THEOLOGICAL CLUE

It is in the gospels and the other readings assigned to this Sunday that one hears the message that the "end times" are coming and the Lord will return to usher in the fullness of the kingdom of God. This note culminates in Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of Pentecost and of the Church year, too; it spills over into the first Sundays of Advent and the new church year. There is a kind of call to spiritual perception and understanding at the end of Pentecost that becomes a call to action at the beginning of Advent; the movement is from a type of Maranatha prayer in Pentecost - "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly" - to a summons to make ready for the coming of the Lord - "Be alert at all times." These last Sundays of Pentecost connect the end and the beginning of the yea…