With all that has taken place over the path few months, a person might think that St. Paul’s words in the second reading pertain to 2021, not the mid-50’s AD. It should be remembered that he was writing not to scare the Corinthians, but to encourage them. In these days of uncertainty, there may be many things that frighten us. Most of those things are beyond our control. (We like to be in control, don’t we? Focusing on living our faith and putting into action Jesus’ teachings are areas we are able to control. By doing that, whether the present world passes away, or not, we’ll be ready for eternal life in heaven.