Do Not Be Deceived
Daily Gospel Reflection: Luke 21:5-11
Today’s readings can be found on the USCCB website.
My inclination is to be very skeptical to those who interpret passages such as this with our immediate experiences. The reason is laid out in Luke’s own presentation of Jesus’ words: “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come’…but it will not immediately be the end.”
We are in the last week of Ordinary Time; our readings help us to reflect on our final end. We do not know when the final consummation of creation will happen. I think it is fair to say that in each generation there are events that happen where we wonder, ‘Is this it? Is this how it ends?’ Yet we are warned not to be deceived.
More important than playing any guessing game is the call to make present God’s Kingdom through our own lives now. This has implications for how we enter fully into the life to come.
Over and over again throughout his ministry Jesus tells us that we need to love God (which is manifest in us as obedience/receptivity to God’s will) and love our neighbour. By this we participate in Jesus’ own obedience to his Father. As Jesus is synonymous with God’s Kingdom, we participate in that eternal kingdom by being in Christ.
Whether the world ends today or not, I can live in God’s Kingdom now.
What better way to prepare for the world to come than to practice shedding myself of things that separate me from God? How much easier will that transition become the more I can dispose my will to God’s will here and now?
Those who have been declared saints show us that our unique response to God’s love, that is, our individual self-sacrificial obedience in living out God’s will, makes straight our path to union with God, both here on earth and the life to come.
Harking back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he proclaims: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15; cf. Matthew 4:17).
His words are equally true as we anticipate our final end, whether via the end of the world or our earthly lives.
Do not be deceived: let us repent and believe in Jesus, God-with-us.
Maranatha!
I agree with you, but I also think it right to long for the coming of Christ Jesus soon! We just should add to our prayer, " not my will but They will be done".