Grace before death

Our Lord’s words at the end of today’s Gospel (Matthew 16:24-28) are intriguing.

Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.

Some, especially in the early Church, interpreted these words as Christ promising an imminent second coming.

Others interpreted these words as referring to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom by his death and resurrection.

May these words remind us to pray always that when the Lord Jesus decides our labors are complete and he calls us to taste death and to leave this world, we may die in his eternal grace and love.