‘Plus Ça change, plus c’est la même chose’, so say the French, ‘The more things change the more they are the same’. As Jesus speaks about the end times in this passage and warns of wars and famines we recognise not only our own times but all the ages in between now and then. We live in changing times but we face the same old issues that have always plagued mankind.

Pablo Picasso’s painting ‘Guernica’ recalls a specific historical event in May 1937, the bombing of the village of Guernica in the Basque country. It is also an allegory of war, a story of war in every age. Drawing inspiration from Rubens’ painting ‘The consequences of war’, painted in 1639, and Goya’s ‘May 3rd’ Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ is a timeless piece that could have been describing the bombing of Ukrainian towns and villages only last week.

The woman on the right of the picture is taken from Rubens and the composition itself is a reversed version of ‘The consequences of war’. Goya’s painting, ‘May 3rd’, depicts an event during the French occupation of Spain in 1808, but the stigmata on the outstretched hands of the soon-to-be executed man speak of the suffering of Christ. This soldier can be found again in Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ in the outstretched hand of the dying soldier on the left-hand side of the painting. He too has the marks of the nails in his hands.

All are scenes of horror and destruction reminding us that war brings misery in every age.

We had hoped for a better world in which the cycles of violence would end. Bob Dylan spoke prophetically for a generation that saw significant changes - a new age was dawning in the words of another song. Some have called it the Age of Aquarius, the water carrier in ancient mythology, some have called it the age of the Spirit. Both images conjure up a new agenda for our world, a hope held out for a better world.

There have been changes. Culturally materialism is out spirituality is in, consumerism is out and ethical shopping is in, permissiveness is out and political correctness is in. There’s a new atmosphere, a new sensitivity to a reality that is out there somewhere, or maybe within us. It is a hope that is held out in the midst of war and, uncertainty about where we are heading.

But alarm bells have been ringing for a number of years of which the world’s current economic turmoil is only the latest. Scientists, historians, climatologists, and sociologists speak of change in the air. There is uncertainty about what our future holds. In these times we need a more constant light than the changing cultural scene, a light that Jesus held out in his changing times.

A new spirituality and a new uncertainty marked the birth pangs of the new age that Jesus heralded. The Pax Romana, like the Pax Americana today, was beginning to break up, and a new world was taking shape. When Jesus spoke to this tiny unnoticed group of disciples they did not know that they were to shape the world that was coming into being, but they held onto the hope he gave them through the upheavals to come.

“As in the days of Noah so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man”

Matt 24:37.

‘Watch’, be ready stand firm are the watchwords they are to live by. By 'watch' or 'wait' as it is sometimes translated Jesus meant to be attentive as a waiter is attentive, watching for the signs. God is speaking to His church today.

‘Be ready’ as Noah built his Ark to the astonishment of those around him so we are to build the church. God continues to love His world and plan for its future a future that will be shaped by the church.

‘Stand firm’ To illustrate this world Jesus gives us a picture of two women working, one will be saved the other not. There is no apparent difference between them, but one is ready the other is not! The Christian stand is not to be distinguished by the kind of eccentric behaviour that some adopt but by a quiet faithfulness to Christ and his Kingdom. John Wesley when asked what he would do if the world was to end tomorrow said, “I hope I would be able to continue with what I was already doing”.

In the centre of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ there is a light, not the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, that is in fact a bomb exploding in the sky. (The Spanish for lightbulb is bombilla). To the right of the bombilla is a small lamp held out by the hand of destiny. It is the source of light in the whole painting stretching out of the darkness to reveal not only the horrors of war but the hopes for peace.

As we enter the season of Advent let us remember the light that shines in the darkness, is the light of Christ, bringing hope to the world and promising a better world to come. This is the hope that Christ told his followers to keep their eyes on. It is the only constant in a changing world.

Rev. Simon Brignall

Prayer for Ukraine

God of peace and justice we pray for the people of Ukraine today,

and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your spirit of comfort would draw near to them.

We pray for those with power over war and peace,

for wisdom, discernment, and compassion to guide their decisions

Above all, we pray for all your precious children at risk and in fear,

That you would hold and protect them.

We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen