The Catholic Liturgy for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 14, 2021. Readings: Daniel 12:1-3; Gospel of St. Mark 13:24-32. Theme: Not a Threat, But a Promise.
I want to start off by saying that there's a very important fact about the Bible which we must keep in mind if we want to truly understand our readings today and in the next couple of weeks. And it’s this: God’s Word was written in ancient Middle-Eastern style and we’re not going to readily grasp its message if we treat it as modern day literature. This means that we need to know the mindset of the ancient Hebrew people and how they described things in order to properly understand what God is saying to us. Failure to do so is the # 1 reason why people come up with some quite odd and at times even spiritually dangerous interpretations of Scripture.
For example, today we hear Jesus foretelling things that seem quite incredible and frightening such as the elements of nature going berserk, and the universe itself falling into some kind of death-dealing chaos. Hearing all this as 21st century Americans we tend to think of some kind of horrible cosmic cataclysm that would make for a fantastic special effects sci-fi movie! But St. Mark’s 1st century audience were quite familiar with this kind of highly symbolic religious language and so they understood these words of Jesus correctly. His message filled them with hope not fear.
They knew that Jesus was saying that sometime in the future there’s going to be a spectacular, world-shaking, never-seen-before event in human history. And this event would show once and for all, to every human being, God’s glory and power, his justice and mercy. In our Christian tradition we have come to call this event the Second Coming of Christ. After judgment by Jesus, every human being will rise up from the dead as the prophet Daniel foretells in our first reading. Those who have been faithful to God will receive a new and glorious eternal existence, while those who have lived selfishly and intentionally apart from God will experience eternal shame and horror. We profess this belief and remind ourselves of this message every Sunday in the closing words of the Creed.
Both the prophet Daniel and the Lord Jesus are using dramatic language to wake us up out of our complacency and get our attention. They want us to look at the bigger picture of our total existence and never forget that planet Earth is only the starting point of our story. Life in this world as we know it is only a very small part of who we are and of what we shall become. This message might shake up a few people or even frighten others, but we have to remember that Jesus' words are always “Gospel” which means “good news” and so his words are not not a doom-and-gloom threat, but rather a threefold hopeful promise.
The first promise is that Christ will, indeed, return to planet Earth. Unlike when he came the first time in the quiet and stillness of Bethlehem, this Second Coming will be powerful and public. All peoples will recognize what is happening at the same time no matter who they are or where they live.
The second promise is that we who belong to Christ shall be safe from all spiritual harm when this all comes to pass. Daniel prophesied for us that St. Michael the Archangel, who has been charged with the mission of being the Guardian of God’s People, will defend us in the battle, protect us from harm and lead us in our escape from evil and into the Presence of God.
The third and final promise is that this will be the time when good finally claims its ultimate and total triumph over evil. We who have struggled to remain faithful to God shall all be vindicated and, as Daniel tells us, we shall live forever in shining glory. This is when everything will be made right and payback will be given to those who thought they were so very clever in manipulating others. They defrauded the poor, took advantage of the lowly, ignored the sanctity of human life, and did so many other injustices to their brothers and sisters in the human family. But we are promised that hatred and division, sin and suffering will all end and evil shall never more be known among those who live on forever with one another in the Kingdom of God.
Yes, big changes are coming for humanity but this should not surprise us. But what remains for us always as a constant is the love and mercy of God. When we hear messages such as those proclaimed to us in today’s liturgy, we must never forget that God is not a Lord of threats but rather a Father who loves his children and always keeps his promises
"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky." (Gospel of St. Mark)
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