Daily Retreat 11/28/06
2006 Nov 28 Tue: Ordinary Weekday
Rv 14: 14-19/ Ps 95(96): 10. 11-12. 13/ Lk 21: 5-11
From today’s readings: “The one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested... The Lord comes to judge the earth.... Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”
Wondering About The End
How much thought do you give to the end of the world? Because the Bible has much to say on the subject, most Christians have given the matter some consideration, at least. Jesus Himself spoke with great urgency about the end, and yet, He also clarified and cautioned that certain cataclysmic events “must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.”
So, one extreme to be avoided is a dreadful surety that the end will occur in our own lifetimes - it might, but then again, it might not. The first generations of Christians expected the end in their own lifetimes, but God had other plans (for which you and I must thank Him!).
But the other extreme to be avoided even more assiduously is the smug certainty that we needn’t be personally concerned with the end of the world, since that won’t occur for eons. It’s true that all scientific estimates concerning the heat death or cold death of the universe are set in the unfathomable future, and even conservative estimates about just our solar system’s life span still give us billions of years to go.
Still, a lot will happen before then - and that must be one of the most certain understatements of all time! And since Jesus spoke about the end, we should listen, and learn, and live what He taught!
Rv 14: 14-19/ Ps 95(96): 10. 11-12. 13/ Lk 21: 5-11
From today’s readings: “The one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested... The Lord comes to judge the earth.... Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”
Wondering About The End
How much thought do you give to the end of the world? Because the Bible has much to say on the subject, most Christians have given the matter some consideration, at least. Jesus Himself spoke with great urgency about the end, and yet, He also clarified and cautioned that certain cataclysmic events “must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.”
So, one extreme to be avoided is a dreadful surety that the end will occur in our own lifetimes - it might, but then again, it might not. The first generations of Christians expected the end in their own lifetimes, but God had other plans (for which you and I must thank Him!).
But the other extreme to be avoided even more assiduously is the smug certainty that we needn’t be personally concerned with the end of the world, since that won’t occur for eons. It’s true that all scientific estimates concerning the heat death or cold death of the universe are set in the unfathomable future, and even conservative estimates about just our solar system’s life span still give us billions of years to go.
Still, a lot will happen before then - and that must be one of the most certain understatements of all time! And since Jesus spoke about the end, we should listen, and learn, and live what He taught!
posted by FrPitstick | 11/23/2006
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