Day 24, Matthew 24 -
TODAY IS THE 1st DAY IN THE HOLY SEASON OF LENT!
ASH WEDNESDAY!
You’ve made a decision to be here and I commend you for taking the time to TURN to our LORD on this HOLY DAY!
TODAY is the day that we start over! When you go to Mass today and you receive ashes — listen to those sweet words…
REMEMBER YOU ARE DUST AND TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN!
I mean you can’t be any clearer than that… and right out of the gate — day 1 we are called to humility and to remember that the only reason we have breadth today and life is because Our Lord so wills it!
And so we take this time in a special way — yes we do EVERYDAY — but… because we are human God knows that we forget things!!!!
I mean as soon as yesterday is over we forget yesterdays blessings!
What is up with that?
And no, it is not because you are getting older — look at kids — they don’t remember what you did for them 15 minutes ago let alone yesterday — so no excuse you older folk!! You are older and wiser!!!
I am thrilled today to be another year older — I say another year closer to the KINGDOM — PLEASE GOD!!!
We want to change our minds — we want to turn our minds toward God through the person of JESUS! And so we take specific time with specific dedication with an open heart and we decide with grace of course that
THIS LENT we long to seek His face and hear His voice!
And so I want to kick today off with the most incredible words I read in the
MAGNIFICAT –(if you don’t know what this is — it is a precious booklet that has the daily Mass readings and prayers etc… it is a monthly subscription and you can go to www.magnificat.com to see more about it — I carry it around with me always — some Catholic book stores have it too- makes a great gift for someone – thanks Annie!)
Ash Wednesday – it reads…
“We begin each LENT begging for ‘the blessing of forgiveness’”!
OK let’s stop right there because if you don’t realize that you need forgiveness, we need forgiveness, as a community, as a country, as a world!
If you don’t see that… that is cool — just means that you MUST pray pray pray these days to understand and see that — and God will show you!
I’ll continue…
“God longs for us to return to him with our whole heart.
For without such repentance we remain tormented by the question, ‘Where is our God?’
God has not cast us out of His presence; rather,
He desires us to ‘become the righteousness of God.’
The Father ‘who is hidden’ waits for us to pray,
‘A clean heart create for me, O GOD.’
Then the way that we reach out to reality to become one with it will reveal God’s saving Presence in every circumstance. ‘
The JOY of our SALVATION’ BEGINS TODAY!”
So you see the theological principle again — BOTH – AND
We are to be FIRD UP and filled with JOY — that we can take this journey and turn to God no matter where we have been or what we’ve been doing!
In addition we must mourn over our lowliness and our sinfulness and be beggars of His forgiveness!
START TODAY — and read over those powerful words that I just shared from the MAGNIFICAT booklet — and let them sink in today!
JUST DON”T SHOUT THE A_ _ _ _ _ _ _a word!
NOW hold on to your seats — because today is all about the END TIMES!!
ISN”T THIS AMAZING –
I’m telling you this is the HOLY SPIRIT Leading this bible blog! For sure!
To Dust you will return and then here is everything else in this chapter that you have to be ready for!
There are three main earth shattering points here:
- Signs of Tribulation
- Signs of Christ Coming
- Better to Be Ready
1- Signs of Tribulation- Well so much for the JOY of Salvation!
I mean if remembering we are dust was not enough – the LORD has St. Matthew recalling for us on THIS DAY -
- the tribulation that awaits in the end times… I looked up Tribulation and it means = grieveous trouble, servere trials and suffering!
First Jesus leaves the temple area after all the WOES — and his disciples must have been impressed with the temple buildings -
- who knows maybe they had just had a captial campaign and there were some new buildings up and looking good –
- many of the jews only traveled to Jerusalem for the big feast days and this was the Passover so everyone was in town!
Imagine what the disciples were thinking when Jesus told them that …
not one stone of one building would be left – there would not be a stone upon another that will not be thrown down!
YIKES! That’s a lot of destruction –
- sounds like what happens to us too when we don’t accept Jesus as LORD — a lot of destruction inside of us — the temple of the HOLY SPIRIT!
It might look good on the outside but it is coming down eventually if not built on the rock!
Jesus said that the signs of tribulation will be great abominations… and He points to things that the prophet Daniel spoke of… so we can look there and read it –
—people will have to flee from where they live — and Jesus said that the tribulation or suffering will be so great that nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the world – nor will there ever be!
hmmmmmmm that’s pretty HUGE tribulation!
He talks about the suffering that will take place because of the False prophets! He says they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive… even the elect — the chosen ones — maybe those who could see!
Jesus is truly warning them now! I mean here we are with still four chapters to go — and still the agony and scourging and crucifixion — and we see HIM really getting specific as to what to watch out for and the road of suffering and what to expect!
