Opening Prayer
Jesus, am I supposed to look forward to the end of days with joy or with fear? Your prophet Daniel suggests it is to be feared – your day of reckoning. People speak doom and gloom today. Yet, he also tells us that it is the time when your followers will shine forever. Did you expect the end of time to come soon, as Mark suggests? Is it a long time away? Or very close? Life seems fragile at times, and slips away so easy. Prophets of doom suggest that dire signs mean that your awesome coming is close – right around the corner. I get confused. Or is it that you are always close – coming and calling, if we just read the familiar, obvious and subtle signs. Will you wait until we build the temple of justice and peace so that God can reign here? There is still so much work we have to do to be faithful to what you asked of us. You have perfected us, Jesus, as High Priest – we are sanctified in you! Pour forth your Spirit of holiness within and among us that we might be sensitive to the signs of your coming and the subtle ways you are breaking into our lives.
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