With all the recent talk about the "end of the world" and "rapture" it was timely that we read these words of Jesus from the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, "“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” (Jn 14:1-4) In Matthew's Gospel He reminds us that "only the Father knows the hour." (Mt 24:36) So why all the fuss about end-time predictions? Why the predictions at all?
All of us have the tendency to want to "control" our lives. We want to be in charge of what happens to us. If it is not in our time or in the way we planned then we want nothing to do with the situation. This attitude manifests itself more and more in our fast-paced and ever-changing society. The idea of abandonment to the will of another is foreign or out-right scorned. Even some Christians (among others) give in to this thinking when they attempt to predict the end of the world through formulas of their own creation - formulas that they control.
In this beautiful Easter season we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death. We celebrate His complete love for all of humanity of all times. We celebrate His complete abandonment to the will of the Father, ultimately seen in His giving up His life on the Cross. Three days later He rises from the dead. He rises and gives us reason to "not let your hearts be troubled." We can only embrace this reality by surrendering ourselves, as Jesus did, to the will of the Father. This is how we are to prepare for our own "end-times" and for the ultimate end of the world. Jesus reminds us to be prepared at all times and we do so by staying united to Him, especially through the sacraments. He is the One who shows us how to live for He is "the way, the truth and the life."
Let this message of hope be the message that others can witness through our lives. Our world, which is so full of trouble these days, needs this witness...needs Christ.
All of us have the tendency to want to "control" our lives. We want to be in charge of what happens to us. If it is not in our time or in the way we planned then we want nothing to do with the situation. This attitude manifests itself more and more in our fast-paced and ever-changing society. The idea of abandonment to the will of another is foreign or out-right scorned. Even some Christians (among others) give in to this thinking when they attempt to predict the end of the world through formulas of their own creation - formulas that they control.
In this beautiful Easter season we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death. We celebrate His complete love for all of humanity of all times. We celebrate His complete abandonment to the will of the Father, ultimately seen in His giving up His life on the Cross. Three days later He rises from the dead. He rises and gives us reason to "not let your hearts be troubled." We can only embrace this reality by surrendering ourselves, as Jesus did, to the will of the Father. This is how we are to prepare for our own "end-times" and for the ultimate end of the world. Jesus reminds us to be prepared at all times and we do so by staying united to Him, especially through the sacraments. He is the One who shows us how to live for He is "the way, the truth and the life."
Let this message of hope be the message that others can witness through our lives. Our world, which is so full of trouble these days, needs this witness...needs Christ.
by Michael Lavigne
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