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THE END OF THE WORLD

(A biblical refection on THE 33^rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 18 NOVEMBER, 2012)

Gospel Reading: Mark 13:24-32

First Reading: Dan 12:1-3; Psalms: Ps 16:5,8-11; Second Reading: Heb 10:11-14,18

The Scripture Text

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that He is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time with come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Watch therefore – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning – lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” (Mk 13:24-32 RSV)

Every now and then people speculate and try to predict the end of the world. And, we could find doomsday prophets keep coming and going – but the end of the world has not come.

As we are about to end the Church calendar, the Gospel message this Sunday douses cold waster on all predictions and prognostications. Listen to the words of Jesus Christ: “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk 13:32).

Instead of frittering away precious time speculating on the end of the world, Jesus Christ exhorts us to live as Christians in the present. What matters in NOW!

A Catholic priest was once playing badminton with a friend. During the break, their talk shifted to a more serious vein with his partner asking, “Father, suppose the end of the world suddenly came and we were out there playing, what would you do? Get down on your knees and pray? The priest paused for a moment and said, “I’d go right on playing.”

What the priest is trying to say is that one should not worry about the end of the world. Worry rather whether or not you are holding on to your faith or living as a Christian should despite the harsh adversities.

According to the Scriptures, on Judgment Day we shall be judged on the question: What have you done for people in need? (please read Mt 25:31-46). How about us? Have we enough good works to deliver us from the fires of hell?

As we end the Church’s calendar this month, it might be wise and proper to pause and do some soul-searching. Am I preoccupied only with my personal needs, caprices and pleasures? Do I have time for God, my family, and for some outreach project? Am I contributing to building Christian communities of justice, love and peace or am I the cause of pain and suffering to others?

Everything we do now has eternal consequences. Judgment will be nothing else but God’s confirmation of the choices, decisions or actions we have made in life. What we sow now, we reap later.

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus, when we truly respond to Your love by loving one another, then already now, in this world, we receive Your blessing. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

A Christian Pilgrim

APOCALYPSE

(A biblical refection on THE 33^rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 18 November, 012)

First Reading: Dan 12:1-3; Psalms: Ps 16:5,8,9-11; Second Reading: Heb 10:11-14,18; Gospel Reading: Mk 13:24-32

Vision of the future. The leader of a certain Indian tribe was dying. For many generations his people had been encamped at the base of a large mountain. The chief summoned his three sons and said: “I am dying; before my death I must choose one of you to succeed me as the head of our tribe. I have the same task for each of you. I want you to climb our holy mountain and bring me back something beautiful. The one whose gift is the most outstanding will be the one who will succeed me.”

The following morning the sons set out on their search, each taking a different path to the top of the holy mountain. After several days the three sons returned. The first brought his father a flower which grew near the summit of the mountain; it was extremely rare and beautiful. The second son brought his father a valuable stone round and colourful, which had been polished by rain and sandy winds. When the third son approached his father, everyone saw that his hand were empty.

The empty-handed son said to his father: “I have brought back nothing to show you, father. As I stood on the top of the holy mountain, I saw that on the other side was a beautiful land filled with green pastures. In the middle of there is a crystal lake. And I have a vision of where our tribe could go for a better life. I was so overwhelmed with what I saw and by what I could see that I could not bring anything back.” And the father replied: “You shall be our tribe’s new leader, for you have brought back the most precious thing of all – the gift of a vision for a better future.”

Apocalypse. In the pages of the Bible there are many stories of great figures who, as they see their death approaching, gather their children or followers to give a final testament. Before Jacob died, he called his twelve sons to give an appropriate blessing to each one. The dying Moses encouraged his people to be strong and stand firm, then appointed his successor to lead the twelve tribes. Before King David ended his days, he addressed the officials of Israel and passed authority to his son Salomon. In the same way Jesus, before he died, gathered his disciples and delivered his final teaching on the future age, instructing them how to live in the midst of political and cosmic upheavals. Part of Jesus’ final testament is wheat we hear in today’s Gospel.

It’s helpful to remember that Saint Mark is writing at a time when there is widespread oppression and persecution of the Christian community in Rome. No doubt Jesus’ followers are wondering if the end is near, uncertain in their suffering how things are going to turn out. Nobody knows the details of the las pages of history, but there is a form of writing that imagines the end time: it is called apocalyptic. To give his readers hope, Mark gives them Jesus’ vision of the future.

The vision of the future doesn’t look very appealing at first reading. The bad news is delivered first of all. Jesus imagines a time of terror and trouble and persecution. People will be betrayed and handed over to the authorities. There will be wars and earthquakes and famines. Jesus says, “These things must happen.” Then there will be cosmic upheavals: “the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven”. After this catalogue of disaster there is the good news. Jesus looks beyond the time of distress to the final time, when the Son of Man will gather the scattered people of God to Himself. Jesus sees beyond suffering and persecution to a future of peace with God.

Attending to the present. After the cosmic fireworks, Jesus imagines a peace beyond suffering. This vision of peace is important for Mark’s persecuted community: they need more than a fireworks’ display to see them through their own historical apocalypse. If their hope is not to be exhausted by force of circumstances, they need help to imagine a far side to pain and suffering. Mark gives their hope help in sharing Jesus’ vision. For that is the purpose of all apocalyptic writing: to fund the hope of those who suffer in the present.

In the meantime, we have to depend on the promise of Jesus: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” No one, not even the Son, knows when all this will take place. The only sure thing we can hold to is the word of Jesus.

We live in an age of uncertainty; the future never looks wholly secure. In a nuclear age the word of Jesus holds out a vision that takes us beyond our worst beginnings. There is a place beyond the duty to strive for peace, but it does free us from the blasphemy of believing that a nuclear holocaust will be the last word in the human story. There is only one final word: Jesus. That word has to be enough for us.

Note: Taken from Fr. Denis McBride CSsR, SEASONS OF THE WORD – Reflections on the Sunday Readings, Chawton, Alton, Hants.: Redemptorist Publications, 1993