From: Luke 21:29-33
Discourse on the Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World
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Commentary:
31. The Kingdom of God, announced by John the Baptist (cf. Matthew 3:2) and
described by our Lord in so many parables (cf. Matthew 13; Luke 13:18-20), is
already present among the Apostles (Luke 17:20-21), but it is not yet fully mani-
fest. Jesus here describes what it will be like when the Kingdom comes in all its
fullness, and He invites us to pray for this very event in the Our Father: “Thy King-
dom come.” “The Kingdom of God, which had its beginnings here on earth in the
Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing, and its authentic de-
velopment cannot be measured by the progress of civilization, of science and of
technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever deepening
knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eter-
nal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever
more generous acceptance of grace and holiness by men” (”Creed of the People
of God”, 27). At the end of the world everything will be subjected to Christ and
God will reign for ever more (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).
32. Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled some forty
years after our Lord’s death — which meant that Jesus’ contemporaries would be
able to verify the truth of this prophecy. But the destruction of Jerusalem is a
symbol of the end of the world; therefore, it can be said that the generation to
which our Lord refers did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way. This verse
can also be taken to refer to the generation of believers, that is, not just the par-
ticular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. note on Matthew 24:32-35).
[The note on Matthew 24:32-35 states:
32-35. Seeing in the destruction of Jerusalem a symbol of the end of the world,
St. John Chrysostom applies to it this parable of the fig tree: “Here He also fore-
tells a spiritual spring and a calm which, after the storm of the present life, the
righteous will experience; whereas for sinners there will be a winter after the
spring they have had [...]. But this was not the only reason why He put before
them the parable of the fig tree, to tell them of the interval before His coming; He
wanted to show them that His word would assuredly come true. As sure as the
coming of spring is the coming of the Son of Man” (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 77).
“This generation”: this verse is a clear example of what we say in the note on
Matthew 24:1 about the destruction of Jerusalem being itself a symbol. “This ge-
neration” refers firstly to the people alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusa-
lem. But, since that event is symbolic of the end of the world, we can say with
St. John Chrysostom that “the Lord was speaking not only of the generation then
living, but also of the generation of the believers; for He knows that a generation
is distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of religious worship and
practice: this is what the Psalmist means when he says that ‘such is the gene-
ration of those who seek Him’ (Psalm 24:6)” (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 77).]
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | Daniel 7:2-14 © |
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Canticle | Daniel 3:75-81 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | Lk21:28 |
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Gospel | Luke 21:29-33 © |
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