Thirty Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (Year C)

Mal 3.19-20;
II Thess 3.7-12;
Lk 21.5-19

As we near the end of the Church calendar, our Scripture readings deal more and more with the end times.
In today’s gospel, we see Our Lord is standing with His disciples in the great Temple in Jerusalem, the centre of Jewish religious life. As the disciples were speaking in awe of its magnificence. Suddenly, with all the violence of a thunderbolt, Our Lord said to them, “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.” This was impossible for them to comprehend.

Jesus predicts that the Temple will be destroyed. And so they asked him what are the signs that this will happen. The first thing that He says, is that there will be people claiming to be Him and that “the time has come.” But Jesus warns, “Do not follow them!”Jesus instructs his followers quite clearly that there will be a long gap between the two, and that the destruction of Jerusalem will be a sign of other and further catastrophes which were to mark the end of the world.

Between these two events, what will happen? There will be false prophets claiming to be the Messiah whose claims must be resisted; there will be those who predict when the end will come, but who have no authority from God to make these predictions; that there will be calamities – famine, earthquake, war – and even persecution; so we must not confuse these with signals that the end is impending. He says that these things must take place, but that the end is not quite so soon. One thing must happen before then: in spite of all the difficulties and tribulations put in its way, the gospel will spread to the ends of the earth. So calamities and persecutions should not paralyse Christ’s followers, but should be a spur to press on, to continue preaching the faith.

Christ also assures them that when it is time for them to give testimony that He will provide a defense for them “that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” Later on, He promises them that “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.”Earlier, Jesus tells them that some of them will be put to death, so it doesn’t seem that Jesus is promising them some sort of physical invincibility. Rather, it seems that Jesus is telling them that no matter what happens, they will not lose the promise of eternal life.

If we also consider our first reading from Malachi (3:19-20a), God says through the prophet: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble…But for you who hear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.”
I think all this tells us not to lose hope, even in the midst of so many trials and tribulations. We are reminded that God still loves us and is with us, and that in Jesus Christ, we can persevere. We can persevere in following Jesus. We can persevere in love and service.

To work for justice often involves confrontation, and courage with a willingness to speak up. Working for justice doesn’t seem to be healing instantly but picking at the wounds that are there. But when we ignore justice in the hopes of avoiding pain, the wounds just fester. But to the degree that we can achieve real justice for everyone, the truth can be brought out into the open, and real healing can occur, as well as real peace.It seems to me that we are called to work for justice and for the healing it can bring, out of the love God has for us and the world in Jesus Christ. And I wonder if that kind of love and service is in our minds and hearts?

Next Sunday we shall celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Throughout the coming days of this last week of the Church’s year, let us renew our devotion to that King, the King Who will one day return in glory, to judge the world by fire. In this Holy Mass, let us welcome Him as Our Saviour Whom perhaps we shudder to meet as our Judge. Let us take comfort from the abiding presence of the King among us, in the Blessed Sacrament. While we have time, let us draw near to the King at His altar, lest our world come crashing down around us, and by our lack of perseverance we risk receiving His terrible sentence of being banished, banished for ever from before His throne.

Fr Osho