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\u201cBe careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man\u201d (Luke 21:34-36).

As they say, \u2018the world\u2019s going to hell in a handbasket.\u2019 A sentiment that has been true in almost every age. Many of us have said it and will say it again. In our own city of Hamilton, ON, three things tend to dominate the headlines: homelessness, drug addiction and murder and political corruption. Well, that\u2019s four.

When we look further afield, wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters are common news fodder. And more recently, the fall out of COVID 19 and the war in Ukraine tie the commentators in knots. They race to the microphones and twitter spheres to offer their expert opinions only to revise them a day later.

We have been warned. As Pastor Anthony said last Friday, Jesus told us it would be like this. Now in our text for today, Jesus warns us to \u201cbe careful\u201d. What is it we must be careful of? Not to get caught up in wars or taken down by an earthquake? No! We must guard our own hearts.

You see, the constant barrage of bad news can make us grow weary. The weight of this news can strip us of any hope of relief. And in that weariness and hopelessness, we can gravitate to either of two extremes. We either party so hard we forget all our worries, or we get so concerned about our personal wellbeing we immerse ourselves is material security. We either party ourselves to death or we work ourselves to death.

Jesus encourages us to embrace a third alternative. Keep alert. This is what we were told to expect, so don\u2019t be surprised by the daily dump of bad news. Patience is the key. Pray for strength to keep on our feet. There are times when our eyes will be shutting with tiredness, spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical, and when we will have to prop them open.

This is what it\u2019s about: not an exciting battle, with adrenalin flowing and banners flying, but the steady tread, of prayer and hope and scripture and sacrament and witness, day by day and week by week. This is what counts; patience is a fruit of the Spirit after all. This is primarily a spiritual battle. Prayer is what keeps hope alive. Prayer for patience, for steady progress towards the goal.

Prayer together. Read the story to each other again and again. Remind one another of what Jesus said. And keep each other awake.

Jesus\u2019 point is not to make his followers fearful that they will lose their salvation, as some preachers and parents have done. He is leaning into what Paul will later flesh out, \u201cFor the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say \u201cNo\u201d to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope\u2014the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good\u201d (Titus 2:11-14).

When the Lord does come back, everyone will be faced with the reality of his return and his powerful presence. Some will be ready for it, while others will be surprised. Jesus calls his disciples to \u201cbe always on the watch\u201d in looking for his return. Our attentiveness should be ongoing. We must pray to escape what lies ahead. Our goal is to \u201cstand before the Son of Man.\u201d All of us who identify with this Son of Man will stand in that day.