A Prayer Worth Repeating Every Day - Today's Bible Verse Explained (Commentary / Homily) - Saint Luke 21:34-36

By Tony Joe:

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: 

"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from partying and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. 

For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.

Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."

Today's Bible Verse Explained (Commentary / Homily) - Saint Luke 21:34-36

Today's Gospel verse marks the end of the mysterious 21st Chapter of the Gospel According to St. Luke, that is packed with prophecies from Jesus about various calamities awaiting the human race, especially the end of the world.

In today's verse, however, Jesus provides effective antidotes to the hardships awaiting man during the Final Judgement.

But before we get into these corrective measures, a short statement from Christ needs to be contemplated upon, which reads like this - "For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth."

Obviously, Jesus is meaning the end of the world, the final day for life on earth. Or is He?

Around 7.5 billion people are alive on this planet now. If the end of the world happens now, today, is Christ meaning everyone of these 7.5 billion people alone?

Of course not, as around 14x more people have lived on Earth and died since human life appeared on the globe. Which means the number of dead people on Earth is around 100 billion!

The end of the world will be for everyone, for the dead as well as for the living.

A little contemplation can make us arrive at the greater implication of this point. Since no man can correct his life, after his death has occurred, the effective end of the world for each person thus becomes his day of death.

Now, read that verse again, and it will make deeper sense - "For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth."

Note how the day will assault everyone "who lives" on the face of the earth. Indeed, that is what Jesus meant too - our personal trysts with death, centuries or millenniums before the world will come to an end, and the dead and the then living will be called for the Final Judgement.

Now, looking at the remedial measures that Jesus gives us, three things to avoid stand out - partying, drunkenness, and anxieties.

By partying, never understand that only after sinful music and adulterous partying are intended; rather partying has a wider meaning that implies friendships or companionships solely in pursuit of more and more of worldly happiness.

Those who are into such 'partying' will have no time left for loving God or their neighbours in need.

Similarly, by drunkenness, it is never meant only alcohol or drugs. Drunkenness is anything that makes us intoxicated, including pursuit of money, riches, adulterous sex, fame, even workaholism.

Again, those who are always in such 'drunkenness' won't have any sense left to appreciate God or needy neighbours.  

But it is the third thing to avoid - anxieties - that should make us stand up and notice the danger.

Anxious about your worldly future? Or about your family's? We can be anxious to a degree that makes us work reasonably for protecting ourselves and our family, but beyond that anxieties becomes clear sins, which God sees at par with mindless partying and senseless drinking.

Again, those who are dominated by their own anxieties have little mind left for addressing the anxieties of the less fortunate, or to find sufficient time to be with God.

Now, look at the two solutions that Jesus offers, after telling us about the three things to avoid.

The first solution is to be vigilant always. Always be alert against temptations, depressions, sinful friendships, addictions, and anxieties that slowly creep upon us.

Secondly, Christ implores us to pray for the strength to face the unavoidable - like our diseases, accidents, or death even - as well as the strength to face God in the form of Son of Man, during the Final Judgement.

This is a prayer that we can start today, and repeat at least once a day, whatever be our age, and however healthy we are. Because, that day can "catch you by surprise like a trap."