The Readings today are disturbing readings. They are filled with ominous language about cosmic collapse and signs about the end times. They tell of terrible events to come when the sun and moon fail to give light. Everything on which people relied will fall apart. These are troubling readings.
But this is Gospel. It is supposed to be good news. In what sense can this Gospel reading, all three of these readings in fact, be considered “good news”? The readings today about the end of the world show us the worldwide, centuries long conflict between good and evil of which each of us has a part. We all experience tension and conflict in our lives about many things. Soon, we come to realise that this conflict may be unique for us but it is not unique with us. It is a local personal battle in the larger war going on between redeemed and unredeemed, between good and evil, between sin and grace in which we are all involved . It runs through neighbourhoods, churches, politics, governments, classrooms, cultures, unions, businesses, sports, hospitals, entertainment as well as our lives. In our lives, we are experiencing everyday a piece of this larger struggle. The conflict between good and evil is a real and constant part of our lives.
We should not expect heaven any place on earth. We have to deal with the effects of sin everywhere we live and everywhere we go. We also have to be reassured that in all these conflicts God’s grace will be present to bring salvation and strength to his people. Whenever and wherever we live we can draw on the power of Christ’ resurrection victory into our lives here and now – the promise of the sacraments. The promise given in the scriptures is that in the end, the end of our life and at the end of our world, there will always be Christ.