Luke 12:54-59: a reflection

54He said to the multitudes also, “When you see a cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. 55When a south wind blows, you say, ‘There will be a scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you don’t interpret this time? 57“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58For when you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, try diligently on the way to be released from him, lest perhaps he drag you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you will by no means get out of there until you have paid the very last penny.”

Jesus rebukes the crowds for being able to read the signs of the weather but failing to discern the far more important signs of the present time, the urgent moment they were living in. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, he says, but how is it that you don't interpret this time? He urges them to see the urgency of their situation, to settle matters while there is still time, before it is too late. They could read a coming rain from a cloud, but they could not see the urgent moment of decision they were in, the need to get right with God now. This calls us to discern the urgency of the present time and act while there is still time. Discern the urgent moment you are in; act while there is time. We read the weather but miss the urgent hour. Jesus calls us to see the urgency of the present and act. Do not miss the urgent time for decision.

Notice what Jesus rebukes and what he urges. He rebukes the crowds for being skilled at reading the signs of the weather, a cloud means rain, a south wind means heat, while being unable, or unwilling, to read the far more important signs of the time they were living in, the urgent moment of God's visitation, the need to respond to him. And he urges them, using the image of settling with an adversary before reaching the judge, to act while there is still time, to get matters right before it is too late. This presses on us. We can be shrewd about many things, reading the signs of the market, the weather, the trends, while failing to discern the most urgent thing: the present moment as a time to respond to God, to get right with him, before the opportunity passes. Jesus calls us to see the urgency of now, not to presume on unlimited time, but to act, to settle matters with God, while there is still time to do so. The urgent moment for decision is now, not indefinitely later. Do not presume on unlimited time; act to be right with God now. Discern the urgency of the present, and respond to God while you can. Now is the time to settle matters with God.

That is worth taking to heart, for Jesus calls us to discern the urgency of the present time and to act, to get right with God, while there is still time. We can be shrewd about many things yet fail to discern the most urgent thing, the present as a time to respond to God, and presume on unlimited time; but Jesus rebuked the crowds for reading the weather while missing the urgent hour, and urged them to settle matters before it was too late. Now is the time. Do not presume on unlimited time to respond to God; discern the urgency of the present, and act while you can. Discern the urgency of the present time and act to be right with God while there is still time, as Jesus rebuked the crowds for knowing how to interpret the appearance of the sky yet failing to interpret the urgent time they were in, and urged them, like one settling with an adversary before reaching the judge, to act before it was too late; for we can be shrewd about many things, reading the signs of the weather, the market, and the trends, while failing to discern the most urgent thing, the present moment as a time to respond to God and get right with him before the opportunity passes, and we can presume on unlimited time, but Jesus calls us to see the urgency of now, not to delay indefinitely but to act and settle matters with God while there is still time to do so, so that we do well not to miss the urgent hour but to respond to God while we can.

Lord Jesus, you rebuke the crowds for being able to read the signs of the weather but failing to discern the far more important signs of the present time, the urgent moment they were living in. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, you say, but how is it that you don't interpret this time? You urge them to see the urgency of their situation, to settle matters while there is still time, before it is too late. They could read a coming rain from a cloud, but they could not see the urgent moment of decision they were in, the need to get right with God now. Show me what you rebuke and what you urge. You rebuke the crowds for being skilled at reading the signs of the weather, while being unable, or unwilling, to read the far more important signs of the time they were living in, the urgent moment of God's visitation. And you urge them to act while there is still time, to get matters right before it is too late. This presses on me. I can be shrewd about many things, reading the signs of the market, the weather, the trends, while failing to discern the most urgent thing: the present moment as a time to respond to you, to get right with you, before the opportunity passes. You call me to see the urgency of now, not to presume on unlimited time, but to act while there is still time. Take that to my heart, for you call me to discern the urgency of the present time and act to be right with you while there is still time. Keep me from presuming on unlimited time to respond to you; help me discern the urgency of the present, Lord, and act while I can, not missing the urgent hour but settling matters with you now, while there is still time to do so.