Paying Attention

Here we are, almost at the end of this church year and our year in Luke’s Gospel. Endings are themes in this week’s readings from Isaiah 65:17-25 and Luke 21:5-19. They ask what we give our attention to and what distracts us.

The passage from Luke is part of Jesus last words before the events of Good Friday – in Luke’s gospel the end is near. These are part of Jesus’ final words of encouragement to those disciples in the story, to Luke’s community, and to us. And we are all told to not be distracted. Not to be distracted by ostentatious displays of wealth and might – even when they are dedicated to God. Not to be distracted discerning the meaning of ongoing historical events, no matter how traumatic, nor by threats of our own doom. None were signs of the end of time. Jesus in Luke was not too interested in spending time worrying about such things. These are all distractions! Where we look is where we put our energy. Where we look shapes the direction of our lives. Where we look means everything.

So, what was Jesus interested in? – his disciples and followers living out their hope in a faithful God who is doing a new thing and bringing in God’s reign of justice and peace. This reign of God is so beautifully described in Isaiah with this image of a new creation in which all God’s purposes for all creation are fulfilled and the interconnections and relationships are restored.

As we finish on year and look to Advent and a new year we are invited to join these disciples in paying attention to where we put our energy. Is it to all the takes away life, or to the coming reign of God lived out in the story of Jesus told by Luke. Look there and Luke will have done his job, and we will be ready for Advent.