Proper 28 (33) – Year C
23rd Sunday after Pentecost: November 16, 2025
Gospel Lectionary Text
Luke 21:5-19
21:5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,
21:6 "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."
21:7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"
21:8 And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them.
21:9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately."
21:10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
21:11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
21:12 "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
21:13 This will give you an opportunity to testify.
21:14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance;
21:15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.
21:16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
21:17 You will be hated by all because of my name.
21:18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
21:19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Context
Coming soon.
Question
Coming soon.
Reflections
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
This week, we invite you to reflect on on Langston Hughes's poem, "Harlem," also known as "A Dream Deferred."
The "dream" Hughes speaks of in his poem is a dream of justice and equality. Writing as a Black man in the early 20th Century, Hughes knew what it felt like to fight for justice and gain very little ground in the process. Nearly 90 years separate the Emancipation Proclamation and the publication of this poem, and in that time Hughes speaks of the dream of equality "drying up," "festering," "sagging" ... And, anticipating the force of the American Civil Rights movement, "exploding."
When we read Jesus's words in today's lectionary text, I think we can hear him preparing his followers for similar feelings. As C.S. Lewis famously wrote in The World's Last Night, most of Jesus's followers expected he would come back in their own lifetimes, and were sorely disappointed.
Yet Jesus also warned, "Do not be led astray" by those who say, "The time is near!" The end "will not follow immediately." In the time of deferral, waiting for him to return, some will even be "put to death." Yet even then, he says, "Not a hair of your head will perish."
What are we to do with such strange hope? How does Jesus prepare us to bear up under the inevitable dyness, soreness, and sagging that is waiting for our redemption?
How might he be preparing us to "explode"?
A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes
Prayer
This week, the call to prayer comes from the Street Psalms Centering Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, wild and free. Do as you please. Shine your light on me that I might see things as they are, not as I am. Free me to act in your name with courage, creativity, and compassion.
