Back in 1989 an Australian television and radio interviewer, Caroline Jones interviewed a range of well-known Australians. A question she put to everyone was, ‘How do you find meaning and purpose in life?’

Phillip Adams, an Australian media personality responded, ‘The universe is cold and meaningless. There’s no God, there’s nothing there; there’s no meaning. We invent our own meaning and project it on to things as we want to. The fact you believe or don’t believe in God doesn’t matter very much… most of us on most things tend to agree – it’s important to love, it’s important we shouldn’t kill each other, we should be generous and charitable and so on. I think that’s common sense…’

Why is it common sense? Is that the way the world really is? Are people truly loving, kind and generous?  Is this how the world operates?

In The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapters 4 through 6 the Teacher asks, ‘How do people treat one another under the sun – that is, how do people behave towards one another without reference to God?’

Power. Consider the opening lines of chapter 4: Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed – with no one to comfort them! On the side of the oppressors there was power – with no one to comfort them.

Three millennia after these words were written in Ecclesiastes, Lord Acton wrote to Bishop Creighton in 1887, ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’.

Over time news is cyclical as an ideology or party rises to power, only to be succeeded by another because of exploitation and the abuse of power. It may take some time but eventually it does.

Ecclesiastes, chapter 4 continues with further examples of futility in life.

Envy: Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind (verse 4).

But there’s something even more potent: dropping out. In verse 5 we read: Fools fold their hands and consume their own flesh.  Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing after wind. Dropping out of work, out of life, is foolishness. There’s nothing to be gained at all.

Loneliness is another reality. In verses 7 and 8 we read: Again, I saw vanity under the sun: the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

Loneliness is one of the challenges of living in large cities, such as New York. People might live in close proximity to one another in large apartment blocks, and yet often don’t know one another. And, ironically, the advent of smart-phones has subverted personal face-to-face interaction – even over a meal. People increasingly feel isolated and lonely.

Ecclesiastes chapter 5 brings a warning against false religion: Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools; for they do not know how to keep from doing evil. Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few… With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words; but fear God (5:1-7).

Humanly devised religion with its many words and ceremonies, is the religion of fools. How important it is to heed the words of the true and living God who has revealed himself to us. Fear him.

Self-Interest. Chapter 5 continues: If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But all things considered, this is an advantage for a land: a king for a plowed field (5:8-9).

People use their positions to look after themselves, Ecclesiastes observes. We’re not to be surprised when corruption is exposed in places of power and influence – be it administration, management or bureaucracy.

Money and Possessions. We sometimes hear, ‘you only live once, so live richly now’. But the Teacher confounds this by telling us money and possessions won’t satisfy for long: The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity (5:10). In 2001, the year Judith and I moved to New York, the following appeared in The New York Times (in June): The 20-something set is struggling with early success, early failure and early disillusionment (June 24, 2001).

And, the Teacher of Ecclesiastes continues, there is another reason why it is pointless pursuing money: When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? The more we get, the more we want.

And then there’s the anxiety about looking after what we have: Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let them sleep (5:12). Who worries more about theft? Those who have. What benefit is that?

The sheer pointlessness of the love of money is driven home with: As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands. This also is a grievous ill: just as they came, so shall they go; and what gain do they have from toiling for the wind? Besides, all their days they eat in darkness, in much vexation and sickness and resentment (5:15-17).

When one day we slip off this mortal coil we can’t take anything with us. Ecclesiastes awakens us to the reality that life is a conundrum. Life isn’t without its joys, but for how long? What is the long-term gain from toiling for the wind? Is there a truly lasting hope to be found?

Writing in his Letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, verses 3 through 7, Paul the Apostle thanks God for the faith and love that his readers have, because of the hope laid up for them in heaven. They have come to this understanding through learning of God’s good news which Paul speaks of as the word of the truth. It is true historically and experientially.

When we turn to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and in faith, our relationship with God and with God’s people is changed. We are assured of new life in all its fullness forever. Christ alone is our hope and joy.

A prayer. God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the prayers of your people: and so grant us that whatever we ask for in faith we may surely obtain; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

Last Wednesday, we turned to The Book of Ecclesiastes, asking the question, ‘What’s It (Life) All About?’ Today we’re looking at Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 with a further question with this theme. ‘With the passing of the years and the seasons and our experiences of life, how do we make sense of it all?’

In the 1960s The Byrds and Pete Seeger with the song Turn, Turn, Turn brought the world’s attention to the words in this chapter in Ecclesiastes.

The chapter begins by focusing on the bookends of life: A time to be born, a time to die… It moves on to creative and destructive events: A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal. And verse 4 highlights our emotions of sorrow and joy: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Verses 5 and 6 speak of property and possessions, and verse 7 touches on the wisdom of speaking up and remaining silent. Verse 8 speaks of personal and wider relationships – love and hate; peace and war.

We sense the rhythm of the poetry, the movement of time as the years and seasons come and go. We are made aware that there is a time for everything: just as it’s not always summer, so it’s not always a time to speak.

But being aware that there is a right time for everything, we feel the challenge: what do we reckon is the meaning and purpose of life? At the end of an enjoyable summer do we begin to see that it’s time for autumn with its colors and even winter with its cold and snow? The seasons are not just random. How then are we to make sense of it all?

Threading through the Book of Ecclesiastes is the question: what are you looking for in life? What are you working for? What do people gain, or profit from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?

In chapter 3 the Teacher is asking: Does the movement of time and the variety of experiences mean that life is beautiful or meaningless? Is life meaningful or a burden? He tells us it’s both! Verse 9 repeats the theme: What gain have the workers from their toil? And verses 10 into 11 press the point: I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time.

There’s a beauty about everything in its time – the passing of the seasons, our childhood and teenage years. There’s also a beauty about study and developing our skills; there’s a beauty about being single and a beauty about marriage; there’s a beauty about Thursday afternoon because we know Friday’s coming and a lazy Saturday morning and coffee.

But there is another, deeper layer to our experience of time: Moreover, God has put a sense of eternity into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. God has given us an inner awareness that there is more to life. Philosophers have acknowledged this. Goethe in Faust said: “Everlasting! the end would be despair. No – no end! No end!” And Friedrich Nietzsche who said that God is dead, wrote, “All joy wills eternity – wills deep, deep eternity.”

We all sense there is more to life. It’s another facet of the tantalizing questions: What is life really all about? and, What does the future beyond space and time hold out for us?

So, what is Ecclesiastes’ answer? If you can enjoy life, enjoy it. This is a gift from God. But notice God has a purpose in things. Verse 14 says: I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him…

It is here that we find a chilling note: much in life doesn’t seem just: Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well (3:16).

In the places where power and authority should be used for right purposes there is corruption, wickedness and injustice. In some countries corruption is endemic. But one noticeable feature of countries that have been influenced by the Judaeo-Christian ethic, is the built-in checks and balances, systems of regulation and accountability.

Even so, corruption still exists. The Australian group, Midnight Oil, bluntly sang: The fat cats still push the thin cats around. That’s the way the world is.

So, is God doing anything? I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work (3:17). There is injustice now, but one day there will be a day of reckoning.

If the teacher is right about this, if he’s right about what he says about time, the seasons of life, the times of injustice now and the time of justice to come, what is the state of our own relationship with God?

When Jesus of Nazareth was put to death by crucifixion, two criminals were crucified with him. One cursed Jesus. The other turned to him and said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus responded, ‘Today, you will be with me in paradise.’

There are two ways we can stand before God: either without Jesus, or with him at our side as our defense attorney. The practical wisdom of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 is simple. We cannot afford the luxury of simply enjoying all that we can in this present time without regard to a future time. The Teacher speaks of a time of justice to come. The day will come when we find time gone.

A prayer. Lord Christ, eternal Word and Light of the Father’s glory: send your light and your truth so that we may both know and proclaim your word of life, to the glory of God the Father; for you now live and reign, God for all eternity. Amen.

You may want to listen to the Getty Music song, Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.

© John G. Mason

As we begin another year, it’s a good opportunity to ask ourselves, and to ask others, what we really think life is all about. Questions about the meaning of life and the future are surely felt by everyone who reflects on life. Over the next two or three Wednesdays I plan to explore these questions through the lens of the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Consider how the book begins: Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? (1:2,3)

The Book of Ecclesiastes is a strange book and it’s rather surprising to find it in the cluster of wisdom books in the Bible. It doesn’t seem to fit easily into the Bible’s storyline.

And, while Ecclesiastes is quite depressing, it raises questions for us all. It’s a little like a water-blaster cleaning machine as it cuts through the nonsense filling our lives, challenging us to ask what gives our lives meaning and purpose. ‘What’s it all about?’ it asks.

The writer, self-styled the Teacher, could have been David’s son, King Solomon who lived around 1,000BC, or someone who wrote up Solomon’s wisdom. Furthermore, embedded in the word Ecclesiastes is the Greek word for assembly: ecclesia. Ecclesiastes is what the Teacher says to the assembly.

