Conclusion

The time will soon come in the Liturgy for us to lay aside all earthly care and sing with the angels, but here we bring everything under God’s scrutiny, putting our concerns and those of the world at the feet of the Lord. As we hear the Gospel read and expounded, there is both realism and hope. The Gospel, from the earliest history of the Church, has been heard both by believers and seekers, and calls us all in an ongoing sequence of hearing, believing, repenting, being comforted, committing, and being transformed. Lessons we thought were only for beginners open up vistas for even the most mature: for the Good News involves welcoming Christ, ongoing repentance, deepening faith, and learning continually how to live more and more like Christ. It is the “eternal” or “everlasting” good news, with power to lay our whole lives bare before the great Physician and Healer of our souls and bodies, so that He may make us anew: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). In wonder at the spiritual surgery that He performs in us, we cry out: “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee!” When the Word makes his mark on us, we are prepared to enter into the fullness of his presence, in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries.