Although these are short readings, they ‘pack a punch’ and leave no room for the uncertainties related to everlasting life. On one hand, these readings want to shock us into the reality of the end times and on the other hand, remind use of the awesomeness of the God who saves us.

THE LENS OF JOY

Psalm 15(16): 5,8-11 begins with the words, ‘You shall show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence,’ which, I believe should be the starting point of our discussion as it highlights the compassion and love that God has for his people. The Psalmist is encouraging us to take physical, emotional and spiritual shelter in God which helps us to discern justice, friendship, service, and community to name but a few. This contrasts with a world that provides false shelter and uses societal influences as answers that do not lead to the truth of the Gospel. Instead, our decision making becomes void of meaning. For us to decide to walk the ‘path of life’ (Psalm 15:8) we must consciously consider the implications of our actions. Living a virtuous life on earth, leads to everlasting life rather than a false existence that simply allows us to survive. At the heart of these decisions is truth, which shines a light in areas of our lives which can be unsettling at first but progresses to acceptance and joy. The fruit of living for God is joy.

THE LENS OF HOPE AND FAITH

Through the reading of Daniel, we see an overlap of two ‘Advents’; the coming of the Messiah as a child and Jesus’ coming in glory through the resurrection. There is also a clear indication of a third Advent – the coming of the end times. Each ‘Advent’ can be viewed through the lens of hope. Hope in a new creation that would save us from death. A hope in the second coming of Jesus, who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and leading to the third coming in the Last Judgement. These apocalyptic narratives were not written to instil fear and foreboding, but instead they are there to provide an assurance in the hope of our salvation.

Romans 5:2 tells us to ‘rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.’ In our world today, to use the lens of hope as a tool to view wars, extremism, anger and violence is counter cultural. Hope does not gloss over the injustices that exist in our world, but it does provide a new narrative that challenges others to put down their arms, work towards peace and find solutions to the injustice that exists. Hope is born out of the resurrection experience, where the impossible becomes possible. Saint Augustine of Hippo is quoted as saying ‘Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.’ Hope requires our consent, freewill, to say yes to the possibilities of something new – hope is built on a leap of faith.

THE LENS OF TRUTH

Truth can be viewed as subjective and collective. The personal truth that we hold about events, stories, experiences are carried throughout our lives. There are shared truths that come from our Church, society and family. Mark 13 highlights the truth that is beyond our understanding and central to our belief about ‘world without end’ and ‘life everlasting’ and brings us freedom. These credal statements affirm our belief in the ultimate journey of unity with God after our death on earth. It is not a truth that binds us or tethers us, but bonds us to God.

There is a crisis in universal truth today which has left individuals to ‘live their own truth’. As truth becomes arbitrary and relative, so too our conscience is affected and what is deemed as good and holy lacks significance. Seeing our lives through the lens of Truth provides us with the opportunity to explore concrete possibilities that include a life without end. It is not the easiest truth to understand but is one that we are called to work towards. This truth provides us with direction of our lives and when Jesus is asked ‘Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?’ (Matthew 19:16) he answers by affirming the truth of a new world and that ‘…with God all things are possible.’

Within the readings for this Sunday, we can often get lost in the existential nature of the scripture but taking time to read these apocalyptic readings with the lens of faith, hope, truth, and joy bring freedom to say yes to what God is offering each one of us.