And another one for Kingdom 1

Matthew 24:1-14
The First Sunday of the Kingdom
It is a brave person that is able to stand and talk about change. In any large organisation the task of managing change is seen as critical, and in these times of economic downturn and uncertainty there will be many who will suffer the grief that comes with change.
We are here for a short span, and it is all we know, it is therefore not surprising that it is almost impossible to conceive of any radically different way of being or doing. I am sure that each generation since time began has felt the tension. We like things the way they are.
In the last few years, I have started visiting my home town and spend time walking through the park and the town. I regularly find myself marvelling at the pace of change and how things really never stand still. It is an awful exercise really; a study in unashamed nostalgia, but it does feel good, searching for that special something that never changes.
If the disciples in the Gospel reading were hoping that Jesus would be bringing some sort of stability, perhaps fulfilling dreams they had about a superhero making everything right instantly, they were wrong. Jesus is telling them things that wouldn’t have offered much comfort to them. His words are outlining a future of change, which is neither joyful nor attractive. The possibility of persecution, wars and famines, false prophets to lead the people away, and a general lack of goodness and love is his statement to his Disciples. Jesus is saying that there will be change and it won’t be all good. The religious authorities of the day dealt in certainties, and Jesus was bringing chaos.
So it is for us today. We may not know the time when we are to meet our Lord face to face, we may suffer hardships and challenges, and we may feel distant from God because earthly things overwhelm us. However, Christ tells us it is part of the mission for those who would be brave enough to be Disciples throughout the ages. The words of Jesus are a call to turn and stand to face the light now as always.
We are being invited to not be concerned about change but to live in the world using both hands to show the love of God, one hand to care for the oppressed, downtrodden and abused, and the other hand to point to heaven. The list of terrifying events tells us that there is much work to be done, and it won’t always be easy. The ‘love of many will grow cold’. The mission does not change, but we will be changed by the mission. Throughout all this, Jesus says “Those who stand firm will be saved”.
How then do we “stand firm”? How do we remain faithful and focused? Perhaps the startling words of the Gospel reading are outlining the importance of not worrying about the future, neither dwelling on the past. Perhaps we are being called to live in the present, taking each day as an opportunity to do good. If we worry too much about history, or spend time thinking about the hereafter, we miss the opportunities we have today to build the Kingdom of God.
Look for Jesus among the living, this day and every day.