Fr. Eugene Lobo S.J. –
Thirty Third Sunday of the Year November 13, 2022
Malachi 3:19-20a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19
On this second last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, we are called upon to reflect on the Day of Judgment and the end times and the importance of endurance. In today’s Gospel Jesus assures the Apostles that he will be with them no matter what hardships they face. He teaches them that authentic Christian living is about meeting the challenges of the day and not just thinking about when the end will come. The Gospel presents us the scene where Jesus and his disciples were looking at Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, at the object of his mission. The disciples were looking with admiration they’re beautiful artistic Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus then spoke of its destruction and told them that not a stone would remain on the other. This would certainly have shocked his disciples. Jesus uses this episode to teach about the end of the world to come and about the persecutions the disciples will have to endure.
In the First Reading prophet Malachi addresses the perennial problem, namely, why do evildoers prosper and just suffer. What is the value of living a just and pious life when the irreligious people look down on the observance of the law? The prophet tells them that the end of the world and the judgment will be terrible for the evildoer but joy for the faithful. He says that it will be bad news for those who have led lives of pure self-interest and sacrificed others for it. They chose to go their own way without God and God will allow them to continue doing so. But for those who have based their lives on being loyal to Truth and have spent their lives in the service of their God and seeking the well-being of their brothers and sisters, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.
In the Second Reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, we have Paul’s harsh words for those who fall short of imitating the saints, their brothers, and sisters in Christ. Admonishing the disorderly, Paul tells them that if they were unwilling to work, they should not eat. Here Paul commands and exhorts in the Lord to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Paul gives them his own example to show how he toiled day and night to earn his livelihood and never depended on them. Even though he did his ministry and worked for the people of God he lived by his own hard work.
The Gospel of today begins with Jesus commenting on the Temple of Jerusalem, a building which was one of the wonders of the ancient world. The beautiful decoration of the Temple had begun about forty-six years before Jesus by Herod the Great, to establish his friendly relationship with the people by doing the restoration work. The artwork was so wonderful that some of the huge granite stones in the Temple walls were so expertly linked without mortar that they could not see the joints. The Sun reflecting from the Temple’s brilliant marble and gold ornament, set on a hill, made it visible for miles. Some people were commenting on its “fine stonework and votive offerings”. The Temple of Herod as it was called was one of the most massive buildings in its time and was not yet fully completed. It was the heart and pride of all Jewish life; the very symbol of God’s presence among them. Yet Jesus tells his hearers, “All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”
The Temple was completed in 63 A.D. and was destroyed seven years later, forty years after Jesus spoke of its destruction. Yet Jesus says that the Temple and Jerusalem will be destroyed but the end will not be as yet. He warns them against false messiahs who would tell them that the end is near. But they are not to listen to them. Historically the destruction of the Temple took place in the year 70 A.D. The Roman army invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple killing thousands of rebellious Jews and taking a large number into slavery. They took away whatever valuables they could get. The treasures of the Temple were carried off in triumph by the Romans.
Jesus warns his followers not to be deceived. The Christian life is to focus on the here and now and that will require strength and faith. The world will continue with wars and insurrections and there will continue to be natural disasters that defy explanation. None of these things necessarily means that the world is coming to an end. The teaching of Jesus does not offer us a way to predict the end of the world. Instead, the teaching of Jesus provides his followers with the spiritual resources needed to cope with the adversity and hardship that is part of life in the here and now. The final portion of the passage is directed to the disciples and sets forth what they can expect in the future.
Indeed the Gospel of today tells us about the fall of Jerusalem. While Jesus was speaking of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, those who were with were associating this event with the arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth. Many of Jesus’ followers recognized Him as the Messiah and they wanted to crown Him as their King. So when Jesus spoke of destruction or anything that could be associated with war, his followers assumed that the day was near when Jesus would rule over them and the Roman domination would come to an end.
As Jesus says that in the presence of such events people will come forward identifying themselves to be the long-awaited Messiah. Some others would begin to proclaim that ‘The end is near. But Jesus says such people are not to be trusted and must be ignored. He also tells them that there would be many other terrible things that should take place, namely wars and revolutions, natural disasters, famines, endemic diseases, earthquakes but none of them would be the real sign of the end. The time for the Lord has not yet come for the final judgment. Still less, these things must not be seen as signs of God’s anger or vengeance.
At the same time, we notice there are other disasters that destroy the lives of people and we need to look deeper into them, namely greed, envy, hatred, and fear which dominate peoples’ lives. But Jesus says something more to his own followers that there are some special things in store for them and they must not be surprised at them. He speaks of the possible persecution and hatred which people will show towards them.
When Jesus speaks of the persecutions awaiting his disciples, he consoles them saying that they should not be anxious about how they are to behave or what they are to say in such times. He even gives them the confidence and tells them that they are not even to prepare their defence, because Jesus himself will give them eloquence and a wisdom that none of their opponents will be able to resist or contradict. In the scriptures and in the history of the church there is an abundance of evidence that this promise of Jesus has been kept.
The Gospel tells us that we are to get ready for that day when God will call us to ourselves. Our faith tells us that there is no need to live in fear and anxiety regarding the future. Rather, we are to focus on the present time, on today, the here, and now. Jesus promises his followers abundant suffering and persecutions. If they bear the sufferings for Christ’s name they will earn the true life, the eternal life of heaven. For this reason, the church wants to examine ourselves today regarding the response we have to such circumstances.
One day, as usual, an orphan, a little girl, stood at the street corner begging for food, money, or whatever she could get. Now, this girl was wearing very tattered clothes, was dirty and quite dishevelled. A well-to-do you man passed that corner without giving the girl a second look. But, when he returned to his expensive home, he’s happy and comfortable family, and his well-laden dinner table, his thoughts returned to the young orphan. He became very angry with God for allowing such conditions to exist. He reproached God, saying, How can you let this happen Why don’t you do something to help this girl Then he heard God in the depths of his being responding by saying I did. I created you.
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.” This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: “I’ve been married for 30 years now… In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”