How then does the Teacher view life? What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?he asks (1:3). Gain is a commercial term, questioning the value or the bottom line of life. We work, we throw ourselves into life, we struggle, but what’s it all worth? What’s the point of it all?

The phrase under the sun (1:3), a recurring theme throughout the book, is a metaphor asking how we view life, as it were, from the outside. What sense can we make of life without reference to God?

The answer is depressing: Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity (1:2). The word vanity indicates that it’s all in vain, pointless. The word can also mean a puff of wind or a mist. Later on in the Book, the Teacher speaks about life being like chasing the wind.

A generation goes, and a generation comes,he says, but the earth remains for ever. The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes round to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.

Like a scientist he writes up his observations: the sun rises, sets, and rises again. The wind blows from one direction, then another, and yet another. The streams run into the sea, but the sea never fills up. In our terminology, he observes the evaporation of water and precipitation: the rain falling on the hills, forming streams that run into the sea, then evaporation, precipitation, and so on.

The endless rising and setting of the sun, the blowing of the wind from every point of the compass, the endless movement of water, go on, and on, and on, and on.

It’s a theme with which he begins verse 4: Generations come, and generations go… But, unlike everything around us, we’re here one moment, gone the next! What’s the point of it all? So much of our life is spent working to achieve wealth, power, prestige – and what’s the point? We’re here one moment gone the next.

What’s more, we’re wearied in the brief time we’re here: All things are wearisome; more than one can express (1:8).Furthermore, he says: The eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing(1:8). One of Elton John’s songs in The Lion King captures the mood: From the moment we arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there’s more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done. Why do we need new songs? Imagine if record companies said, ‘Instead of releasing new songs we’ll only be making available the best songs from the past’.

But ironically, nothing new ever happens: … There is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”?(1:9) Nothing ever changes. Not even the news. Even acts of terrorism aren’t new. It’s only the names and faces!

And there’s something even more depressing – the time will come when you and I will be forgotten. Consider 1:11: The people of long ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them.

So, does the Teacher have any solutions? An important test he applies is: ‘Is there anything that’s going to last?’ Ultimate meaninglessness is our issue. What will be left when the waves wipe out the sandcastles of our lives? What will be left when the winds blow on the idols we have erected in our heart? He isn’t saying life is all negative; just don’t stop and think about it.

As we begin a new year, it’s worth taking the time to stop and reflect – even read Ecclesiastes. Yes, there is hope for the future, whatever may happen in the coming year. Ecclesiastes 2:26a provides a clue: For to the one who pleases Him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy;…

Ecclesiastes challenges us to look for answers about the meaning of life. Significantly its answers take us into the larger biblical narrative, where we learn that God supremely holds out the answer to our questions in His Son, Jesus, whom he has appointed as the Lord over all.

In John 20:31 we read: These things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and, that through believing you may have life in his name.

A prayer. Blessed Lord, you have caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning, grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, encouraged and supported by your holy Word, we may embrace and always hold fast the joyful hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

© John G. Mason

With recent research revealing that some 40 million Americans have left church over the last 25 years, questions are being asked about what ministers should be doing. Years ago an article appeared identifying expectations that people have: a minister should be a first-class preacher, pastor, evangelist, administrator, leader, fund-raiser, and diplomat!

Contrast what the Apostle Paul says about his ministry in his Letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, verse 25: he was called by God to make the word of God fully known. God’s plan to reveal himself was not through miracles or social justice, but through words – spoken and written. Paul saw that it was his task to communicate that message, faithfully and fully.

It’s important we consider this, for it sharpens our understanding of the true focus of ministry. God uses the ministry of his Word to sow the seed of eternal life in our hearts and to facilitate its growth. The key to effective ministry that grows vital churches is through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word that touches hearts and minds.

Good preaching draws people into the presence of the Lord and enables them to sense that God, not the preacher, is speaking to them. How important it also is that when God’s people read the Bible at home they can see how and from where preachers drew their ideas and their application. Bible texts are not to be used as ‘coat-hangers’ for themes a preacher wants to develop. Rather, the Bible text must be opened up and applied in its context, letting God speak to us through his Word.

Interestingly, it is estimated that some fifty percent of ‘evangelicals’ who have stopped attending church, would return if they could find a ‘good church’ – one that brought the Scriptures to life in their lives.

Paul also addresses the content of ministry in verses 25-26. For millennia God had kept the essentials of his plans wrapped in confidentiality. But now, Paul tells us, God has chosen to declare himself. His message is for God’s ancient people, the Jews, as well as the non-Jews.

