Sunday 18 November 2018: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

He shall gather his elect from the four winds

... today’s gospel reflects the outlook of a community that is finding a healthy balance. Though it speaks with certainty of the coming of the end, it acknowledges that ‘nobody knows’ when it will be fully manifest ‘but the Father’. Echoing the language of literature such as the prophecy of Daniel about the signs of the end, it nevertheless urges constant vigilance, lest believers be taken unawares – one of the themes of the preaching of Jesus. We know God’s final achievement has been realized in the Christ’s risen greatness; but we wait in faith and hope for our full sharing in all that Christ has promised. With Mark’s community, we place our trust – whatever lies ahead of us - in the one who said: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away’.

Extract by John Thornhill sm - read more at The Emmaus Series | Image courtesy of pexels.com