Then they asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”// Luke 21:7
“When will Mom and Dad be back?” my three-year-old grandson tearfully asked as I tucked him in at bedtime.
“Soon, very soon,” I said, waiting for the inevitable clarifying questions.
“Will they be back before I fall asleep or after? Will they be here when I wake up? Will you give them a good report? Will there be sprinkle donuts for breakfast?” Whether it was my reassuring tone, his own exhaustion, or the promised donuts, his questions ceased and soon he was fast asleep.
Even as adults, we never stop asking questions and wondering about the future. Each day we face so many unknowns—both personally and globally—that threaten to strike fear in our hearts and steal our peace. Our world is oversaturated with information, images, and sources that claim to be true but are often unreliable and unsettling.
Like the early disciples, we, too, want answers to those burning questions. Are we living in the final days of human history? How should we interpret the signs of decline and despair that we witness in our world? How can we prepare for what is to come?
The same Lord Who, in today’s Gospel (see Luke 21:5-11), gave His disciples sneak previews of the coming travails and warned them not to be terrified, is also with us, speaking His plans and promises into our troubled hearts.
Jesus repeatedly tells us in Scripture to be watchful and prepared, but there is so much we do not know that He chooses not to reveal. But we do know that we can trust the One Who knows everything, Who holds our futures, our families, the Church, and the salvation of the world in His hands. Like my small grandson who trusts that his loving parents will come home soon, we, too, can rest confidently in our Good Father’s promise to return again. Sisters, even as we ponder the unknown, let us walk by faith and cling to our blessed hope with unwavering joy and expectation.
Debra Herbeck is a Jewish convert to the Church who serves extensively in youth and women’s ministry. She directs Pine Hills Girls Camp (for 34 years), and is the Founder and Director of Be Love Revolution, a ministry for high school girls. Find her books here. She and her husband have four children and eight grandchildren. She is the author of Blessed Conversations: Misericordia. Find out more about her here.
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