PASSAGE: "Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
 
COMMENT: I think this passage becomes clearer when we add the two verses that immediately precede it. "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth."
 
What is “that day”? Is it, as many believe, a day of final judgment, when all will be called to account and sent either to heaven or hell? There is really nothing in the teachings of Jesus that would suggest that was his expectation. It seems clear he was describing a day of new beginnings—a time when human consciousness will be lifted to Christ consciousness, which is really the entire purpose of our human existence. We are to embrace the consciousness of our true Christ identity, and make that new consciousness the basis for all our human choices. He is clear that the world as we know it—the world based on, and defined by, our previously limited human consciousness—will resist the changes that Christ consciousness will bring. There will be conflict and dramas. He wants us to know that so we can stay alert and be prepared. The temptations and dualistic expressions of human consciousness will actually seem to grow stronger. That makes it all the more important that we stay focused on our spiritual truth and spiritual identity. We must have the strength and focus to stand before the Son of Man—the Christ Presence of God—and allow the kingdom to come into expression through us.
 
Blessings!

Rev. Ed