THE DAY OF THE LORD

Meditation for Tuesday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Thes 5:1-6; Lk 4:31-37)

St Paul gives his final exhortation to the Thessalonians about the end times and the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. “But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the darkness.” That day, when everything will surrender to the authority of Jesus, can only come as a surprise to those who are not already living under His authority. St Paul says, “Let us keep awake and sober”, avoiding works of darkness, for it is the will of God that we obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and live with Him.

So, if we are already living with Him, we need not fear the end times or the endings of our undertakings and situations in life. Sometimes we are tempted to misuse time or misappropriate our time.

Think about the event that occurred at Capernaum. As the people felt the authority of Jesus, and were reclining their hearts to Him, the demon cried out in protest against Jesus. Imagine, he was protesting against Jesus with the truth about Him: “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” Interrupting Jesus with such a loud voice is rebellion, no matter the truth he acknowledges about His person. It was the wrong timing; and a contradiction that the ‘Holy One’ has come to destroy! But Jesus rebuked this noise maker, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

For sure, the demon was afraid of surrendering to the authority of Jesus and decided to resist. Think about the empty noises and interruptions we face whenever we are inclined to enjoying some peace with Christ or when we feel the urge to pray. The devil can use truth like a bait to catch us into a bigger lie. And most of these temptations come at the wrong time, but they are usually loud and overpowering. Our victory is that we have the grace to live out today in full ‘the day of the Lord’ by inclining our hearts to His authority. For those who are already in Christ Jesus, who walk in the light of Christ, the day of the Lord will not take them by surprise, and the tricks of the devil will not take them unawares. Amen.

St Raymond Nonnatus, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Tuesday August 31^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com