The first part of today's Gospel passage sounds like a transcript of last night's television news. Nations are always anguished over something or other and usually have good reason. World peace and justice always seem to be one more negotiation, one more election, one more cease fire away. When things are going well politically, some sort of natural disaster almost seems inevitable. When it comes to people being terrified, we know that is a description of each and every one of us at least some of the time, and perhaps even frequently.
Children live in a world of giants who say and do inexplicable things.
Young people fear rejection by their peers. Students worry about courses and their future. Adults worry about their work and their children. The elderly worry about their health, their past and their future. Perhaps that is the reason people in every age think that theirs is the one of which Jesus spoke.