25 March | Youth
«Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.» Matthew 25:13
On July 3, 2019, two tourists were caught by surprise. A Brazilian and an Italian were visiting an island north of Sicily, in Italy, in the region of the Stromboli volcano. Although it is small, this volcano is considered one of the more active in the world. This was supposed to be just another trip. The day was perfect for a good climb. The sky was clear, with no wind and no sign of a storm. The pair climbed the mountain with the aim of reaching the top and descending to the bottom of the dormant crater. At a certain point during the walk, while one of them was filming, the noise of a small explosion caught their attention.
In one place of the crater, smoke began to come out. What at first seemed like just like sliding stones was actually a sudden volcanic eruption. There was no time for monitoring centers to issue warning signals. The next few minutes were total panic. What a terrible coincidence! In just a few seconds, the volcano released ash that reached kilometers into the air. With each blast of lava spewed into the air, the cloud of smoke grew larger and more dangerous. Before long, red lava began to flow down the mountain towards the small village of Ginostra. Unfortunately, one of the tourists ended up losing his life on the mountain; the other survived and reported everything that had happened.
This story illustrates the end times scenario. Although several signs announce Jesus' soon return, the day of this momentous event remains God's secret. In fact, not only is the day of Jesus' return unknown, but also the day of each person's death. This means that we need increased vigilance. We need to be on watch to avoid being caught by surprise and perishing. This is something serious because nothing in the world is actually predictable. Evil is always looking for an opportunity to surprise us.
The wise and prudent advice of the Word of God is: “watch.” We do not know when greed will betray us, nor when the heart will try to deceive us, or even when someone will try to deceive us. The future is unknown, but God is the Lord of history. Just because the world seems out of control does not mean that God is not in control. Trust Him and do your part.