And the central theme of the message is, Christ in you, the hope of glory. There is an extraordinary simplicity to it. It’s the kind of line advertisers dream about putting together. The heart of Christianity can be summarised in just two phrases: Christ in you, and the hope of glory. On the one hand it is about a present experience, Christ in you; on the other hand, it speaks about a future reality: the hope of glory.

For many people Christianity is little more than a moral code they must struggle to observe, or a creed they must mindlessly recite week by week. For people like this Christianity seems legalistic and dull.

Paul disagrees. He wants us to understand that at the center of Christianity is a relationship with the One who is at the heart of the universe. Christianity is about Christ in you.

Many feel cut off from God, sometimes by feelings of failure or unworthiness, or ignorance or of unbelief. The simple message of Christianity is that people who are looking for God don’t have to despair. Something has happened which has made it possible for us all to be brought to a personal experience of the supernatural in our lives: Christ in you.

None of us have to wallow in moral despair that we aren’t good enough for God. We don’t have to languish in ignorance or unbelief because the idea of God seems so utterly remote.

Christianity is about the reality of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The tragedy is that many expect too little from Christianity. If we don’t know anything about a vital, personal relationship with Jesus, we are Christian in name only. To know Christ in our lives is a heart experience. We should not be satisfied with anything less.

Furthermore, coupled with this present experience of the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ, there is something else: the hope of glory.

We have a future – far more glorious than we ever dreamed. Glory is waiting for us, Paul says. The good things we taste of Christ living in us now are a glimpse of what it will be when we live openly in the presence of God. The best is yet to be.

How important it is that we, and especially ministers, think this through. There will be times when we’ll feel disappointed with the way life treats us. Indeed, there are times when we can be disillusioned with our faith in Christ because of life’s challenges. We may have thought that becoming a Christian would solve all our problems – be it passing exams, getting a job, finding the right marriage partner or enjoying a successful career.

But becoming a Christian doesn’t mean this. Our bodies are still subject to sickness, marriages are still subject to conflict, and jobs are still subject to redundancy. What the Word of God offers us in terms of life here and now, is not transformed outward circumstances, but transformed inner spiritual resources: Christ in you.

But we also need to understand that there is a future world that we perceive by faith, not by sight: the hope of glory. This isn’t some vague, wistful, ‘maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t’, kind of hope. It is a sure, confident, certain hope because God’s very nature means that he always keeps a promise.

It is only through the faithful ministry of God’s Word that these wonderful, all-glorious truths are opened up for us. How essential it is that ministers make God’s Word fully known.

A prayer. Eternal Father, who declared Jesus our Lord to be your beloved Son at his baptism, grant that we and all who have become his people through faith in his name, signified in baptism, may rejoice to be your children and the servants of all people. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

© John G. Mason

How often when we pray, do we focus on what we want? Yes, when catastrophic events occur, such as the conflict in the Middle-East, we pray for God’s mercy. But, in the main when we pray, don’t we expect God to answer our personal requests so that we can enjoy life to the full?

The quest for life in all its fullness is not new. Back in the 1960s the answer was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Yet the aspirations of the themes of ‘Love, sweet love,’ and ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’ and Woodstock, revealed their dark side in the nightmare of Charles Manson and his set. The hopes and dreams of the 1960s proved to be false.

Two millennia ago, in the first century Roman world, people often looked for solutions in spiritual experiences. And, as happens today, some of these ideas began to spill over into the life of the early churches – the church in Colossae, for example. While there doesn’t seem to have been a specific false teaching there, Paul the Apostle saw the need in his letter to challenge a false understanding of fullness that went beyond the truth of God’s gospel that the Colossians had embraced (1:6).

Indeed, from comments Paul makes in chapter 2, verse 18, we learn the Colossians wanted a knowledge and an experience of God that seems to have been influenced by a Jewish mysticism, merkabah mysticism, that claimed to carry, as if in a chariot, anyone who scrupulously observed the law into the very presence of God.

To provide some context, in the first part of chapter 1 of his letter, Paul had thanked God for the faith, love, and hope of the believers in Colossae. These people had responded to the breaking news about God which Paul speaks of as the word of the truth.

He continues with a prayer of petition: For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you… And it’s important we note for what he prays: Asking God that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding… (1:9).

He prays for two aspects of growth. In verse 9 he prays for growth in their knowing God, their relationship with God – hence, knowledge, wisdom, understanding. In verse 10 he prays for growth in their lifestyle – and so, living a life …;   pleasing …;    bearing fruit …

There is an instructive link between knowing God and lifestyle. Paul prays for growth in the depth of understanding of God and his ways so that God’s people may grow in a life of Godly integrity. This is essential if we want to see spiritual vitality.

