Did you hear the first reading? “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” What do you think? What’s going through your mind? Are you scared? What is that this scripture passage talking to us today?
And we have heard in the gospel, Jesus said; “The day will come when not one stone will be left on another, but it will all be torn down." Jesus combined predicting the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. with predicting the end of the world. He did this because there will be marked similarities between the two catastrophes. Also, Jesus' accuracy regarding the fall of Jerusalem indicates the credibility of His revelations regarding the end of the world.
Jesus revealed many more details regarding the end of the world than He revealed about most other aspects of His plan. He did this to underline the fact that the end of the world is literally true and to help us prepare for it. Jesus gave us the details because we need them. One of the most important details Jesus gave about the end of the world is: "By patient endurance, you will save your lives" (Lk 21:19). We can persevere through the most savage persecution of the Church ever (see Lk 21:12), through the worst apostasy ever (2 Thes 2:3-12), and through the worst tribulation ever (Mk 13:19) because we have accepted the grace not to be proud but to fear the name of the Lord (Mal 3:19-20). This humble fear of the Lord is the beginning of love (see Dt 6:2-5). "Love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pt 4:8) and leads us through the calamities of the end of the world into perfect, everlasting love in heaven.
The world will certainly end, as Jesus said. And as we have heard in the first reading the sun of justice will rise i.e. the second coming of Jesus. We need to recognize the signs of God's judgment, mercy, and grace to save us. Sometimes we don't recognize the moral crisis and spiritual conflict of the age in which we live until something "shakes us up" to the reality of this present condition. God reminds us that a future judgment and outcome awaits every individual who has lived on this earth. The reward for doing what is right and pleasing to God and the penalty for sinful rebellion and rejection of God are not always experienced in this present life - but they are sure to come in the day of final judgment. The Lord Jesus tells us that there will be trials, suffering, and persecution in this present age until he comes again at the end of the world. God intends our anticipation of his final judgment to be a powerful deterrent to unfaithfulness and wrongdoing. God extends grace and mercy to all who will heed his call and his warning. Do not pass up, even for one day, God's invitation of grace and mercy to seek first his kingdom of righteousness and peace. This day may be your only chance before that final day comes.
How prepared will we be to meet Jesus at the end of the world or at the end of our lives- whichever comes first?
How prepared are we to meet him, right now, in just three areas of our life?
First, our thoughts, do we judge other people recklessly? How pure do we keep our minds? Are we keeping any ill feelings or revenge towards anyone?
Second, our words, do we talk about other people unkindly? Are we rude towards others? Do we hurt others by our way of talking?
And finally, our action, do we turn our back on other people's needs? How righteous are we at work and in yearning our lives? How well we work to build up the kingdom of God on earth?
If we aren’t doing too well in these areas think of the ways that we can improve. May the Lord find us watchful and prepared at his coming.
Let us pray: Lord gives us a mind that will think thoughts that are kind and fair. Give us lips that will speak words that are true and charitable. Give us hands that will do deeds that are modeled after the ones you did for people in your lifetime. Amen