Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 26th November
Message from Fr Paul for Friday, 26th November 2021
Today’s message is the shortest ever, as yesterday was a busy day that included my dear companion Toby having an X-Ray and other investigative procedures for an injured back leg. He is likely to need surgery in a week’s time, recovery from which will take three months or more. Being a border collie, this will be next to impossible for him. “Slow down” isn’t a phrase he understands. Most difficult is the prohibition from climbing stairs, which he usually does at breakneck speed. He spent last night in the downstairs parlour, but today we will have to make alternative arrangements. There is a lift, but he refuses to use it: that would be the easiest solution, but life is never easy!
Our short Gospel reading from Luke today, (Lk 21: 29-33), presents us with a version of the Parable of the Fig Tree. Let us hear what Jesus has to say to his disciples. “Think of the fig tree and indeed every tree. As soon as you see them bud, you know that summer is now near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” He is asking them, as indeed he asks us, to look out for the signs of the times. Just as we can tell the seasons from nature around us, so faithful disciples will be able to discern the coming of the kingdom by what is happening around them. Yet, what is truly important is to understand that although all things are destined to come to an end, even what seems most solid and eternal, the words of Jesus, the very Word of God, will not pass away and is truly eternal. In fact, saved by Christ and imbued with the Spirit of God, we will also live eternally in Christ and will not pass away. This is probably harder to understand than to believe.
