Readings for the Day:
Original Manuscript:
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In Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, there’s a story that spans the ages. Back in Chaucer’s England, there’s a man named Hob who speaks up in a tavern of how much greater life would be if he could live together. Unbeknownst to him, Death and Dream are present in this tavern, and they grant him this desire. The only thing asked in return is that he come to the same location once ever 100 years in order to tell Dream about what he has done with his life in the meantime.
Now when Hob first enters this Tavern, there are a lot of conversations going on in the background about how morals of society are failing, the political leaders are doing a terrible job, and that all the signs point to the world ending soon.
At the end of the story, Hob and Dream are meeting in the same spot in 1989, now a coffee shop. Around them there are conversations about how the morals of society are failing, the current political leaders are doing a terrible job, and that all signs point to the world ending soon.
I mention this story because in our readings today, particularly in our Gospel, we hear about some of these signs that the world is going to end soon. It can be hard for us not to speak the same thing as those conversing around Hob and Dream in Chaucer’s day as well as in the 20th Century. It can be difficult for us not to look at everything that has happened in the past two years, and perhaps longer, and not think the world will end soon.
There is some hope in that these kind of conversations have gone on for a long time, since even Jesus’ day. Yet life has continued since.
Our hope in the midst of uncertainty is the most important thing for us to remember. As we hear in Daniel and our Psalm, God will be there to help us in these times. Hebrews points us even higher in reminding us that God will remember our sins no more and that Jesus will bring us into a new life, the life we celebrated in our service last week, where we will be in the fullness of connection and relationship with God.
If we have that hope in our lives, then we can do anything. We can face the adversities Jesus speaks of because we know these difficulties will not have the final word in our lives. If we hold onto this hope, then we will know that nothing we face in this world shall be the end for us.
We must also remember that continuing to move forward is what we are called to do. Hebrews tells us that we are called to continue to do the work God has given us to do and to encourage one another in that. Hebrews says we should do that work “all the more as you see the Day approaching.” That “Day” being the end.
Even if it seems like all around us is falling and coming to an end, we are still called on to have hope and joy in God’s work. We are called to recall the Good News of God bringing us closer and closer to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. Most of all, no matter what is going on around us, we are called to continue God’s work in the world by praising Him as we support and raise one another up to serve our Lord in this world.