Conflicts? Opportunities?

In the beginning, all things came to be. At the end, things as we know them will cease to be. Does anything really last forever? Certainly not temples, not nations, not even the foundations of the earth. So, what does last forever? God, the wisdom of Jesus, divine Life. And, yes, the lives of those who persevere in fidelity to the name and mission of Jesus and who “will secure” a share in divine Life. At the end . . . a new beginning.

We tend in everyday living to become mired in what is immediate, tangible, satisfies our present needs. The gospel challenges us to think beyond the present to what really is critical for us: the end of time and the life we do or do not secure for ourselves. Our whole life is a choice about end times.

This Sunday is a reminder that we secure our Life at the end of time through fidelity to Jesus’ name in the present time. Only the irrefutable and irresistible wisdom of Jesus gives us the strength and courage to be faithful to the end. Through our perseverance we discover that what we thought was the end is really a new beginning: God’s gift of eternal Life to those who are faithful. [Living Liturgy 2013]

Here is a sobering thought: the way we care for the children, are honest at the workplace, take leisure time to care for ourselves affects our whole world and everyone in it. This is the privilege of discipleship: we can make a difference! This is the effect of faithful discipleship: the world is a better place—we have readied it for Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time by our faithful and
grace-filled living now.

Every choice we make now bears import for our eternal future. Each choice to be faithful to Jesus’ name is a new beginning—a deepening of discipleship, a growth in wisdom, a strengthening of unselfish love, a fuller bonding in the Body of Christ, a realization of Jesus’ saving mission. Each choice to be faithful stretches us toward the final new beginning: fullness of Life in God.