A great deal of what hits our headlines and fills our daily media newsfeeds is deeply depressing.  Sadly, most of it is also true.  When we see only the bad things it can become numbing, overwhelming; the fear of this tide of terrible happenings and the worry about the future creates yet more anxiety.  We have a sense of a tsunami of doom sweeping towards us.

Jesus spoke to his disciples of coming terrors, as they sat on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem and the temple.  His words about the coming destruction of this magnificent building, the focal point for worship of God, and the horrors of what was to come are vivid in Jesus’ teaching here (Mark Ch 13) and in his preparation of the disciples for his death and the persecution of his followers.  

All the terrible warnings Jesus listed were true of the first century AD.  But they were true 500, 1000, 1500 years later.  They are still very much true today.  They are the sad reality of human worldly context and life.  They show the flawed nature and the impermanence of what we may build for ourselves, the structures and systems we set up, however magnificent or well-intentioned. 

I wonder, have you come across the news app, Good News Europe?  Its strap-line is ‘the daily dose of optimism’, and its vision is to shift our mindset away from gloom and a learned attitude of negativity. The website says, ‘It’s not about painting things pink or ignoring reality. It’s about opening our eyes to the incredible things already being done.’

Knowingly or unknowingly, Good News Europe has landed on Jesus’ message to his disciples (on the Mount of Olives 2000 years ago and all around the world today).  Jesus said, do not be misled and do not be afraid. The fragility of the world and the chaos around us are real but this is not the true story.  The real news is that this is the difficult beginning of something new and the place in which the birth of hope arrives.  This was true for the disciples then and for those who seek Jesus today, the context and the start of our journey to become Christ-like people.  We have to defend ourselves against being paralysed by the bad news. We have to keep our eyes open for the glimpses of God that are here all around us, the evidence of his incredible presence in the world now, as we look with hope to the future.

The question is not, When is Jesus coming back? but What are we doing to keep focused on him, alert and expecting? and, How are we communicating God’s good news in the world?  And we can take courage because, whatever the dangers and the dark times, we are not alone; the Holy Spirit helps us to make the right choices and to persevere to the end.  And at that end we will find Christ already here, waiting for us.

I pray, may Christ’s rod and staff comfort each of us on the journey, and may we be encouraged by the glimpses of his light around us.

Lucy G

Image – Holman Hunt, The Light of the world. (Painting in Keble College, Oxford)