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“May I help you?”  Yes, if you have Tuesday’s Lotto numbers.  If not, do you have Wednesday’s newspaper?”  The future is unkown.  Well, not entirely.  Moving to the end of the Church’s (liturgical) year, our Readings have an apocalyptic character.  As in our First Reading from Daniel, the inspiration of much apocalyptic or end-time biblical writing as in today’s Gospel “usually arises out of a situation of oppression and great difficulty. . . The basic message to the faithful is ‘Hang in there!’  Despite all that is happening to you – painful though it may be – the world remains in the hand of God, who will not let evil and oppression triumph forever” (Brendan Byrne).  At Christmas we celebrate that God has become one-with-us.  It is his return after arising and ascending to the Father that we await. This was beautifully and succinctly expressed in the Gospel of last Thursday:  “For you must know, the kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17:21).  The kingdom or manifestation of the will of God is present, the ultimate fulfilment of the same is not yet.  We live in a ‘between time’.  While the ancients looked to the cosmic signs for God’s return or second coming and expected it very soon, we are attuned to the long haul with eyes and ears open to the ‘signs of our times’.  Mary Coloe PBVM puts it well with respect to our personal lives:  “We can live each day alert to discovering God just around the corner.  How will I meet God today?  Will it be in the face of an upset child?  The listening ear of a friend?  The unwanted interruption to my plans?  The quiet reflective moment in my day?  God comes to us in so many various ways – if we can read the signs.”  So too God calls in the events of our wider community.  The second session on the Synod on Synodality concluded recently.  Observers noted that the process itself was formative and that the call for a more synodal Church is a fruit of the Second Vatican Council (there are articles at the exits by Austen Ivereigh, Vatican observer and by Sydney commentator Daniel Ang).  Where is the Holy Spirit calling the Church?  Last week the Prime Minister flew to Peru for a meeting of APEC and the G20.  These are important meetings.  So too the UN’s COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, addressing climate change.  The message of Pope Francis called for “an ambitious agreement”, noting “there is no time for indifference”.  Where is the Holy Spirit calling world leaders?  The fulfilment of the kingdom of God does not admit of a known time but we respond to the offer of salvation in faith, hope and love here and now.  We walk into the future as a pilgrim people.  Lord, grace us and our political leaders to be attentive to your promptings.  Might short-term selfish gain give way to an inclusive awareness of our true good.

Fr John