The words of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel and the letter of Saint Paul today take us to the end of time. We are to ponder the day when the Son of Man will return. Call it the Second Coming, the Parousia, the Apocalypse, the end of days, and so on. No one will be warned or given extra time, and no one can calculate or figure out when it will be. Our task: be ready! Do not be among those who throw up their hands and wail, “But wait! Give me time! I’m not ready!”
The parables of the master of the house with a faithful steward or an unjust steward remind us that the right-thinking person will be prepared. The same words that end today’s part of Paul’s letter are also here at the beginning of the Gospel: “…the Son of Man will come.” The event will happen in God’s good time, not our human time.
So the early church began a tally of the years since Jesus’ birth, naming each a “Year of Our Lord” = Anno Domini = A.D. No matter that the count was a bit off, clergy and laity still became a bit nervous when the end of a century or millennium rolled around. But nothing yet! And here we are in the Year of Our Lord 2024! Are you ready?
Time in the presence of the Eucharist is a wonderful way to be ready. If daily or weekly exposition of the Body of Christ happens near you, try to attend. Or visit the church anytime: when the sanctuary lamp is lit, Jesus is there! We have the example of a very young Peter Julian walking alone to church, climbing up to rest his head on the tabernacle and listen to Jesus. Follow that little boy!
Let us pray:
Dear God. May we come closer and closer to you each day of our fleeting human lives so that we reach life everlasting with you in the world to come. Amen.