Matthew 24:25-39

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

 ²⁵ Take note, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the suffering of those days

the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

³⁰ “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he^[a] is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^[b] but only the Father. ³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Who is the Babe of Bethlehem, whose coming we prepare to celebrate? Is He the jovial Father Christmas? Is He the provider of the eggnog and Christmas cookies, the tinsel and the trappings? Or is He the One who will challenge us as well as console us?

Prayer

God of my life, let me long during this season for the coming of the Son of Man. Keep me in the word more than in the world during these holy days. Let me seek all that the Son of Man provides for me each day of my life. Amen.