Church of the
Annunciation

The passage from today’s Gospel is fitting considering that it concerns the end of time. We are coming to the end of our liturgical year on the last Sunday of November—the  Feast of Christ the King. An End and the HOPE for a new

beginning.

   St. Mark’s Gospel passage was written to give the people HOPE.  St. Mark points to Old Testament imagery from the book of Daniel and he begins by saying, “In those days after that tribulation.”  He then has Jesus say, “The sun will be

darkened, the moon will not give its light and the stars will be falling from the sky.”

   The first Christians lived in troubled times. They lived their faith in fear and isolation, supported only by one another. To survive, to be courageous, they needed to hold onto their FAITH and have HOPE.

   We too live in troubled, uncertain times. We too may live in fear and isolation. We may be terrified for ourselves and our loved ones as we watch the evening news and the unspeakable tragedy of violence, hatred and war. We are anxious about the changes within the Diocese and the loss of what we hold dear.

   There are some days when we may feel everything is falling in around us. There are some days that we may feel our world is coming to an end. Sometimes, we may find ourselves in crisis or chaos. God, however, creates all things new out of chaos. That’s what God did with the beginning of creation, and that’s what God continues to do in His re-creation of our world today.

   Perhaps what St. Mark is trying to say is that we should

believe that God is in control over it all. We are being asked to believe that the underlying message is to hold onto our FAITH and have HOPE.  Hold onto God.

    - Fr. Jerry