Saturday after Populus Sion, the Second Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 12, 2020 by under
Scripture: St. Mark 13:5-13 (NKJV)
13:5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Devotion
“And Jesus, answering them, began to say: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you’.”
Jesus speaks to His disciples about the coming end times, that is, the days between His first coming as a Baby and His second coming in glory. Hardships will come, even upon His faithful ones. But the hardships that so often occupy our attention should really be secondary in our minds. The bigger issue is that we remain in the one true Faith. The bigger issue is to take heed that no one deceives us.
Satan’s deceptions are many. There are very heady scientific and philosophical arguments against the Faith. There are the far more carnal arguments about the “fun of sinning.” And there are many organized false religions with their competing (and false) truth claims. Do not be deceived. You are a sinner. God has become flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and suffered for all of the wages of your sin. You are forgiven. And our Lord will come again in glory, our bodies will be raised, and we will live with Him forever in His eternal glory. God grant us grace to keep us in this one true faith, unto life everlasting, for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Thine Only-Begotten Son, so that by His coming we may be enabled to serve Thee with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
