At around this time, every year, our readings drastically change, they go from being focused on the life of Jesus to the time when He will come again. And, they do so not just to point to the end of the liturgical season, which brings forth Advent, a time of preparation not only for the Nativity but, also, for the Second Coming of Christ.
As a result, the readings become more apocalyptic and, in some cases, almost fearful, some of which sounds as if it could come from a movie, which is why, in fact, these reading have inspired many apocalyptic movies. The chaos and confusion, the fear and terror accompanied by great wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues and mighty signs in the sky, and while these things do, indeed, point to an end, as Jesus assures, it is not the end, it is, instead, that which precedes His great return. I still don’t know why people think the Bible is boring.
And, while it almost sounds hopeless since, as Jesus puts it “there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down,” and if we look at our world, the instability, the fear, the violence among ourselves and even in nature, all the insurrections, and signs in the sky, we, indeed, might be tempted to believe that the end is coming soon, that our world can end, even today, even tonight, but that is not the point of these readings.
The point of these readings is to prepare us, not scare us, they are to help us to get ready, to use our time wisely and diligently, so that we can work, fight and struggle in our relationship with God, so that, ultimately, we can live our call, our true call, to a life of holiness and to share that life with others.
Our Gospel today warns us of a time when the Church will be even more persecuted than it is now, and that, like in the days of old, we will be called to give testimony to the faith that is within us and, in the darkest hour and in the worst of the chaos, to trust, to let God use us as instrument, and to let Him speak through us, by our actions and by our words.
Yet, that is not the point of these readings, for, as Christians, we are not to get caught up in the details, as it were, but instead, we are to look at this end, whenever it may be, as the culmination and ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan on earth. While that may sound strange to put it that way, by remembering the end, by recalling our own end, we are forced to look at life, in general, and our lives, particularly, in a much different way.
And, we come to see that, every day we make a choice whether to be consumed by fear, or, instead, to enjoy the moments that God has given us, to thank Him for what and whom we have now, rather than being focused on what is to come.
Our readings are not meant to scare us but, rather, to prepare us, to help us to get ready, to use our time wisely and diligently, so that, in our lives, we work, we fight and we struggle in our relationship with God, so that we can live our call, our true call, to a life of holiness and share that life with others.
While there were many things in this life that motivated the saints, nothing motivated them more than the reality of the end, whether it was the end of the world, or the end of their own lives, this is what kept them from sleep, this is what kept them in a constant state of prayer, this is what, ultimately, made them saints.
Yet, their motivation wasn’t fed by fear, instead, it was fed by the reality that they wanted to be prepared, that they wanted to live the life that God asked them to live, that they wanted the privilege of fearlessly looking upon Him face to face.
That is why The End is meant and intended to be a time of hope and joy, not a time of loss and sadness, because it speaks and points to the very strength we have as Christians and the confidence that we have in God, knowing that on that day, like the saints, we will literally see Him face to face.
And, when that day comes, we will know why we are Christians, we will know why we are here and what it is that the Advent season, which will be upon us shortly, prepares us for, because we will have taken the end seriously, and we will make ourselves ready for that coming day, whenever and wherever we may be, knowing, ultimately, in the end, as our Gospel beautifully reminds, by our perseverance we will secure our lives.
As a result, the readings become more apocalyptic and, in some cases, almost fearful, some of which sounds as if it could come from a movie, which is why, in fact, these reading have inspired many apocalyptic movies. The chaos and confusion, the fear and terror accompanied by great wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues and mighty signs in the sky, and while these things do, indeed, point to an end, as Jesus assures, it is not the end, it is, instead, that which precedes His great return. I still don’t know why people think the Bible is boring.
And, while it almost sounds hopeless since, as Jesus puts it “there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down,” and if we look at our world, the instability, the fear, the violence among ourselves and even in nature, all the insurrections, and signs in the sky, we, indeed, might be tempted to believe that the end is coming soon, that our world can end, even today, even tonight, but that is not the point of these readings.
The point of these readings is to prepare us, not scare us, they are to help us to get ready, to use our time wisely and diligently, so that we can work, fight and struggle in our relationship with God, so that, ultimately, we can live our call, our true call, to a life of holiness and to share that life with others.
Our Gospel today warns us of a time when the Church will be even more persecuted than it is now, and that, like in the days of old, we will be called to give testimony to the faith that is within us and, in the darkest hour and in the worst of the chaos, to trust, to let God use us as instrument, and to let Him speak through us, by our actions and by our words.
Yet, that is not the point of these readings, for, as Christians, we are not to get caught up in the details, as it were, but instead, we are to look at this end, whenever it may be, as the culmination and ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan on earth. While that may sound strange to put it that way, by remembering the end, by recalling our own end, we are forced to look at life, in general, and our lives, particularly, in a much different way.
And, we come to see that, every day we make a choice whether to be consumed by fear, or, instead, to enjoy the moments that God has given us, to thank Him for what and whom we have now, rather than being focused on what is to come.
Our readings are not meant to scare us but, rather, to prepare us, to help us to get ready, to use our time wisely and diligently, so that, in our lives, we work, we fight and we struggle in our relationship with God, so that we can live our call, our true call, to a life of holiness and share that life with others.
While there were many things in this life that motivated the saints, nothing motivated them more than the reality of the end, whether it was the end of the world, or the end of their own lives, this is what kept them from sleep, this is what kept them in a constant state of prayer, this is what, ultimately, made them saints.
Yet, their motivation wasn’t fed by fear, instead, it was fed by the reality that they wanted to be prepared, that they wanted to live the life that God asked them to live, that they wanted the privilege of fearlessly looking upon Him face to face.
That is why The End is meant and intended to be a time of hope and joy, not a time of loss and sadness, because it speaks and points to the very strength we have as Christians and the confidence that we have in God, knowing that on that day, like the saints, we will literally see Him face to face.
And, when that day comes, we will know why we are Christians, we will know why we are here and what it is that the Advent season, which will be upon us shortly, prepares us for, because we will have taken the end seriously, and we will make ourselves ready for that coming day, whenever and wherever we may be, knowing, ultimately, in the end, as our Gospel beautifully reminds, by our perseverance we will secure our lives.
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