Hoping in the Lord and Waiting upon the Lord to Come and Save Us

 In today's first reading, Revelations 22: 1-7, St. John is again visited by an angel. The angel shows John "the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of the Lamb down the middle of the street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produced fruit twelve times a year, ....[In this place] nothing accursed will be found anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship hm....Night will be no more,... for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever."  The angel then tells John that "Behold, I am coming soon."   In today's Gospel, Jesus also speaks of  the day of the Lord's coming and says to us:  "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth."   

An assault is scary. Darkness can be frightening! Neither a sudden assault nor sudden darkness are situations for which we are usually prepared.  We know, in faith, that on the other side of persecution or traumatic events that lead to death is eternal life.  Sufferings on this earth are not forever! That is how Jesus entered his passion and crucifixion. He believed in the resurrection, in God's power over death and He kept His focus on His Father!

Every day,  somewhere in the world, individuals face the threat of violence--be it violence from other nations, the violence of a terminal illness, the violence of being persecuted for one's beliefs, the violence of rape, the violence of the loss of a loved one, the violence of a divorce, the violence of losing a parent or a son or daughter or a sibling or a friend, the violence of losing a job--the source of one's livelihood--the violence of being driven from one's homeland, the violence of extreme poverty, the violence of nature's raging storms,  and so on!

"Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus,! we pray in today's responsorial psalm. And in today's first reading, God responds:  "Behold, I am coming soon!"  May we never lose that hope!