"Many people live with the unconscious or conscious expectation that eventually things will get better; wars, hunger, poverty, oppression, and exploitation will vanish; and all people will live in harmony. Their lives and work are motivated by that expectation. When this does not happen in their lifetimes, they are often disillusioned and experience themselves as failures. But Jesus doesn't support such an optimistic outlook. He foresees not only the destruction of his beloved city Jerusalem but also a world full of cruelty, violence, and conflict. For Jesus there is no happy ending in this world. The challenge of Jesus is not to solve all the world's problems before the end of time but to remain faithful at any cost." (Henri Nouwen) We can do our best to bring about change in the world. But that is not the most important thing for us, if we are not making the necessary changes in our lives. Faithfulness to God in our commitment to him is what God will judge us on. Not that we did we change the world, but that the world did not change us in our thinking or actions. As St. Paul says: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." (Roms 12:2) This is the fidelity God is looking for in our lives. It is Jesus' fidelity to the will of the Father even to the death on the cross that brought about change in the lives of billions of people over the centuries. While the world may not have changed so much, the world of those who follow Jesus does change drastically.