Our perception is very powerful and can change our lives. To a great extent, it can determine our actions and reactions, as well as the value we give to a particular person, thing or event. It can increase or decrease our interest in a cause. However, our perception can be beclouded by our assumptions, preventing our proper appreciation of events and situations. No wonder, it is said that people sometimes hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see, especially when they have already arrived at certain convictions regarding a particular fact.
We hear about the end time messages of Christ, messages about his second coming to assert the kingdom of God, which he has already initiated through his preaching and salvific works. Here Christ emphasizes the importance of proper perception by his reference to Springtime. Just as the emergence of leaves on trees makes it easy for one to perceive the coming of summer, so it is with the approach of the kingdom of God. I would say that Christ’s reference to Spring here is not less important to the message of this passage.
Christ is calling us to be sensitive to the love of God, God who has a great plan for our future (Jer 29:11). It is a love that is the motive for his mission. Sensitivity to this mission and our future blessedness becomes a motivation for our working towards this great goal. Awareness of our future blessedness turns our world upside down and brings the world of sensual and material cravings to an end, while initiating a new life of grace. So much so that the end of the world, which this text refers to, becomes something not of a distant future, but an act of the present.
This new life could be likened to Spring, when we experience rebirth and rejuvenation in nature. This proper perception, which entails an understanding that one day our “heaven and earth” will pass away, and that our treasuring the word of God is our sole and greatest possession, gives us a new perspective about life. It is a perspective that fills our lives with great joy, a joy that is founded upon the understanding that we now live beyond the sorrows and worries of this present world.
With this new perspective, we become heralds of this joy to the people around us. In other words, we reflect the joy of heaven here on earth. A testimony of such joy is evident when those around us, who are depressed and disappointed, begin to develop interest in life again through our encouraging words and actions. It is also witnessed when those that have lost trust in God and have been betrayed by others, receive new strength for their lives.
God, please give us the grace to listen to your Son and to follow his footsteps. Help us to make better use of the present moment to bring joy to the lives of people around us. Amen.
