Living Like the End Is Near (Without Losing Your Head)
An Advent reflection on apocalypse, responsibility and the world God still loves.
Welcome to today’s Advent reflection, exploring why talk of “the end times” might be less about fear and more about hope.
Most generations have believed they were living in the end times.
A nervous prophet on a hillside, a fiery preacher in a town square, a bestselling book or a social media post announcing that the world will wrap up within our generation. People have named the year, the hour, even the minute, absolutely convinced that the grand finale was upon them, only to wake the next morning, slightly embarrassed, as the sun rose just as it always has done.
We’re still captivated by apocalypse.
And Advent, oddly enough, invites us into that conversation. Not with hysteria, but with hope.
Today, I want to lean into the apocalypse and explore two kinds, only one of which deserves our energy.