“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.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. ‘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. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” (Luke 21:9-15)  In this week’s Gospel passage, Jesus has now finally finished his long journey to Jerusalem.  He says these things to the disciples for their comfort!  We could perhaps go so far as to say that Jesus sure has a funny way of offering comfort at times, doesn’t he?  Could we please hear the easy yoke and light burden sermon again?  And yet, there he is in the final week of his life offering comfort to those who are about to fail miserably as they face trouble.  Peter alone will fail three times to testify to his relationship with Jesus.  Except for John, the rest will find other things to do (anything else to do than face the consequences of a relationship with Jesus) as that last week comes to a close.  And yet, there is our Lord offering comfort to them and now to us.  Those words of comfort are simply this: trouble is coming, but I will be with you.  That promise has never changed and it never will.  We will all face trouble but Jesus will not forsake us.  That is a word I need to hear all the time.  How about you?  Have a great week!