Just the beginning

 

I’ll bet we’ve all seen pictures of hooded and robed people walking with signs that warn, “Repent, the end is near!”  Or, how about, “The world is going to end soon”?  Well, while their timing may be off, they’re not entirely wrong, as a matter of fact.  Several passages in the Bible remind us of something that we almost never pay attention to that, one day, the world as we know and experience it will one day cease to exist.  There’s an end time awaiting us all in one way or another, and the question is, are we ready for it?  Are we prepared to face this second coming of Jesus, whether that be in the world itself or even in our own lives?

In Luke’s Gospel (Luke 17:26-37), Jesus is sitting with His disciples and talking with them about what is called “the end times,” i.e. the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus as the victorious and risen Lord.  It will be a time not only of vindication and the revelation of the glory of the Lord, but it will also be a time of judgment and accounting.  Jesus shares this truth with His disciples, there’s no question about it.  He will come again and there will be a reckoning of how we, His disciples, have served the Lord and lived out His Gospel mandate.  In addition, we know neither the day nor the hour when this will take place.  But there is little doubt to be sure, it will happen!  And what matters is that we’re ready for the moment and are not found wanting.

There are other stories similar to the one we find in Luke.  For example, Matthew, chapter 25, uses the image of a bridegroom returning home and the warning that we must be ready for his return and not be caught foolishly without enough oil for our lamps to greet him.  These are reminders that we’re all called to be prepared to meet the Lord and to give an account of ourselves and how we’ve lived out the teaching of Jesus.  How do we do this?  Clearly, we’re called to pay attention to the Lord and not to the foolish distractions of the world.  But there’s a gift in all of this, and that gift is that, if we choose day by day, to live as Jesus has taught us, to love our neighbor, to love everyone in fact, and to love God above all else, then we’ll be prepared for whatever is to come and need not live in doubt, worry, or fear.  I find great assurance that all will be well and that there’s nothing to fear.  This is truly good news for us today, isn’t it?  We’re all called to live in the joy of the Lord and not in fear of what’s certainly to come. 

Remember

 

"All Souls Day."  It’s a day to celebrate, reverence and remember those who have gone before us.  We remember our loved ones – family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, neighbors and significant strangers.  We remember those alive in our hearts, and those forgotten in history.  We remember all who have gone before.

For me, it’s a day to sit in silence and prayerfully reflect on my family.  I reflect on my ancestors as far back as I can go, and when I do, I experience a deep sense of connectedness.  I experience a rich fullness. I delight in the stories of my adventurous great and grand fathers who left home and family to sail the high seas, or travel across the country in search of,,, what?  I’m amazed at the courage of my great and grand mothers who with children left their families and accompanied their husbands across oceans, fields and the Great Plains.  I am fascinated by the unknown circumstances that drew them on and dictated when they would arrive.  What kept them going in the face of overwhelming hardships?  I’m inspired by the rich diversity of religions, faith traditions and beliefs that color my story.  I’m in awe of the accomplishments, of the endless giving, and selflessness of friends, of family, and of significant strangers.  I embrace those whose lives were filled with pain, anger, tragedy and apparent failure. I’m filled with gratitude for this ever-expanding community of blessed and redeemed humanity, the community of saints.  And I’m equally grateful for the gift of the pain, suffering, and vulnerability they have shared and passed down via stories, diaries and letters.

We are created with an intrinsic emptiness, an unquenchable thirst, a driving hunger, a holy longing which only God can satisfy.  This ineffable holy longing speaks to my innermost being and draws me to God.  The path may be slippery, rocky and convoluted, but the attraction is more than of tidal proportion.  The path of my vocation, of my gospel story, like that of all who have gone before, is embedded in the holy yearning within.  It is the will of the Father that I, we, none of us be lost.  It is His Will that I have eternal life.  This holy longing, holy yearning for “Something” connects us and keeps us moving singly, in family and in community toward the source of our longing – God.

The Good News is that it is the desire of the Father that I, and that all souls, rest in the eternal peace of the Father in the community of All Souls.