For Sunday the 24th of November, 2024 (Proper 29)
As we gather for worship on the final Sunday of the church year, our Lord encourages us to recognize in such things as distress and adversity an indication that He is coming soon. He assures us He will return on a day and at a time we cannot know. Therefore he again calls us to, “Be on guard! Keep awake!” (Mark 13:33). How do we do this? Jude says it involves being strengthened in the faith, praying, and showing mercy to those who waver. Most importantly it means relying always on the Lord, for He alone can keep us from stumbling and bring us blameless into His presence. Let us then depend on Him always, be diligent in hearing his word and receiving the Holy Supper, the medicine of immortality, for His “salvation will be forever, and [His] righteousness will never be dismayed” (Isaiah 51:6).
