On Sunday, we heard the devil “departed until an opportune time.” Now, it has found such a moment. If this were a melodrama, the crowd would be hissing at the devil and Judas. However, because Jesus has just warned about the end day coming like a trap, this scene ends in foreboding silence. In between those two scenes, Jesus teaches in the temple. Everyone gets up early, so that they can grab a spot. They live, unprepared.
Even after the resurrection, in many ways we continue in such in-between times. Evil is present, within and around us. Voices speak in opposition to the vision of Creator. Life is full of ambiguity, and of rising and falling ideologies and leaders. We are not always prepared.
In the midst of this, we receive instruction to keep our focus on the One who creates us, on the teaching of the One who reveals God, and on the One who gathers us together as a community of faith. God continues to shape us by grace and to reach out with a love for all, calling on us to share it.
Saviour, in the midst of these present and future times, give us strength and help us to follow. Amen. —