

Today’s Gospel

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that the time has come when it will be reduced to a wasteland. If you are in Judea, flee to the mountains! If you are in Jerusalem, leave! If you are outside the city, don’t enter it!

For these will be the days of its punishment, and all that was announced in the Scriptures will be fulfilled. How hard will it be for pregnant women, and for mothers with babies at the breast! For a great calamity will come upon the land, and wrath upon this people. They will be put to death by the sword, or taken as slaves to other nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled upon by the pagans, until the time of the pagans is fulfilled.

Then there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, perplexed when they hear the roaring of the sea and its waves. People will faint with fear at the mere thought of what is to come upon the world, for the forces of the universe will be shaken. Then, at that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. So, when you see things begin to happen, stand erect and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near.”

Today’s Reflection

Luke wrote that Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem—the city of peace. Luke might have retrojected the events of 70 AD into the mouth of Jesus. Either way, the destruction of Jerusalem was indeed a historical fact. For the Jewish people, who considered themselves the chosen people of God, the destruction intensified their diaspora. Many were killed, enslaved, or forced to flee, leading them to spread further across the Roman Empire and beyond. The destruction had a significant theological impact on the infant church, seen as a fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecies. This gospel passage reflects this context. Jesus’ words to “stand erect and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near”  serve as a hopeful encouragement to the early Christians to fear not and to hope in the Lord. While it is true that the followers of Jesus will experience destruction, they should stand firm until the end, as Paul confidently confessed: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7).

/Vulnerasti, 2025