Certainly the events of the 1990s and of these first few years of the twenty-first century read like the fulfilment of Luke’s apocalypse in today’s Gospel: the world has experienced wars, the clamour of the elements in terms of tsunamis, volcanoes, floods and hurricanes and the ever-present worldwide menace of terrorism.

But where is the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory? Can we, in fact, stand erect and hold our heads high in the face of the increasing violence and lack of respect for life that plagues our region?

Perhaps the key to this passage lies in the words Watch yourselves! – that is to say, be alert! Be alert to the fact that, yes, the world is coming to an end. Be alert to the fact that, sooner or later, our world will come to an end at our death.

This is not necessarily being morbid. We live our life in the here-and-now, being alert to all of life’s beauty, gifts and opportunities, but also alert to all its dangers (1 Cor 16:13). We can recognise that everything is important, and yet everything passes away. Because things are important, we can attend to them; because everything passes away, we can let go.

Jesus had to recognise this too. These words of his, in the Gospel today, are situated in the final days of his life. He was alert to the fact that he had to let go and allow himself to undergo the events of the Passion that brought salvation.

And so, it is in this tension of daily attending to life and daily letting go, that we come to recognise the face of Jesus, the Son of Man, and so find hope. And hope makes us hold our heads high.

Let us pray:
Lord, we thank you for this call to vigilance. Help us to see clearly, with deep insight, into daily events, so that we might recognise in them the coming of the Son of Man, and so stand with confidence.
Forgive us, Lord, for our mindless abuse of nature and of each other, which has resulted in disasters that now menace the world. Help us to watch ourselves, so that all may be given the chance to stand with confidence before you.
Lord, help us, as a Church, to guard against arrogance and a patronising attitude. Help us to be servants to each other, so that when the Son of man comes, he may find us living out his commandment of love.

Gospel Meditations for December are by Bro Paschal Jordan of the Benedictine Monastery, Mora Camp, Lower Mazaruni, Guyana