Student Daily Reflection

Whenever humanity is confronted with the end, it seems there is always a certain amount of uneasiness that accompanies it. Whether it be the end of school, the end of a relationship, or most especially, the end of one’s life, there is an anxiety that arises due to the unknown of what will occur next. Yet endings are the only certainty we have in life. Both in a biological sense, we will all die, and in a spiritual sense, the reality of creation that we experience today will one day cease to exist. This final end is exactly what the Scripture draws us into today.

In both the first reading from Revelations and the Gospel from Luke, we encounter descriptions of the end of time, which signifies the second coming of Christ and thus judgment day. And what a scary thing to encounter. No one, at least that I know, gets excited thinking about judgment day. No one enjoys imagining the harsh “reaping” of the harvest that Revelations presents, nor does anyone like to envision the wars and natural disasters that Jesus reveals to us in the Gospel.

Yet my question is why? Why does the end, the final moment between the separation of humanity and the divine frighten us so much? Why do we allow ourselves to get so worked up over it? Is it because we are afraid we will not pass through the judgment? Are we worried about the suffering that might occur as the second coming of our Savior draws near? Do we not have a specific reason; it is just something in our gut? All of these questions are something we should reflect on, something we should ask the Holy Spirit to lead us through.

For if we fear we will not make it through the judgment, than perhaps we need to reevaluate ourselves, the way we live and the way we love. Perhaps we are not living life in the example of Jesus and the way the Father has asked us to. Likewise, if the thought of suffering due to division or destruction brings panic into our being, perhaps we have forgotten all about the one who overcame suffering, the one who turned suffering into redemption. Any suffering we experience, from a minor headache to the destruction of the earth, God will be with us. God will be with us until the end, if we have allowed ourselves to be with Him now.