Understanding words of Jesus (example)

Here is a sample of what I mean by the early Church fathers pondering the meaning of Jesus words in Luke 21:25-33.

Here they write about “Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled…”

This is from Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquinas, where he researched and organized the writings of the early Church Fathers and Doctors:

Gregory… But generation may mean, either the whole human race, or the Jews of that day.

Eusebius: Or, generation may mean, the new generation of His holy Church, thus showing that there would be an enduring body of believers until that time when it would witness all these things; and they would perceive with their own eyes the events which Our Lord here foretells.

Theophylactus: For since He had foretold that there would be commotions, and wars, and changes in the elements, as well as in other things, lest some should fear that Christianity itself would be destroyed He goes on to say: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away, as though saying: should all else be brought to nothing, my Faith shall not fail. In this He shows that He places the Church above every other creature; though all creatures shall suffer change, the church of the faithful, and the promises of the Gospel shall remain.

From “The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers,” translated and edited by M. F. Toal, Ignatius Press, S.F.