The Gospel for December 6, 2004 (Nicholas of Myra)
Luke 21:20-28
‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you must realise that it will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of retribution when all that scripture says must be fulfilled. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come! ‘For great misery will descend on the land and retribution on this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every gentile country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the gentiles until their time is complete. ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the turmoil of the ocean and its waves; men fainting away with terror and fear at what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
Of this portion of the gospel attributed to Luke, the Oxford Bible Commentary has this to say:
History, myth, belief, and imagery come together to create a vision the strength of which is not in its details but in the overall impression it conveys as it takes up the whole event of Jesus and views it from the perspective of the finality and ultimacy that it believes it to be. -- Barton, John, and John Muddiman. Oxford Bible Commentary, Lk 21:1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Luke's writers had to recognize that a prophecy forecasting the destruction of Jerusalem would have already been fulfilled, and they may have felt compelled, given what they believed (or had prophesied on Jesus' behalf) about the next coming of Jesus.
They had the Resurrection as proof of His victory over death, and they help us even now to wait for His next victory for us.
A Reflection
Today is the feast day for Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who died in 326, according to the best records. Nicholas was one of those who succeeded the disciples warned by Jesus, "You will be persecuted...." After Constantine took power and not only legalized, but insisted on Christianity as the state religion, Nicholas was freed from prison. Almost everything (maybe everything) we know of him is myth and legend, but he appears frequently enough to have been "historical."
Some of the legend has him at the Council of Nicea in 325, where he is reputed to have slapped Arius, since named a heretic, for believing that Jesus was not an equal member of the Trinity, but somehow a lesser divine being, perhaps "God, Jr." The creed which eventually issued from Nicea is adamant that Arius' beliefs didn't win.
I wonder, though, how people like Arius and Nicholas read this passage from today's lectionary. It has the same relative antiquity as our reading something written in the year 1713, for us. The year 1713 marked the birth of Junipero Serra, who was a Franciscan monk held in esteem for bringing Christianity to northern California. The previous year, the protestant branch of Christianity had been allowed in Switzerland, Frederick the great was born, and Richard Cromwell had died.
For us, that's ummm... History, with a capital "H."
Yet Jesus had been crucified relatively the same number of years before, and Nicholas was willing to go to prison for belief in what the Cross stands for. [Prison in those days makes our worst prisons look like country clubs, by the way.]
What did Nicholas know, or better, how much stronger was his faith, that the reality of Jesus as Risen Lord was so powerful for him and for so many like him? Did he see the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple as God's vengeance on Israel or as Rome's way of "keeping peace" in her empire?
Whatever he read into the sacred texts of the day, Nicholas' heritage survives in his legend and myth as someone who clearly loved God and his neighbors, and who was a holy and righteous man.
Will I be remembered that way as long after my death as Nicholas is?
The Collect
Almighty God, who in your love gave to your servant Nicholas of Myra a perpetual name for deeds of kindness on land and sea: Grant, we pray, that your Church may never cease to work for the happiness of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
12:59:35 PM 
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