Be Ready

Matthew 24:36 & 44

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. . . . Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Vol. 2)

The warning was primarily directed to the situation of dire emergency in the first century, after Jesus’ death and resurrection and before his words about the Temple came true. But they ring through subsequent centuries, and into our own day. We too live in turbulent and dangerous times. Who knows what will happen next week, next year? It’s up to each church, and each individual Christian, to answer the question: are you ready? Are you awake? (127-8)