NT Wright suggests that in this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus is not referring to the second coming but rather to impending destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
Following Wright's reading then, this passage can be read as a warning about what happens when people decide to use violence to protect holy things.
My daughter and I recently had a conversation about this danger after she watched the movie "Inherit the Wind" as part of her school studies.
I believe Jesus is telling us quite clearly how we can avoid being caught up in the destructive forces that are unleashed when cultural and religious clashes spill into physical violence and war.

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