The Gospel of Luke 21:8-9,25-27,33-36
The Lord said, “Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once. And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”
The Gospel passage quoted above is that set aside for the Saturday of Souls in the Orthodox Church. This passage speaks directly to, what some will call, the end of the world. I am not a bog person on the end of the world. Some people see the things happening today and say that the end is near, I like to keep in mind that these things have been going on for generations, but that does not mean we don’t need to be ready.
Jesus is telling us that we must be terrified when we hear of wars and tumults, concerned, yes, but terrified, no. He also cautions us not to be led astray by those who are saying, “The time is at hand!” I often wonder about the Harold Campings of the world or the others like him, if they have ever read this Gospel passage.
There is a television show called Doomsday Preppers. I have only watch the program one time and then I did not completely watch the episode. The show is about people who getting ready for the end of the world by building bunkers and bug out bags and all manner of things. My question is what are they doing to prepare their soul? What are we doing to prepare our souls? Are we more concerned with our lives here on earth then we are about our lives when this world passes away? The world might be a better place is we focused our attention on the spiritual rather than the material for a while.
Jesus gives us hope, hope is something the doom and gloom crowd will not give us, but Jesus gives us hope that all will pass away save His word. He reminds us to be watchful at all times as that will give us strength to go on with our lives. We should not be so concerned with the things going on around us and we must be prepared.
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