[ Today's Readings ]
Jesus calls us to be vigilant, to be watchful, to be awake. Worldly cares and concerns can so fill our minds that we forget what matters most. We want to stand before the Son of Man. We can't let the anxieties of daily life make us forget about that. We can't just allow ourselves to forget and hope that we'll have time to remember later. Otherwise the day will catch us by surprise like a trap.
Jesus is coming soon. If by that we mean his presence in the Eucharist it is no less true than of his coming at the end of our lives or at the end of time. We need to be prepared. We need to be awake. We have access to the river of life-giving water that Jesus pours out in the Holy Spirit. We have access to the fruit of the tree of life in the Eucharist. We can't taken these things for granted or let them catch us by surprise. These are meant to "serve as medicine for the nations." Can't we see how much the nations need this medicine?
The way to make sure we don't take these heavenly graces for granted is to act like those who live there and see them in fullness. We see the way in which their focus on God is unbreakable. The night is no more precisely because they are ever awake to him.
They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun,
for the Lord God shall give them light,
and they shall reign forever and ever.
When we are prepared we can pray "Come, Lord Jesus" without fear. We know that his name is on our foreheads. We are ready to welcome him.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
No comments:
Post a Comment