Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 21:20-28
Stand erect, hold your heads high

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues his apocalyptic discourse of destruction, images of armies surrounding the city, chaos in the heavens, and nations trembling in fear. Yet even amid this turmoil, he offers a message of profound hope: “When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.”

For the early Christians, the fall of Jerusalem was a traumatic moment. The city they loved — the centre of their faith and identity — lay in ruins. It must have seemed like the end of everything. But Luke, writing years after the destruction, helps his readers see that even this tragedy was not outside God’s plan. The old world was passing away, and God was preparing to bring forth something new — “a new heaven and a new earth.”

This passage reminds us that God’s work often unfolds through crisis. Jesus calls us not to despair but to hope. In the midst of wars, disasters, and confusion — whether in the world or in our personal lives — He invites us to remain upright and faithful. Liberation is near, not in the sense of escape from suffering, but as the dawning of God’s kingdom of justice, peace, and humanity.

The Son of Man comes “in a cloud with power and great glory.” This is not a fearful image, but the vision of a fully human and divine kingdom, where love replaces domination and mercy triumphs over violence. Our task, as disciples, is to prepare for that kingdom — to humanize our world, our relationships, and our communities.

So when everything seems to fall apart, let us remember the words of Jesus: “Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near.”

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Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica 2025