I  remember when I was a teenager, many years ago, there was a song called: ‘The end of the world’. It was sung by an American pop star called Skeeter Davis, and it was a very sucessful song. “The End of the World” is a sad song about the aftermath of a romantic breakup. Skeeter Davis said she drew on her sorrow from her father’s death to set the mood for the song. After her romantic breakup she saw this as the end of the world.  It was just a song, it was not the end of the world for her nor for anyone else.  We believe that the end of the world will come,  with its mountains and forests, its seas and rivers, its towns and cities, we know that they will come to an end. Charlie Caplin had some very famous quotes: ‘Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles’; ‘I always like walking in the rain, so that nobody can see me crying’. We do not know when the end of the world will come, only God knows. Whe the end of the world comes, then Jesus will return and he will judge the living and the dead. We may feel a little uneasy when we read this part of the gospel.  It sounds like and examination;  and we’re not quiet sure how we will do.  There are two things we can be sure of:

1. The one who comes to judge is the same one who died for us upon the cross,  who forgave the good thief and on the same day welcomed him into Heaven.  we could not ask for a kinder judge.
2. All Jesus asks us to do our best,  and he tells us how to prepare for this moment.  In a very special way, to feed the hundry, those who are hungry for our time, for our help and a word of encouragement;  give a drink to the thirsty, those who are thirsty for a approval, for recognition,   cloth the naked,  welcome the homeless,  visit the sick and dying,  and bury the dead.  It is an examination of our kindness and charity. It is a beautiful examination and we can prepare for it  every day.

Let’s close with a prayer: Lord, give us a mind that will think thoughts that are kind and fair. Give us lips that will speak words that are true and charitable. Give us hands that will do deeds that are modelled after the ones you did for people in you own lifetime.