In the Judeo-Christian tradition, we believe that history is a story and that our lives unfold in a particular direction. This story begins with creation and continues to unfold until the very last day when God will destroy every evil and bring all things into the embrace of God’s will. With the resurrection of Jesus, we have come to see that this end of history will happen through Christ and that on the last day He will come to bring all things together into the love and will of his Heavenly Father. This is our faith. It is what we believe. Jesus will bring history to an end and establish the kingdom of God. If we believe that the direction of history is aiming towards an ending of God’s victory, it can change the way we think and live.
As the year winds down, you'd think we might get more positive or more joyful readings. But in the Gospel for this weekend, the Lord asks us to think about some pretty difficult things: "the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down." The readings seem to be all about terrible loss, nightmare, and calamity.
But focusing on this alone, many of us might miss the present moment and the opportunities that strengthen our faith. Present opportunities may never come again and the best way to prepare for the future is to be alert to the present. Life is a process which we take step after precious step. If our journey is magical, that's exactly what life will be for us, and we will never be a people who reach the end of life with regrets.
Within this perspective the blessings in our lives and the good choices that we make are not only blessings in this moment, but they help push history forward to that last day when all things will be good. If we see history as a story that is unfolding, then the pain and tragedy of our life is also influenced. The evil we must endure is not what the end of history will be. It is instead a twist in the story line, a detour in the narration. And we believe that God's Spirit will in time make that twist straight, and that God will heal and correct all that has gone astray.
Today’s Gospel gives us the end of the story. Rather than concentrating on the final days - or the final coming in glory of the Son of Man - we should concentrate on how we are living our lives right now and right here. The best way to prepare for what's ahead is by living in the present, because that's what life really is - a wonderful series of present moments. Not tomorrow's moments, because they may never come. Not yesterday's moments, because they have already been.
We need to look at our lives, and how open we are to His presence within them. We need to focus on how His words affect our day-to-day lives and our relationships with one another. In the end there are only three questions we need to be able to answer positively. Did I let love in? Did I give love away? Did I choose love even when it was difficult?
The Good News of Jesus Christ is not a series of unfulfilled promises. It is the key to living in the present and taking that present into the future. Life looks very different when you view it from the end. From that perspective it is much easier to recognize what is really important.
