Hi everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. And for many of you, welcome to a new liturgical year.

This is, the reading for today is the beginning of year C in the three-year cycle of Sunday readings.

So we're beginning year C with today's reading and it's a really, really difficult one for many reasons.

This is a difficult passage in terms of what the text is saying. Scholars have different opinions about it.

Now what we're looking at today, you probably may have

already heard this during the week. If you've been listening to the weekday readings, what we have

today is chunks of some of the weekday readings from this week that have been put together. So

not only is this a difficult passage because scholars disagree about how to interpret it, but it's

also cut out various verses

that are important for the whole context. So it can be hard to sort of follow the flow of today's

reading because there are some verses cut out, but we're going to do our best. So Luke

chapter 21 verses 25 to 28 and then 34 to 36.

Jesus said to his disciples,

There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars.

On earth nations in agony,

bewildered by the clamor of the ocean and its waves.

Men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers

of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power

and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high,

because your liberation is near at hand. Watch yourselves or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life

and that day will be sprung on you suddenly like a trap. Foy will come down on every living man on the face of the

earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen

...