Sober Reflection

We are coming to the end of our liturgical year, and the readings for this Sunday focus on the end times; it isn’t exactly a joyful celebration being depicted. We are presented with scenes of anguish, suffering, and darkness. It would be very easy to focus on the very negative elements of the readings and miss the notes of hope and life. We need to focus on both parts of the Word that is presented today.

The scenes of the end times, of suffering, anguish and darkness, are cause for sober reflection. Jesus reminds us often that we do not know the hour or the day, whether it be for the end of the world or the end of my individual life. This, then, is a time for me to reflect on my life, my choices, my commitments and my discipleship. Many questions come to the fore: How faithful have I been in living my life as a disciple? How open am I to the promptings of the Spirit? Am I open to new possibilities in my life? Do I take the easy way, or am I willing to respond to a call that will require sacrifice and letting go of my own will? Where is God calling me to change? Where do I need conversion and growth?

Having focused on the response to the scenes of the end times, we are also invited to reflect on the elements of promise and hope in the readings. Daniel reminds us that “many who sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life” and “those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky … like the stars”. Jesus reminds us that the Angels will “gather his elect from the four winds…”. We are not to fear the end, but rather look toward it with hope and joy, trusting in the promises that God makes through the prophet Daniel and the Gospel. Psalm 16 is a psalm of hope and promise for those who trust in the Lord and seek to follow in his way. We don’t need to do this on our own, as the psalmist reminds us that God will support us, teach us and show us the way. We need only to trust in God’s will for us, seek to understand it and then do our best to live it out. My maternal grandmother had a favourite saying that illustrates that kind of trust. Whenever faced with a difficult situation or trying to decide if one response to a situation was better than another, she would often say: “Maybe yes, maybe no, whatever God wants”. As we approach the end of one liturgical year and prepare for another, we pray that we may always respond with joy and trust, and seek to do “whatever God wants”.

By Richard Beaudette, OMI