photo #8805838

Today is the last day of the liturgical year and once again, but not for the last time, we are considering the end of the world, but the more important part of this passage to me is that Jesus’ words will not pass away. The teachings of Jesus, the promises of Jesus, his command to love others will never pass away. The parables, the Beatitudes, his warnings, all have so much packed into them that it we will never be able to so search their meaning for us that we can say, we know it all and understand it all. After nearly two thousand years we are still learning what Jesus has to teach us. Jesus is letting us know that all future generations will have the same opportunity to learn from him. Yes, the original disciples thought that Jesus’ return was imminent, but as their peers began to die, they realized that it was important to write down all that Jesus said and did while those that knew him were still alive. Fortunately, people had collected Jesus’ sayings and they had kept the letters sent to the churches so there was a good amount of information to let us know what Jesus wanted us to know. I’ m sure that there are many things that were missed, but I am so grateful for those who took the time to write down their memories of Jesus as well as those who wrote down his sayings. I am also glad that those who put together the New Testament included all four Gospels. Mark gives us a lot of Jesus’ actions, but few of his words. Luke and Matthew worked from Mark’s Gospel as well as from the document of his sayings and John let us know more about who he said he was. We will never learn it all, so we must continue to read and reread his words.Prayer: Thank you, Lord for leaving us your words and your actions so that we can learn from you how we must live and also how much we can depend on your promise concerning eternal life. Amen.