Last Sunday after Pentecost 20 November 2022 End times
On the last Sunday of the Church year we naturally consider the end of things - the end of our lives, the end of the world, the end of Satan and all his legions.
It is hard to interpret the timing of all the various prophecies, biblical and otherwise.
We know that on the Last Day the dead shall be raised, and there will be a final judgment. It will be the end of this world, but we should not be alarmed because Heaven is much better than here.
Much as we do not generally like upheaval, we will be glad when this day comes. If we love the Bridegroom, how can we want him to stay away?
In the meantime we must live good and holy lives (1 Th 4,11).
It is not so easy to be good as we discover, and we see around us. Sin is addictive, and can be a hard snare to escape. Also one sin leads to others. and a kind of despair can set in.
People can hate their lives as they are yet they fear turning to a religious solution because that is perceived as boring and difficult.
It cannot be boring to move closer to the Source of all that is interesting. Whatever interests people pursue, it is only possible because God makes it so.
We pray that those who resist conversion will see the light, while we do our best to give witness of our beliefs by the way we live.
We need to be aware of the spiritual dimension, knowing that whatever we do for good or evil will have an effect in the physical world.
We are spiritual beings with the capacity to commit sin or do good many times in one day.
We can help to bring on the kingdom in our midst. We ask for God’s kingdom to come; it will come through enough people being willing to receive it. We can be among that number.
The chastisements described in the Bible, and experienced throughout human history do not have to be so dramatic as they have been. If only enough people would repent the whole scene would change very quickly.
It is only human stubbornness that has made it so difficult, that makes people think it is always going to be like this, that there is no future to look forward to.
God does not want to punish us. It is just so He does not have to punish that He tells us in advance what will happen unless we repent. Knowing that, we gladly repent.
It is harder for people to repent these days because they are not so clear about right and wrong as in other ages. Many will say they have done nothing wrong .
Others will kill, or otherwise silence the prophet rather than worry about what he is saying.
God can be ignored for a time but only for a time. He will make Himself known eventually, and this is what these prophecies are making plain.
We can take the disasters as just a glimpse of what could be far worse.
But we don’t have to go that way. We can change it if there are enough people capable of believing in God and His Kingdom. There have been such people and we call them saints.
We can be as they are, not letting anything deflect us from the task at hand - which is to call on the grace of God to forgive, to heal, to bring us to a point where we can welcome Him, going out to meet Him confidently (Lk 21,28), to be able to pray with every good hope – Come, Lord Jesus.
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