Today’s scripture: Matthew 24:1-12 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Melody Merida):
The word parousia appears 24 times in the New Testament, four of which occur right here in Matthew chapter 24. Parousia is a Greek word which means “personal presence” coming from the root verb pareimi meaning “to be present” and it is often used in the New Testament to describe the “personal presence” of Christ.
Why, you may ask, does this matter? There is some scholarly debate about the prophetic message here in Matthew 24 which Jesus gives to his disciples. Is Jesus referring to the end of time for the disciples to whom he is speaking, i.e, the end of the first century (realized prophecy, Matt. 24:34)? Or is Jesus referring to an end of all time, generations removed from his own, which some have called the Apocalypse (unrealized prophecy, Matt. 24:35)? This debate has raged for centuries and would never be resolved in the space of these few words so instead of focusing on the daunting theological aspects of the text maybe we can retrieve something for today by concentrating of the use of the word parousia.
Regardless of where you land on the theological spectrum that is Apocalyptic thinking, the parousia of Christ is consistent in meaning all across that spectrum; in other words, Christ is always present. Because presence is a state of being rather than a state of arrival, the follower of Christ can rest assured that the presence of Christ is not limited to a number of times “coming” and/or “going”; but rather that Christ’s presence is always ready to meet us. As Matthew 24 so clearly illustrates, regardless of false prophets, wars, famines, earthquakes, torture, betrayal, and even death, the parousia or “personal presence” of Christ is ready to come to you.
Christians often have a tendency to bookend what they see as the two “comings” of Christ, the First Advent (Jesus’ life on earth) and the Second Advent (Second Coming of Christ); but the use of the word parousia here in this text and throughout the New Testament illustrates that Christ is always coming to us and offering that divine presence.
Thought for the day: I don’t have to wait for the presence of Christ to come to me on some later date. Today is the day to live in the parousia of Christ!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.