Jesus tells them that the false prophets will try to distract people into thinking that the Messiah is here or there — and then people will run after them…
but Jesus lets them know that when HE COMES BACK — make no mistake WE WILL ALL SEE HIM!
Then I love this verse 28
“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather!”
To me that means that the false prophets and deceivers of this world love to prey on the spiritually dead! OH yes the enemy loves to tempt and kick around the Christian who is trying to follow Jesus — but he makes a home and dwells in the spiritually dead!
Bottom line is that Jesus gave them the signs to look for and the reality that there will be tribulation in the last days — and that the signs all point to JESUS – and His coming!
2- Signs of Christ Coming- OK so here we have it in black and white… Christ will come … when IMMEDIATLEY… after the tribulation of those days!
How will we know?
The sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Sounds like we might have a clue when this happens that something is up!
It reminds be of the miracle of the sun in Fatima when Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the three little children — if you don’t know the story read about it online! There is also a new movie out about the Apparition at Fatima! IT was very good.
Called “The 13th Day” by Ian & Dominic Higgins.
then Jesus continues… that the SIGN of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn —
Now why will they mourn? It’s a mystery — you can tell me what you think but I think that when we see the sign we will realize how much He loves us and how much we have fallen short of loving HIM — that we will be moved to tears — or maybe they will mourn because they didn’t believe!
IT could be the mourning that comes from the WOES!
Either way — it is a mystery — I truly believe the same way the apostles didn’t understand but had been given the clues about what was to come — so it is with us regarding the second coming!!!
… it says “they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
I mean as I read this — I feel like the apostles when Jesus was telling them about the crucifixion! I feel like He is speaking to us now — even though HE was telling them at that time —
They all thought He was coming back quickly — and again I am amazed that this is before the crucifixion -
I wonder what they were thinking? If being crucified wasn’t enough for them to hear — now all of this?…
Bottom line in all of this is to be ready!!!
3- Better to be Ready! – Jesus says right away when speaking on WHEN this will be that NO ONE —- and that means NO ONE — knows the hour — only the Father alone –
The Father alone? How can that be … I though Jesus was God?
ONE GOD? Shouldn’t Jesus have known too? Well to understand this you have to understand the Trinity — and that is a mystery and we could spends hours, days, weeks, months, years — on understanding the Trinity — and we should… but for now just know that it is possible for Jesus not to know the time and the Father to know alone!
I love the way that Jesus says that it will be just like the time of Noah — when no one saw it coming –
- everyone was eating and drinking and having a good time!!! Enjoying life! And then all of a sudden the ultimate Cleansing came upon the earth! The ultimate Baptism!!
It reminds me of the movie the TITANIC! — you know how the rich were on the top of the ship and the lower class all knew and were trying to get free — the rich wouldn’t listen — and just kept on with their party!
Jesus gives some other great examples and then says…
“SO TOO, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” verse 44
OK we could meditate on this verse for the rest of our lives —
BE PREPARED — BE PREPARED—BE PREPARED!
You know that people tend to focus on the fear and drama of the last days — there are movies — and even Christian series that talk about being left behind as we also read in this chapter —
People sensationalize the second coming!!
What do I think about the second coming?… I am asked a lot –
I think we should stop focusing on the when – how – what will it be like — who will be in — who will be out —
and Focus on BEING READY!
the key is ARE YOU PREPARED?
Are you at least on the WAY! Not your WAY but THE WAY — JESUS!
I read this and I take in everything Jesus says -
- but I don’t live in fear or question how is this going to work?
I mean to be honest — I don’t think words will be able to capture what happens at the second coming of Christ — I think Matthew does a great job and Jesus delivers it well — but our language falls short — so while everything Jesus says is true here — we might not be able to understand it all!
Being ready and prepared is what Jesus calls the Faithful Servant — the one who God puts in charge of something ,and when He returns He finds him working and loving and doing His will!
This reminds me of a song I love, called “FIND US READY” by Tom Booth…
I will close with these words from the song…
Find us Ready Lord
not standing still
find us working and loving and doing your will
find us ready Lord, faithful in love,
building the kingdom that’s here and above
building the kingdom of Mercy and love!
I have these friends – a couple — Marilyn and Charlie — and after hearing a sermon on being ready– at a retreat — we decided that whenever we greeted each other we would say to each other “Ready?”
We always knew what it meant and it was a constant reminder that our goal in life is to BE READY?
It is a state of BEING… a state of GRACE!
We’ve got ahead of us a Holy season of grace to lead us into holiness and transformation!
SO I ask you today… READY?
What do you think?
