Dan 12:1-3; Hebr 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32 President John F. Kennedy was very fond
of a particular story which he often used to close his speeches during his 1960 presidential
campaign. It is the story of Colonel Davenport, Speaker of the Connecticut House of
Representatives back in the year 1789. One day, while the House was in session, the
sky of Hartford suddenly grew dark and gloomy. Some of the Evangelical House representatives
looked out the windows and thought this was a sign that the end of the world had come.
Uproar ensued, with the representatives calling for immediate adjournment. But Davenport
rose and said, "Gentlemen, the Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not.
If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing
my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought." Candles were brought and the
session continued. Today’s readings contain the same message: we need always to be
prepared to receive Jesus at his second coming by accepting him now as our personal
savior and doing now what he has commanded us to do. Today’s readings give us the
assurance that our God will be with us all the days of our lives and that we will
have the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst guiding, protecting and
strengthening us in spite of our necessary human uncertainty concerning the endtime
when “Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” Next Sunday
is the Thirty-fourth and last Sunday in our liturgical year when we celebrate the
Feast of Christ the King, and the following Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent
season with a new Liturgical cycle. Each year at this time, the Church asks us to
mediate on the “last things” – death, judgment, heaven and hell -- as they apply to
us. The readings invite us to focus our attention on the threefold coming of Jesus:
1) His first coming according to the flesh, as a redeemer. 2) The second coming of
Christ, at our death or at the end of time, which will bring our salvation to completion.
3) His coming into our lives each time we step forward in genuine Christian living.
The first reading, from the book of the prophet, Daniel (167 BC), with its vision
of the archangel Michael, the guardian of the Jewish people, "awakening those who
sleep in the dust of the earth," was originally written to comfort and give hope to
the Jewish people persecuted by a cruel pagan king. In the second reading, the author
of the letter to the Hebrews consoles believers suffering from “endtime phobia” with
the knowledge that Jesus, who sits forever at God’s right hand, is our mediator.
Through his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, and we are perfected and sanctified.
Today’s gospel, from Mark (69 AD), offered hope to the early Christians persecuted
by the Roman Emperor Nero. He reminded them of Jesus’ words about his coming, glorious
return to earth as judge, with great power and glory, to gather and reward his elect.
Though Daniel and Mark describe frightful scenes, their accounts also remind their
audience that God will ensure that the righteous will survive the ordeal and will
find a place with Him. Through the parable of the fig tree, Jesus warns us all to
read the “signs of the time,” and reminds us that we must be ever prepared to give
an account of our lives to Jesus our judge, because we can not know “either the day
or the hour” of our own death or of his second coming. Mark's gospel, written
some 40 years after Jesus' death, is the simplest, shortest, and oldest of the four
gospels. This week's gospel text is from the thirteenth chapter of Mark which, together
with Matthew 24 and Luke 21, is often called the "Little Apocalypse." Apocalypse
literally means unveiling. The whole of Mark’s thirteenth chapter is full of apocalyptic
imagery and predictions borrowed from the Old Testament. Verses 24-27 are taken from
images appearing in the prophecies of Joel, Isaiah, Daniel, Deuteronomy and Zechariah.
Jesus skillfully weaves all these various strands into one powerful vision. The gospel
of Mark was written in the year 69 AD, just one year before the destruction of the
Temple of Jerusalem, at a time when the Romans were suppressing Jewish protests and
persecuting Christians. Many Christians began wondering why Jesus did not return
as he had promised. Some even wondered whether he had really been the promised Messiah.
Hence, Mark tried to strengthen their faith by quoting Jesus’ predictions of the coming
persecution of the faithful, the destruction of Jerusalem, the rise of the Anti-Christ,
the end of the world, and Christ’s Second Coming. Mark also offered hope to a persecuted
community by reminding the people of Jesus’ promise that wars, natural disasters and
betrayal by family members would be overcome when the Son of Man returned to gather
in his loved ones. The glorious coming of the Son of Man: In today’s gospel, Jesus
speaks about the displacement of celestial bodies at the end of the world, followed
by the appearance of the Son of Man in glory to establish the Reign of God. The coming
of the Son of Man, "in clouds with great power and glory," echoes a passage in the
Daniel. Cosmic disturbances of the sun, moon and stars are images traditionally associated
with the manifestations of God's judgment of Israel. Although no timeframe is given
in the gospels for the period between the destruction of Jerusalem and the final coming
of Jesus as King and Lord of all, the early Christians believed that Jesus would come
in their lifetime, based on their understanding of Jesus’ promise in Mark, "this generation
will not pass away until all these things have taken place." Jesus gives a warning
lesson from the fig tree, using stock prophetic expressions well known to his listeners.
The fig tree sprouts its leaves in late spring heralding the summer season. The application
of this image to the end of the world suggests that the end of the world will mean
good times, or summer, for Jesus’ disciples, because their God will be bringing things
to a triumphant end and His Truth, Love and Justice will prevail forever. But we
must always be well prepared to face our judgment because we do not know the day nor
the hour, either of the ending of the world or of our own call from this life. Hence,
true disciples are to watch and wait in a state of readiness. Instead of worrying
about the endtime events, we are asked to live every day of our lives in loving God
living in others by our committed service. Thus, we will enter into a deeper relationship
with God which will continue when we pass through death to a different kind of life. What
are the Messages we have for our lives from today’s liturgy? 1) Let us recognize the
“second coming” of Jesus in our daily lives. Today’s gospel reminds us of a “coming”
of God which we tend to forget, namely, God’s daily coming to us in the ordinary events
of our lives. We must learn to recognize and welcome Him in these everyday occurrences
– happy, encouraging, painful or disappointing – always remembering that He comes
without warning. Let us remember that the Lord is present wherever people treat each
other with gentleness, generosity, and thoughtfulness. Hence, let us try to bring
Jesus to earth, as Blessed Mother Teresa puts it: “by doing little things to others
around us with great love.” 2) Let us take heart and not get frightened: The end
of the world should never be thought of as depressing, disheartening or frightening
because we are in the hands of a good and loving God. Christ’s second coming gives
us the message that God is journeying with us in the trials and difficulties of life
and that His word is ever present as a light of hope. He speaks to us through the
Bible. We have the Eucharist as a sign that God is with us, in our midst. Holy Communion
is our point of direct, personal contact with God. That is why the holy Mass is special:
the more fully and frequently we participate in the Mass, the more deeply the Lord
can come to us, and the more completely He can remain with us. Let no one frighten
us with disturbing descriptions of the end of the world because “the end” is all about
the birth of everyone and everything into eternity. 3) Are we ready to meet our
Lord with a clear conscience? Suppose we were to learn today that we had just one
year to live - that we would die on November 18, 2013. What changes would we make
in our lives? How would we spend our time, talents and wealth? What changes would
we make in our priorities? Would we be concerned about the petty quarrels and bickering
of life? No! The next twelve months would be the best year of our lives because
we would spend our time doing loving, holy and worthwhile things. 4) “Learn the
lesson from the fig tree.” Jesus tells us that our personal “endtime” is a prelude
to eternal happiness. However, we are all so taken in by our secular culture’s fascination
and glamour that we are sometimes embarrassed or saddened by the signs of our own
approaching end. We foolishly consider growing old as an evil thing, rather than
as a warning from a loving God, to prepare to meet Him and to give an account of our
lives. Our aches and pains and frequent “doctor’s appointments” in our senior years
should remind us of God’s warning that we are growing unfit to live in this world,
and that we have to get ready for another world of eternal happiness. Hence, let
us take the spirit of the 27th Psalm: “Wait for the Lord. Take courage; be stouthearted,
and wait for the Lord”