HOW TO INTERPRET THESE TIMES

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Friday 24 October 2014

HOW TO INTERPRET THESE TIMES

                     

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?” (Luke 12:54-59)

Reflection. Jesus sounds deeply puzzled that people do not seem to see what is happening before their eyes. They hear his words and witness his “signs” but they do not draw the conclusion. Why can they not see that everything is changed now? The times are fulfilled, meaning the human race has come of age, and God has inaugurated something new. Can they not see it? Perhaps an historical equivalent presented itself in modern times in Southern Rhodesia in 1961. There was a “wind of change.” Could they not see it? They didn’t and we had twenty years of violence and death. And today? How do we interpret these times? Are we also guilty of just waiting and hoping for the best? That we won’t actually have to make any decisions ourselves? Others will do it for us. What Jesus seems to be saying is that we have to make a decision. Something new is happening. Have we eyes to see it?   

Prayer. Lord, help us to understand what is going on in our midst. Give us eyes to see, hearts to discern and wills to act. Amen..  

David Harold-Barry SJ