Good morning, Good People,
May the Lord bless with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is 01st September 2025. We reflect on 1 Thess 4:13-18 and Luke 4:16-30.
When will the Lord return?
It is the question that comes to all of us, just as it did to those who lived during the time of St. Paul. This question generates hope in us. Death is not an end indeed. It is another level of the journey towards God. Death evokes a tsunamic wave of emotions that pulls us down on every level, yet the hope of seeing our loved ones again in the Lord is possible, as we believe in the resurrection of the body.
For “we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and, in the same way, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” Therefore, we do not grieve over them “like the other people who have no hope.”
Grieving is necessary for integral health. Grieving does not mean losing hope. It is the process of moving forward with the hope of meeting them again in the Lord.
For, St. Paul, the Parousia is: The glorious return of Christ; Hope in the face of death; A moment of judgment and vindication; a time of accountability; The fulfilment of Christian hope; A reason and encouragement to live faithfully, with eyes fixed on Christ and eternity.
In no way does St. Paul suggests avoiding a healthy grieving process; rather, he invites us to be hopeful people in the Risen Lord Jesus. The new life is offered to all who believe in the Risen Christ. Hence, even if someone goes before us into the abyss of darkness and emptiness through the tunnel of death before the Second Coming of the Lord, we are taught that the deceased go before the Lord or into Heaven as they are in the intermediate state, because of the immortality of the soul. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so, we will be with the Lord forever. “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:18).
In the Gospel, we are presented with the manifesto of Jesus as He began preaching. The listeners of the Word of God in the hometown of Jesus found it extremely hard to accept His teaching and they wanted to get rid of Him by all means. “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.”
Truth is bitter to taste and hard to digest, yet it is the antidote for our being.
Jesus is the Truth we all need to encounter here and now as we live on earth. If we fail or refuse, we will have to face the Truth without any choices left.
Have a peaceful day. God bless you.