The Pope to a meeting of all the cardinals: "I have some really fantastic news and some very terrible news. I'll announce the good news first, the Pope tells them. "Jesus Christ has returned to the world. The time of judgement is at hand."
After the commotion settles one of the cardinals ask what the bad news is. The Pope replies, "He was calling from Salt Lake City."
How do we expect Jesus to arrive at the Second Coming? The four beings that ride out on white, red, black, and pale horses in Revelations may represent war, famine, sickness and death. These are often seen as signs of the Second Coming.
What did Jesus do about these four harbingers? He brought and preached peace; he fed the hungry; he cured the sick, and he brought the dead back to life. Jesus' birth at Bethlehem interrupted the kingdom of this world.
C.S. Lewis suggests Jesus is delaying His second coming so we have a chance to freely join His side. If he lands in force, as many hope he will, it will be the end of the world, Lewis says. "When the author walks on to the stage the play is over."
On the occasion of his 90th birthday Vince Kolycius (1922-2013) wrote: "Eternal life. Where is it? When is it? For a long time I have thought about eternal life after my birthdays run out When my goal is eternal life, that life must be reachable now, where I am, because eternal life is life in and with God, and God is where I am here and now."
Spiritual life, Kolycius said, the life of God in us, is not something that will happen later: Jesus says, "Dwell in me as I dwell in you" [John 15:4]. "It is this divine indwelling that is eternal life. It is the active presence of God at the centre of my being - the movement of the Spirit within me - that gives me eternal life."
"Death has lost its power over those who belong to God, because God is the God of the living, not the dead. Once we have tasted the joy and peace that come from being embraced by God's love, we know that all is well and that all will be well," Kolycius said.
"Eternal life," Kolysius said, "is not a distant goal. It is a goal that can be reached in the present moment." Jesus said, "I came so that you may have life and have it abundantly"
(John 10:10).
I celebrated my brother's departure from this world in the past month. I just visited a dear friend who is losing the battle to cancer and has now been hospitalized. I marvel at his peace and at his seeming joy. He is a brother in Christ and his life and his dying are a gift to us.
Kolysius' testimony on his 90th birthday is a marvellous gift to us. Jesus' coming into this world is a wondrous gift to us. "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).
Eternal life starts in this world. The life of Christ which we are baptised into will live in us as we choose to walk in the law of the Lord. Things changed when the author of life walked onto our stage.
