TOGETHER IN CHRIST COLLABORATIVE
Church of Saint Ann
West Bridgewater MA
Website: stannswb.com
St. John The Evangelist
East Bridgewater MA
Website: stjohneb.org
November 17, 2024
There has been, for the longest time, what could be called “end-time phobia”. It is the panicked approach by some that “The End Is Near” (as I saw on a placard in downtown Boston once). This “visionary” approach is usually paired with some “doomsday scenario” taken either from the Book of Revelation or the mind of movie director James Cameron – take your pick! Well, here it is – the year 2024; it is almost a quarter century past the predictions of “Y2K” and what would follow and we’re still here.
My point in bringing up all of these end-of-the-world scenarios is not to dismiss the fact that the world will end. Regardless of the “when”, the “if” of the matter hardly up for debate; by all accounts, spiritual and secular, the world will end. In today’s gospel, Jesus prepares His followers for the fact that the world, as we know it, will cease at some point. What Jesus does not reveal is the “when” of the event, for it is only in the mind and heart of God the Father and, as my mother would say, “God only knows, and He ain’t tellin’!” This should not worry us, but it should serve as a reminder to us that each day is a gift, and that we should indeed work as if each day was our last. In that way, we fulfill the prayerful mandate of the “Our Father” that we make “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. The “Lord’s Prayer” reminds us, in this stanza, that the day/date/time of the “parousia” (the “end time”) should not concern us. What should concern us is that we are building up God’s Kingdom here on earth as best we can, by being God’s good and faithful service, reaching out to those in need, lifting the downtrodden and assisting those who are in need of God’s mercy and love to find it in us, God’s faithful servants.
Today’s readings speak of the “end times” – what they will look and feel like, how they will come about for all, believers and non-believers alike. We would do well to heed these words, to put our faith not in human beings but in God, and work so that when the end comes (as it surely will) we are found ready to be welcomed into God’s Kingdom. Jesus promises us that His Word will be with us until the end of time. May we trust in that word of hope, peace and love. May we come to know that our God will not leave us abandoned and may we be prepared to be welcomed into God’s Kingdom by being, and remaining, God’s good and faithful servants.
Have a Blessed Week,
Fr. Paul