The Lord comes
The Lord comes! He is looking for us. Do we open to him the door of our hearts? Do we recognize him when he asks us whether he may enter? Do we know him when we meet him in the street, in our neighbor? Let us ask the Lord in this Eucharist that we may love and admit him in the many ways he comes to us.
At a time of war and trials, the prophet gives to God’s people a vision of hope in God’s final peace and justice. We have to prepare this future.
The Christian life is an active waiting for Christ’s continuing coming. The disciples of Christ must always be ready for recognizing the Lord’s coming by being faithful to the mission in life given them by Christ.
First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
There’s a day coming
when the mountain of God’s House
Will be The Mountain—
solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will river toward it,
people from all over set out for it.
They’ll say, “Come,
let’s climb God’s Mountain,
go to the House of the God of Jacob.
He’ll show us the way he works
so we can live the way we’re made.”
Zion’s the source of the revelation.
God’s Message comes from Jerusalem.
He’ll settle things fairly between nations.
He’ll make things right between many peoples.
They’ll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won’t play war anymore.
Come, family of Jacob,
let’s live in the light of God.
Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14
Make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight.
Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute.
Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44
“The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.
“The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.
Prayer
God, our hope and our future,
through your Son Jesus Christ
you are part of our lives and our communities.
Make us so much aware of his presence
that people may love and encounter him
in our discreet but deep love for one another,
in our efforts to bring peace to this world,
in our commitment to compassion and justice
for even the humblest and most neglected.
May Jesus inspire and guide us
to lead everyone to you, our God for ever. Amen.
Video available at: bibleclaret.org
