No one likes to be around a person who is filled with doom and gloom. We all know the type: the person who is constantly finding fault; the person who is pessimistic about all outcomes; the person who hardly ever has anything good to say about another. Doom and gloom are dark and alienating.
When we pick up the scriptures for this weekend, the last Sunday before next week’s Feast of Christ the King which ends our liturgical year, we could well be tempted to get stuck thinking that these readings about the end of time are just about doom and gloom.
Yes, the First reading from Daniel the Prophet describes his vision of a time of unsurpassed distress when Michael the Archangel arises and the people are terrified. In the Gospel reading St. Mark describes the time when the sun will be darkened and the moon will no longer give its light; the stars will be falling from the sky and the powers in heaven will be shaken.
It sounds pretty terrifying if that were all there was to it. But Mark goes onto say that the Son of Man will appear in the clouds and bring salvation to those who believe in Him. Without the Son of God, the Savior, all is lost and doom and gloom reigns.
We always hear these readings at the end of our liturgical year because they are readings that ultimately lead us to hope and promise which is an underlying themes all during the Advent Season. We therefore are a people of hope, a people who look forward to all that God has to offer.
I think these readings today provide an opportunity for each of us to stop and look at ourselves and ask whether I am a person of doom or a person of hope. Can I look at life as it happens and especially on the dark days, and see the hope for tomorrow? Or do I get bogged down on the negative and forget about God’s promises.
TO be honest we’re all probably a little bit of each. But as the fall turns into winter, nature reminds us that spring and new life will follow. Let us hold onto that kind of promise and know that the Lord is our hope and our glory!