2 Thess 2:1-3, 14-17 / Matthew 23:23-26
Whenever we watch a movie or a tv series, or read a book, we should be feeling the build-up of the story line and the excitement and tension.
We won't want to go to the ending first and see or read what it is all about, and then begin watching the movie or the series or begin with the first pages of the book.
Yet there is always this curiosity and impatience in us that want to know what the ending is.
But to give in to this curiosity and impatience would rob us of the experience and meaning of journeying through the movie or the book.
Going through life is very different from watching a movie or reading a book. We can never know the ending until we get there. So each moment in life is an experience to behold and to be treasured.
That is what the 1st reading is saying - as much as we know that there will be an ending, yet we don't have to hasten it or even leave everything aside and just wait around for it.
What is important is to ask God to strengthen us in everything good that we do or say so that every moment in life is a loving and joyful moment.
And the gospel would highlight a couple of areas in life that would require this goodness - the practice of justice, mercy and good faith.
And equally important are also the virtues of purity and chastity. Good morality is a sign of a life lived in the goodness of the Lord.
So we don't have to be overly worried about the end. Each moment lived loving and joyfully is a preparation for the end and also for eternity.