Keep Awake — For you do not know on what day Your Lord is Coming! Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. –Matthew 24:42;46 (NRSVCE)
Image Courtesy: Fr. John Lewis
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
As Jesus came out of the Temple and was going away, His Disciples came to point out to Him
the buildings of the Temple. Then He asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell
you, not one stone will be left here upon another; All will be thrown down.”
Sign of the End of the Age
When Jesus was setting on the Mount of Olives, the Disciples came to Him privately saying,
‘Tell us, when will this be and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?’
Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name
saying, ‘I am the Messiah’ and they will lead many astray and you will hear of wars and rumors
of wars; See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place but the end is not yet. For nation
will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines and
earthquakes in various places, all this is the beginning of the birth pangs.”
Persecution Foretold
“Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death and you will be hated by
all nations because of My Name. Then many will fall away and they will betray one another and
hate one another and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray and because of the
increase in lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold but the one who endures to the end will
be saved and the Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a
testimony to all the nations; then the end will come.”
The Desolating Sacrilege
“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the Holy Place, as was spoken by the
Prophet Daniel, (9:23-25) then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the
housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; the one in the field must not turn back
to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those nursing infants in those days! Pray
that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For at that time there will be great
suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the wold until now, no and never will be.
If those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved but for the sake of the elect those
days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’
— Do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs
and omens, to lead astray, if possible even the elect. Take note. I have told you beforehand. So,
if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes
from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever
the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
The Coming of the Son of Man
“Immediately after the suffering of those days
the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in Heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven’ with power and great
glory and He will send out His Angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its
leaves, you know that Summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that He
is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these
things have taken place. Heaven and Earth will pass away but My Words will not pass away.”
The Necessity For Watchfulness
“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household,
to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom
his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of
all his possessions but if the wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed’ and he begins
to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come
on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in
pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
A Warning Against Hypocrisy
Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another,
He began to speak first to His Disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their
hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not
become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light and
what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.”
Exhortation To Fearless Confession
“I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more
but I will warn you whom to fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into
Hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight but
even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; You are of more value than many
sparrows. And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges Me before others, the Son of Man also
will acknowledge before the Angels of God but whoever denies Me before others will be denied
before the Angels of God.
Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven but whoever blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
When they bring you before the Synagogues, the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about
how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at
that very hour what you ought to say.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
Someone in the crowd said to Him (Jesus), ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family
inheritance with me.’ Jesus said to him, “Friend, who set Me to be a judge or arbitrator over
you?”
Jesus said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; For one’s life does
not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Then Jesus told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly and he thought
to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do
this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my
goods, I will say to my soul, soul you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink,
be merry.’ God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you and
the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures
for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Do Not Worry
Jesus said to His Disciples. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than
clothing. Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor
barn and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! Can any of you
by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing
as that, why do you worry about the rest?
Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all
his glory was not clothed like one of these but if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is
alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you – you of
little faith! Do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink and do not
keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things and Your
Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for His Kingdom and these things will be
given to you as well.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is Your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell
your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing
treasure in Heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
Watchful Slaves
“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; Be like those who are waiting for their master
to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he
comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; Truly
I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat and he will come and serve them.
If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those
slaves but know this:
If the owner of the house had known what hour the thief was coming he would not have let his
house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected
hour.”
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave
Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’
The Lord (Jesus) said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will
put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is
that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that
one in charge of all his possessions but if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in
coming’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women and to eat and drink and get
drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour
that he does not know and will cit him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who
knew what his master wanted but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a
severe beating but the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a
light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required and from
the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”
Jesus The Cause of Division
“I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with
which to be baptized and what stress I am under until it is completed!
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you but rather division!
From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three,
they will be divided:
father against son and son against father,
mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting The Time
Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It
is going to rain’ and so it happens and when you see the south wind blowing you say, ‘There will
be scorching heat’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance
of earth and sky but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
Settling With Your Opponent
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus, when you go with your accuser
before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case or you may be dragged before
the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer throw you in prison. I tell
you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” –Luke 12:1-59
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