16 November 2025 #whatwillJesussaytoyou?

Apocalypse. Armageddon. Doomsday. Those words reflect the liturgical season, as we quickly approach the end of the year. We are to spend these next couple of weeks thinking about what-comes-next - then aligning our thought, words, and deeds to life beyond this earthly realm.

Some of this scary stuff, but honestly… I think the world is a scary place. There’s a particular smoldering fire in the world, and although Malachi (a prophet… and the excerpt from our first reading) sees the end times as a day of vindication for the oppressed, it feels as though we’re wading through some tumultuous times… the powerful turning-up-the-heat and the proud setting-the-cultural-temperature to a degree that none of us are comfortable with. Amen?

Our psalmist is looking to the future because his present isn’t all that great. Even in the Davidic kingdom, Saul’s loyalists are looking for ways to re-take control [2 Samuel 3:1]. David’s house, built on adultery and polygamy, has issues [2 Samuel 13 and 15, among others]. “The Lord will come to rule the earth with justice” is not just a refrain, it’s a plea: “Yes, Lord, please, we beg you, come rule the earth with your justice.” Because life isn’t all that pleasant now.

And it isn’t all that pleasant in Paul’s time either, as he writes to the fledging community in Thessalonica. Christians are not acting like Christians (surprise!). The twist here is that the early Christian communities thought Jesus would return to earth in their lifetime. So why work? Just create some disorder – rage against the Roman machine as it were - and then expect support from the faith community. Complain bitterly about the way things are done and - incite some riots over oppression - then have a pat-ourselves-on-the-back relaxed meal at the end of the chaotic day. Ummmm…. No, says Paul. Work quietly, be dignified, change the world through your holy actions, not vitriolic rhetoric.

And now we come to the somewhat harsh words of Jesus: Be an authentic Christian – love on the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the outcast – and you will be persecuted. Wars come and go on this earth… pay no heed to them; they are borne from a deep-seeded desire for power (Tolkein). But when the heavens open up in ways unexpected and unexplainable… then take warning: think Fatima and “the day the son danced.” For this end-times event, every single soul will take notice of the sign.

So what now? Where do we go from here? It’s time to start thinking about that face-to-face meeting with Jesus, who looks directly into the heart and sees the movement of the soul. Who knows our innermost thoughts and outer-most actions from the time He knit us in the womb. Good news, bad news, right?

Jesus will come again and renew the face of the earth. That much is certain. Chances are, however, that most of us will leave this earth only to fall at his feet before receiving our just reward. Personally, I’m hoping for a purgatory sentence that includes ‘time off for good behavior.’ Now is the time to start thinking about the “what next” of our lives and what Jesus will say to us as we kneel at his feet. #whatwillJesussaytoyou?