TRY TO BE READY FOR CHRIST’S COMING!

⏰Wednesday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time 2 (12 September 2018)

📕1 Cor 7:25-31; Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17 (R.v.11a); Luke 6:20-26

My dear, assuming that Jesus comes back now while you are reading this message, will you be ready to welcome him? In order words, will he find you worthy to follow him back into eternity?

I think, and rightly so, that that was the mind of St Paul in 1 Cor 7:25-31. Every other interpretation from this must be seen as secondary.

We must not forget that one major problem of the Church in Corinth is that they were expecting an imminent parousia (second coming of Christ) but before then, many of them were dying off. So they began to ask questions.

St Paul equally believed in that imminent parousia (see 1Cor 7:29) and so encouraged the people on the need to remain faithful to their state of life. He encouraged them to shun the attachment to worldly things and seek heavenly virtues (1Cor 7:30-34).

Jesus asks us, “What will you gain by winning the whole world if you lose your life?” (Matt 16:26). He advises us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice and all [things you need] will also be given you” (Matt 6:33).

In Luke 6:20-26, through the four beatitudes and four woes, Jesus shows the benefits of being detached from this world and the danger of being attached to it.

Remember that the poor in the scriptures are not necessarily the poverty stricken, neither are the rich necessarily the wealthy. The disposition of your heart can place you in either way.

My dear, do not allow the worries of this life to deny you a place in the kingdom of God. St Paul noted that the sufferings of this world are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed (Rom 8:18). Do your best and leave the rest for God.

May God grant you the grace to remain faithful to him in this life; may he grant your needs in this life and eternal life in the next. Amen.

Have a grace-filled day. Peace be with you.