For example, Psalm 143:10 puts it this way: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

Significantly, the psalm doesn’t say, Lord, teach me your will… But rather, teach me to do your will… The psalm-writer knows God’s will but needs to be taught to live it. This is why Paul asks that the Colossians may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…

Spiritual wisdom picks up an Old Testament theme: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is not an abject fear of God, but rather the humble recognition of God’s might, majesty, dominion and power.

Fullness. Paul’s prayer points to the way we can begin to experience life to the full. It involves a  spiritual understanding which comes, not through ecstatic spiritual experiences or repetitious mantra, but through an understanding of the will of God learned through regular and thoughtful Bible reading. As with every relationship, getting to know God in the experiences of life, takes time.

All this is not simply an abstract exercise: as we come to know God and his mind, so our perspective on life and our lives are changed. We increasingly bear the fruit of living life to the full. Indeed, a clearer understanding of God and a richer relationship with him equips us to live lives more worthy of him. And this includes discerning ways we can be more responsible in our relationships with people with whom we live, as well as our responsible care of God’s creation.

A Prayer. O God, who by the leading of a star revealed your beloved Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may after this life enjoy the splendor of your glorious presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

With the many and varied changes around us –conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle-East and Africa, China’s aggressive acts, significant political and social divisions in the West, climate-change, gender issues, and the western disdain of Christianity – we might wonder about the future.

In the course of his ministry Jesus spoke of events that would unfold (Luke 12:35-48; 17:20-37). In Luke 21 he spoke more specifically about two events – the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and an end of time. It’s not surprising that the disciples asked: “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7).

Convulsions (21:8-11). Jesus begins his response with a specific warning against false prophets who will come in his name. Over the centuries many have predicted the end-time. In the late 20th century for example, Harold Camping predicted the world would end around 1994, and when that passed, he identified another date, May 21, 2011, and then another, October 21, 2011.

We can easily become complacent about Jesus’ warning. We forget his central teaching that there is to be an end of all things as we know them. There will be wars and tumults, he says. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven” (21:10f).

In contrast to the optimism of people who say that the world will only get better through human effort, Jesus knows us and tells us that conflicts will not cease. He also says that volcanoes and earthquakes, floods and droughts should not take us by surprise.

Nations will rise and fall, empires will come and go, and catastrophic seismic events will continue. Yes, we need to care for the environment as best we can, but most of all we should treat the events around us as reminders of the uncertainty and fragility of life and our world.

Some thirty-five years after Jesus predicted the destruction of the Jewish Temple, the Roman armies under Titus laid siege to Jerusalem from 67-70AD. It was one of the most devastating acts of war in history. The people of Jerusalem were mercilessly put to the sword.

In the course of his words about Jerusalem and its Temple, Jesus warns that these events would not be the conclusion of God’s plan. One more stage remains. The return of God’s king.

There are times when great and unexpected events occur, events that impact the course of history – for example, the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the destruction of the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001, and the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, October 7, 2023. The first brought joy, the second and the third, fear and anger.

In Luke 21:25-28 Jesus speaks of the coming of the ‘Son of Man’ in a style of language known as ‘apocalyptic’. “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars,” he says, “and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves” (21:25).

The phrase, ‘the Son of Man’, is a reference to Daniel 7:13f where we read: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came from the Ancient of Days and he was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, …”

The coming of the Son of Man will be accompanied by such strange and forbidding events that people will faint with fear and foreboding… (21:26). It is the scene of the end of time, when ‘the Son of Man’ will be seen for who he truly is.

It is easy to overlook Jesus’ prophecy. During his ministry he spoke of his arrest, death and resurrection. He also spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. Now he speaks of the return of God’s king. His first two predictions came true. We should not dismiss the fulfilment of his third prophecy as fiction. On that day everyone “will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).

It’s important we heed Jesus’ words: “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

As we enter a new calendar year, let’s not be fearful about the future but, knowing God is in charge, stay alert and, putting our hand in his hand, pray for the day of the return of the great King.

May you know God’s comfort and joy in the New Year!

A Prayer. Lord our God, you have given us the life of Jesus in his home as an example: grant that all Christian families may be so bound together in love and service that we may rejoice together in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

Note: Today’s ‘Word’ is adapted from my book, Luke: An Unexpected God, Second Edition, Aquila: 2019.