The readings of today relate to the end of the world and God's final judgement. For most of us our ending remains remote from our thoughts, and the ending of the whole world someting even more remote and maybe mixed up with science fiction. It is one of God's great mercies that we cannot actually know, see or imagine even what may happen tomorrow, not to mention the world's end or our own.

Yet we should think and pray about these things, not in fear or anxiety, or to escape from present realities, but in appreciation of God's plans and desires for us. His glory is the purpose of our lives, our destiny is to become fully alive in Him. For He is love and life, and full life and the law of love are the criteria of His judgements. It's how we live now that is the test, and how we interact with the risen Christ around us. Today's scriptures give us, in turn, a vision, an image, a reassurance and an agendum concerning the end things. Ezekiel's vision of the great gathering together of all humankind that we are waiting for; the beautiful image in Ps. 22 of the Lord as a caring shepherd; St Paul's reassurance that in Christ even death has been destroyed; and Jesus' parable of the shepherd-king distinguishing between those who belong with Him and those who don't. Christ is universal King of a world and people transformed through love, God's love and ours for Him and for each other.