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Jesus said, “There will be
signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be
in
dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People
will die of fright in anticipation of
what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be
shaken. And then they will see the Son
of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But
when these signs begin to happen, stand
erect and raise yours heads because your redemption is at hand.”
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Young
people should be able to read signs in the area of love and building
love
relationships. The group Matchbox Twenty calls attention to some of
them in their
song "Back 2 Good." They sing of someone who
cannot get things
"back
to good" because the signs have
not been heeded in the past. "Everyone
here knows everyone
here is thinking about somebody else," the group sings. "I
couldn’t tell if anyone here was feeling
the way I do, but I’m lonely now, and I don’t know how to
get it back to
good." The person in the song should
have understood the signs of confusion, and he/she did not. Instead, as the group sings, everyone here is
"to blame, everyone here gets caught up in the pleasure of the pain,
everyone
hides shades of shame, but looking inside, we’re the same and
we’re all grown
now, but we don’t know how to get it back to good."
Having not read the signs of chaos in the
past, confusion reigns in the present. And
"the good," namely, what should be in life, will suffer. In
fact, the group sings a conclusion of
despair: "It’s over now. There’s
no
getting back to good."
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Jesus knew about
signs. Much of his ministry was spent
trying to move people to read signs. It
was evident when Jesus spoke of the Second Coming. There will be
"signs in the sun, the moon,
and the stars," Jesus says. "People will
die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the
powers
of the heavens will be shaken." But
Jesus also says that there is no reason to fear since we will rejoice
at being
saved. He says, "Stand erect and raise
your heads because your redemption is at hand."
If much of Jesus’ ministry was spent in trying to move his listeners to read the signs of his time and their behavior, much of our lives must be spent in paying attention to the signs around us, especially in our behavior. One gets the impression from the song "Back 2 Good" that if there had been knowledge of the signs earlier in life, then the later life would have been much better. It is an important fact to understand that events of the past can make it difficult to live in the present. Matchbox Twenty sings of the signs of confusion; they sing of fake relationships and phony associations; they sing of loneliness and its effects. They are all signs that things are not as they should be with the consequence that if the signs are not heeded, "the good" will suffer. People must look seriously at their present activities, especially their interactions with others. At the same time, they should question themselves and "look inside" as the group sings. Sensing the possibility of getting "caught up in the pleasure of the pain," they can control the behavior that is harmful, saving their futures while there is still time. |
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THOUGHT
What
are some areas of behavior in people’s
younger lives that will adversely affect their future adult lives?
PRAYER Good and gracious God,
there are many things in
our lives that keep us from getting back to the good that we can do. Help us read the signs of confusion that may
exist in our lives and help us direct our lives toward you so that the
confusion can cease. Be with us, we
pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |