This world--my world--is passing away.

A glen in Mt. Hope Cemetery

"...know that the Kingdom of God is near.Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass awayuntil all these things have taken place.Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  Luke 21:31-33

This quotation of Jesus comes as he is describing the signs of the end times with a key section on the destruction of Jerusalem.  That destruction by the Romans took place in 70 AD as the Roman siege of Jerusalem was completed with the destruction of the Temple which held a central place in the Jewish religion.  That was tantamount to the destruction of the world as the Jews knew and had known it.

So when Jesus says that this generation will see these end times, the easy explanation is to take it as referring to the destruction of the Temple, which indeed take place within the lifetime of the generation to which Jesus was speaking.  But what of us?  What does this passage mean to us, to me?

The consistent message of Jesus was that the Reign of the Divine One was near.  In fact, it was already here since it is within us.  The world will pass away and is constantly passing away.  Jesus cautioned against trying to predict the exact moment of the end times by reading the signs and symbols of the age.  He did this because it doesn't make any difference.  If the Reign of the Divine One is already here, so too must be the end times.  Where should my heart and soul be focused?  On the world that is passing away or the Reign of the Divine One that is within me and every other person and thing?

The answer is obvious.