33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we move toward the end of the Church year, we are invited to reflect upon the apocalyptic end time. We are presented with terrifying images of earthquakes, famines, plagues, and nations rising against nations. As we look around our world today, we may be tempted to say the end is near—do we not already see all this happening before our eyes? We are a human family divided by ideologies, greed, misunderstanding, and deep division.
Do we also not see the same when we look into our own lives? We see our families torn apart by differences in faith and religious practices, as well as disagreements that lead to isolation, unemployment, disease, and much more, which instills in us a fear of what lies ahead. And we have the busybodies on social media who prey upon our fears with predictions of calamity.
But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays. Scripture is inviting us to a crucial kind of fear needed at this moment. We are asked to stand before God and one another with a fear resting on reverential wonder—an awe before that which is so much bigger than us.
We are asked to stand in trust before the Lord, who has given us confidence with his word: All will hate you because of me, yet not a hair of your head will be harmed.
We come together to celebrate the Eucharist and encounter the healing rays of God’s love being poured out upon us, both as individuals and as his community. Together we stand in reverential fear with a strong confidence and trust that the One who raised Christ to new life, who forgives us, and offers us the promise that no matter what lies ahead we are safe in his embrace.
Prayer:
Good and gracious God, we are pilgrims of hope on our journey toward the fullness of life you have promised us at the end of time. Send your Spirit into our hearts to help us understand that the life of a world united in love and care for one another and for creation has already begun. Give us the courage we need to walk our journey, attentive to the needs of our earth and of one another, bringing your vision for us to reality. Amen.
