Mark 13:5-8

Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the one!’ They will deceive many people. When you hear of wars and reports of wars, don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be earthquakes and famines in all sorts of places. These things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end.

Mark 13:5-8, Common English Bible (c) 2011

This passage makes me think of Grandma Mary.  There was a time when every earthquake and every rumor of famine raised her expectation that Jesus was coming back very, very soon and she could hardly wait.  Curiously, now that she’s 94, she’s hoping to live to be 100.  It seems earthquakes and famines are less about Jesus coming back and more about having another reason to pray.

What if, in the middle of the upheaval, chaos, or uncertainty in our own lives we begin to watch for something new, maybe even something better?  After all, an end has a way of clearing the way for the new.

-Teressa Clark, 2019

Lenten Reflections 2019:  Following Jesus from the Mount of Olives to the Tomb ~ Day 16