Weekly Seeds: Gain Your Souls

Sunday, November 16, 2025
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost | Year C

Focus Theme:
“Gain Your Souls”

Focus Prayer:
Teacher, help us receive the hard lessons you impart. Amen.

Focus Scripture:
Luke 21:5–19
⁵ When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 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.”
⁷ They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 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.
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.” ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹ there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
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. ¹³ This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance, ¹⁵ for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your souls.

All readings for this Sunday:
Isaiah 65:17–25 and Isaiah 12 or Malachi 4:1–2a and Psalm 98 • 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 • Luke 21:5–19

Focus Questions:
How would you describe the current conditions of your community, nation, and world?
How do you respond to these conditions?
How does your faith community respond?
What do we need to endure in service of the kindom?
What do we have to gain?

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

Victory and concession speeches fulfill a tradition in the election process, at least in the United States. After enough ballots have been counted to determine or project the winner, the ritual begins. It often involves a conversation between the two primary candidates (given that most elections in this country, even local ones, offer binary options) where both acknowledge and honor the other’s campaign effort and wish the other well. These conversations typically occur in private, but the public addresses normally signal early on that the conversation has taken place. There is a courtesy in recognizing publicly what has happened privately.

Both speeches offer gratitude to supporters, volunteers, and staff. Most concession speeches promise some level of well wishes to the winner, and most victory speeches respond in kind. Tradition, although not always followed, encourages the victor to appeal to the supporters of the loser. These moments, at their best, offer comfort to the disappointed and an opportunity to celebrate to those ready to rejoice. At the same time, when the victory happens during troubling times, the address often confronts reality with cautions, challenges, and calls to action. All of this happens in anticipation that when the final votes are counted, there will be an inauguration of either a new era or a continuation of the existing one. When an incumbent in the coveted position has not been or could not be one of the candidates, they may also offer remarks looking toward the future in one of the last official moments when the people may be interested in what they have to say.

As Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem nears completion, they have something to say:

What future awaits the temple complex, whose massive scale, beauty, and impressive operations draw from a treasury filled with gifts that in some cases, in Jesus’ assessment, deprive the faithful poor of the resources needed to sustain life? In his culminating public teaching in the Gospel, Jesus previews the destruction that will befall the temple, and beyond that the falling of the curtain on human history. The full realization of the reign of God on earth will effect decisive judgment and liberation, but not until the completion of a period of testing—and opportunity for public witness—for the faithful, as well as world-shaking crisis that will precede the return in glory of the Son of Humanity. Through it all, Jesus summons listeners to eyes-wide-open vigilance.
John T. Carroll

The temple, of course, represented more than a physical structure. It centered the identity, hopes, and aspirations of a people. The temple ordered communal life. It provided a place for worship and a testament of continued presence for a people who, over their history, faced obliteration through captivity, occupation, and assimilation. The temple, therefore, signalled their endurance, resilience, and commitment as well as the covenantal promises of the Holy One who called them together and assured them of abiding presence.

Their history also assured them that they would confront even more challenging times:

Verses 10–11 paint the coming historical conflicts, including the siege of Jerusalem, onto a wider, indeed cosmic, canvas, the first broad strokes of an eschatological vision given fuller description in vv. 25–28.35 International strife will encompass many nations (v. 10), and beyond the destructive mischief that human-constructed powers will fashion, natural forces will add to the terror, contributing “massive earthquakes [seismoi] and pervasive famines and plagues [limoi kai loimoi]” (v. 11a). Indeed, heaven itself will get into the act, sending prodigious signs that produce terror (v. 11b). Before the discourse has reached its goal, Jesus will seek to move his listeners beyond dread from anticipating the coming turmoil toward a confident, eyes-wide-open trust in the divine deliverance that will preserve those who persevere in their fidelity to God. But the end time will not come right away, certainly not for Jesus’ first listeners. In the meantime, followers of Jesus will meet historical experience that calls for trust and enduring faithfulness, and through it all God’s providential care will sustain them through trial, as Jesus now proceeds to assure his audience (vv. 12–19).
John T. Carroll

Dread can be an all-encompassing emotion. Impending doom can dispel any possibility of hope, anticipation of positive outcomes, or expectation of a future that will deviate from the problems of the past and present. As the Lukan audience reflected back on these words of Jesus, they had faced devastation and human orchestrated disaster.

The loss of the temple struck a devastating blow to Jews everywhere. With it went a major economic center and source of national pride. With it went the daily sacrifice, the solemn festival observances, and the performance of personal rites. With it went the visible symbol of God’s presence. And with it went first-century hopes for redemption by a messiah who would defeat the Romans and restore Jerusalem to its former glory. The revolution, fueled by such hopes, had ended in bitter disappointment. The loss of the temple was devastating not only for Jews but also for Christians…. Restoration had become much more difficult to imagine. Luke deals with the loss of the temple in much the same way that he addresses concerns about a crucified messiah, Gentile inclusion, and Jewish rejection. He assures his audience that this, too, was part of God’s plan. Accordingly, Luke’s Jesus foresees the doom of Jerusalem and prophesies it numerous times. In his woes, parables, and judgment oracles, he accuses the temple authorities of abusing God’s trust and opposing God’s Messiah. The sentence: God will destroy them together with the temple. Since it might seem strange—especially in the messianic age—that God should move against God’s own sanctuary, Luke reminds his audience of the precedent set by Israel’s prophets. Luke’s Jesus uses their language to condemn Jerusalem and describe its doom. Jeremiah, who prophesied the destruction of the first temple, is the most obvious source for such language. Luke therefore cites Jeremiah along with other prophets who speak of siege and slaughter, captivity and destruction. For Luke, the Jesus who utters woes, parables, and judgment oracles against Jerusalem is a prophet like Hosea, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. In their day, God sent Gentile armies against his people. Now, after the first coming of the Messiah, God will send them again, for many of the same reasons.
Jocelyn McWhirter

In reading the admonitions, critiques, and warnings of the prophets, it is important to remember that their direct audience were the powerful and privileged rather than the faithful masses. The indictment was not against the Jewish or Christian communities but against religious elite given stewardship over sacred resources and institutions that misused and abused the authority delegated to them. It is important to remember that the temple was a powerful representation and symbol for the gathered community, but it did not replace the community. And, the Holy One has always dwelled among the people. The biblical witness reflects that abiding presence from the creation in Genesis to restoration in Revelation with particular emphasis during moments of exodus and exile.

Despite the ominous nature of Jesus’ words in this passage, they conclude with a powerful promise. Their faithfulness will be known to God. Their sacrifice will be honored by God. The Holy One will sustain and keep them. Their reward will be incomparable. No matter what they may forfeit in the journey, they will gain their souls.

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.

“In order to rise
From its own ashes
A phoenix
First
Must
Burn.”
― Octavia Butler, Parable of the Talents

For Further Reflection
“At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you can’t take anything, you won’t get anything, and if you can’t hold anything, you won’t keep anything. And you can’t take anything without organization.” ― A. Philip Randolph
“You may be able to conquer the whole world and gain everything in action,
But you’ll live in torment if you can’t find peace of mind and satisfaction.” ― Mouloud Benzadi
“The easiest way to gain someone’s trust is to deserve it. This should be pretty easy, assuming you’re just being you and being real. Minimal effort too.” ― Ashly Lorenzana

A preaching commentary on this text (with works cited) is at //ucc.org/SermonSeeds.

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments below this post on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.

About Weekly Seeds

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Weekly Seeds is a service of Local Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ. Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version, © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.