33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
First reading: Mal 4:1-2
Second reading: 2 Thes 3:7-12
Gospel reading: Lk 21:5-19
In speaking about the end of the world, Christ made three points: 1) he will certainly return; 2) we cannot possibly find out when; and therefore 3) we must always be ready.
On that day, “all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up,” leaving them “neither root nor branch.” However, for those who love God, the sun whose heat destroys evildoers will be “the sun of righteousness,” carrying “healing in its wings.”
Right up to the end, everything will be normal. “Nation will rise against nation,” as they have always done and are still doing. “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues,” as we have seen all through history.
Right up to the end, Jesus said, “they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name … they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.”
The freedom we have enjoyed in our country for the last few decades is isolated and temporary. It can change very quickly. Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner, OMI, said that even during his time as archbishop of Vancouver (1991-2004), he had seen the media’s attitude to the Church change from indifference to hostility.
It should not surprise us. The “prince of this world” is Satan. Out of hatred for God, he “wanders the world, seeking the ruin of souls.”
What is important is that through wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues, and persecutions, we go on quietly doing what God expects of us, as St. Paul says.
The first Christians seemed to think that Christ’s Second Coming was imminent. St. Paul had to rebuke some who had given up their work and abandoned the routine claims of every day to wait about in excited idleness for Christ to come. They must do their work quietly, he said, earning their own living just as he and his companions had done while they were with them.
Christ said the same. “Happy that servant whom his master discovers at work on his return!”
It is a waste of time trying to predict when the Master will return. “Beware that you are not led astray,” Jesus said; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.”
As Protestant clergyman George MacDonald said, “Do those who say, Lo! here or lo! there are the signs of his coming, think to be too keen for him and spy out his approach? When he tells them to watch lest he find them neglecting their work, they stare this way and that, and watch lest he should succeed in coming like a thief!”
We should not let the end of the world and Christ’s second coming inspire us with fear or hope that makes us neglect our daily duty. On the other hand, we should not live as though we or the world will last forever.
Similarly, an 80-year-old man need not always think about his death, but if he is wise he will always take it into account. For example, he will not be so foolish as to embark on schemes which presuppose 30 more years of life; he will not be overwhelmed by the news that he has terminal cancer.
Our individual lives are short, precarious, temporary, and provisional – and so is the life of the whole human race. Even in the normal course of things, species become extinct; planets become uninhabitable; stars cool down.
“What if this present [night] were the world’s last night?” asked the poet John Donne. Such a reflection will not discourage sober and prudent work for the future, but it should discourage any frantic search for everlasting life, health, or happiness in this world.
Father Hawkswell is again teaching The Catholic Faith in Plain English, with new insights. The whole course is available in written form and, one session per week, in YouTube form at beholdvancouver.org/catholic-faith-course. Father is also teaching the course in person: on Sundays at 2 p.m. in the John Paul II Pastoral Centre, 4885 Saint John Paul II Way, Vancouver (33rd and Willow); and on Mondays at 10 a.m. in St. Anthony’s Church hall, 2347 Inglewood Ave., West Vancouver. Next week’s topic is “The Contradictions of Atheism.”
