What Will He Find When He Returns?

Those of us who are familiar with the Christian Scriptures, commonly known as the New Testament, are probably aware that early Christian believers worked under a presumption that Jesus would return sooner rather than later after his return to the Father.  The urgency which underlies the writings of St. Paul, the documents which are the first written after Jesus’ ascension, is palpable.  This is especially true of the letters that St. Paul wrote to the citizens of Thessalonika.  Scripture scholars believe that the first letter to the Thessalonians is, in fact, the earliest Christian document we have.  In it, St. Paul assures the early Christians that he fully expects to be alive when Christ returns.

In today’s liturgy, we begin reading from the St. Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, generally believed to be written shortly after the first.  In it we discover that St. Paul’s message has been distorted by other missionaries who followed him to Thessalonika and who have preached a different Gospel.  These charlatans hold that Jesus has already returned, that the day of the Lord has already appeared.  This message has upset the newly baptized converts and has caused a great deal of confusion in that community.  Upon hearing of this development, St. Paul writes a second time.  As you might expect, St. Paul refutes the claims made by these pseudo-apostles, assuring the community that they have not been abandoned by Christ.

I doubt that I have to tell any of you that there are still false prophets and missionaries roaming our world trying to advance their own version of the Gospel message.  St. Paul’s words to the citizens of Thessalonika are especially comforting to us as we struggle to live the Gospel faithfully while waiting for the return of Jesus Christ with salvation for God’s people.  Since almost 2,000 years have passed since the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, we know that this seeming delay has in fact convinced some that the notion of Jesus’ return is wishful thinking.  Indeed, many have been lulled into a false sense of security and have turned away from the Gospel and faith in Jesus.  It is important to remember that the promise that God made to Adam and Eve in the garden after their fall took thousands of years to be fulfilled.  This alone should remind us that our sense of time is a human construct and has no place in God who is without beginning and without end.  God has no history, no future; God is only now.  Instead of being concerned about when Jesus will return, we would do far better to occupy ourselves with what Jesus will find in our faith community when he does return.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator