The Day Of The Church Year - 1813 Words

What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!’† (Mark 13:37 NIV) Watch! Every 365 days, we designate many kinds of â€Å"years†: Our â€Å"calendar year† begins on January 1st; our â€Å"school year† starts in September; and many companies operate with a â€Å"fiscal year† which runs from July 1st through June 30th. The church also has a â€Å"church year† which begins on the First Sunday of Advent and ends today on this â€Å"Last Sunday in the Church Year†. This day is also called the â€Å"Sunday of the Fulfillment† to remind us that when Christ returns in glory all of God’s great promises to us will be fulfilled, and our earthly pain, sorrow and suffering will be replaced with the eternal joy and peace of life eternal with Christ in heaven. Of course, today isn’t†¦show more content†¦Yes, all through the church year we are looking forward to that day when Christ shall come again in glory. But today we heard a very specific word from Jesus calling us to keep ready for His second coming: Be on guard! Be alert! Watch! If this warning from Jesus is going to mean anything to us today, we need to connect it with our entire life of faith. It’s sort of like when parents send their child off to college and say something like, â€Å"Be careful!† That warning is always given in the light of 18 years of nurturing and advice and care. No matter how hard they might try, there is no way those parents can ever squeeze 18 years of lessons into those few minutes of saying good-by to their child as he is closing his car door and starting the engine. In the same way, for the past 51 Sundays of this church year we have been hearing Jesus calling us to remain faithful and to keep watch. And now, just one last time on this final Sunday of the year, Jesus says to us again: Keep Watch! You must keep watch for your spiritual enemies who would drag you away from Christ. Just as there is a Holy Trinity, so is there also an â€Å"unholy trinity† of evil which we all need to watch out for. The first of these three evils is the devil. In what is probably