Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 431

Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.


In today's first reading, Saint Paul describes an astonishing show of power when the Lord descends to gather his own unto himself and draw them after him into eternal life. If he has been raised up, as we believe, then surely he will raise us up as well.
    Some Christian preachers assume that Saint Paul has described quite literally the way the end of human history will transpire. They describe it with a word found no where in scripture, rapture.
    Others combine this brief statement with Saint Matthew's description of the Final Judgment, when the saved are separated from the damned like sheep from goats, and then called into eternal bliss.
    Because this event or these events must happen in the future (because they have not happened yet), it's safe to believe any scenario you want. Both divine authors assume the earth is flat, not terribly broad, and that everyone who ever lived can be quickly and easily transported to a vast, open air courtroom. God's throne, apparently is somewhere above, beyond the sky, and the Lord will descend -- with or without his throne -- from there.
    But Saint Paul's intent is not to describe what it will be like but what we can expect, "Thus we shall always be with the Lord."
    The consolation is not so much in the scenarios we can imagine: streets of gold? endless family reunions? unending worship service? or (my favorite) intergalactic travel.
    Rather the consolation is found in what we already know, "We shall always be with the Lord."