Scripture and Devotion for the Thursday after the Fifth Sunday after St. Michael and All Angels: November 7, 2013 Scripture: St. Matthew 24:1-28 (NKJV) 1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My names sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elects sake those days will be shortened. 23 Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ! or There! do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore if they say to you, Look, He is in the desert! do not go out; or Look, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Devotion: Fourteen years ago, in 1999, fear gnawed at the hearts of many people that at the stroke of midnight on December 31st our life would be forever altered. The much-feared Y2K would dawn in chaos and disaster. For some, there was the dread that a worldwide computer problem would bring our entire digital infrastructure to a grinding halt. Others were convinced that Jesus would return and that in the ensuing Armageddon there would great tribulation. There was tremendous tribulation for the people of Jerusalem forty years after Jesus prophecy when, following the Roman general Titus siege, Jerusalem finally fell. Starvation resulted in cannibalism and pitched battles produced rivers of blood and, with other unimaginable horrors chronicled by Josephus in gruesome detail, Jesus prophecy that the city would be dismantled was fulfilled. Fearing a repeat of this calamity on a global scale, not a few lifted their voices to proclaim, Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming! Indeed He is. He has promised it. He will return on the clouds of Heaven, just as He departed. In the meantime—and this is why those who confess the true presence of Christ in Holy Communion faced that particular New Year without fear—Jesus comes to us every time we gather to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ. He comes to us in the blessed Sacrament to forgive our sins and to strengthen our faith. In faith we look forward with joy and confidence to the consummation of Christs promise, relying on the Holy Spirit to keep us till the end when we shall receive a crown of life.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 13:35:28 +0000
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