Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 17, 2024. Readings: Daniel 12:1-3; Gospel of St. Mark 13:24-32. Theme: The End of the world (As We Know It)
A very important fact we need to recall about today’s Gospel and really about Sacred Scripture in general, is something that I mention to people frequently: that it’s written in ancient Middle-Eastern style and so we’re not going to readily grasp its message if we treat it as modern day literature. You see, God’s Word was written according to the customs and language of the ancient Middle-East which is vastly different from 21st century America. Bible scholars help us to get a grasp of ancient culture and style so that we can properly understand what God is saying to us. Failure to acknowledge the vital difference between modern-us and ancient-them is the #1 reason why people come up with some quite odd and at times even spiritually dangerous interpretations of the Bible.
For example, in today’s Gospel we hear Jesus foretelling things that seem quite incredible and frightening! He speaks of 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 symbolic religious language. It was what they knew and so they understood these words of Jesus correctly. His message was not one of fear and trembling but of hope and joyful expectation!
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. At that time 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 remind ourselves of this message every Sunday in the closing words of the Creed where we profess faith in the resurrection of the dead and in the life of the world to come.
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 drop in the bucket of our total existence; it’s only a small and blurry picture of who we really are and of what we shall one day become. This message might shake up a few people or even frighten others, but it is “Good News” to those who trust in Christ as a Merciful Savior and walk with God through life. To them His words are not not of doom-and-gloom, but rather a hopeful threefold 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, glorious, awe-inspiring and public. All people will recognize what is happening at the same time and in the same way no matter who they are or where they live or what they do or do not believe.
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. This is why many people say the St. Michael Prayer. They are in effect preparing for that day and asking for the grace to remain a part of God’s people who have safe passage through the struggle.
The Third Promise is that this will be the arrival of the long-awaited 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 and trampling upon others. These faithless ones defrauded the poor, took advantage of the lowly, ignored the truth, spit upon the sanctity of human life, and did so many other injustices to their brothers and sisters in the human family.
But we who did our best to follow Christ and his Great Commandment of Love are promised something so very wonderful. It will be the beginning of a glorious joyful and eternal existence with one another. And in this very real new world of the resurrected, there will never again be any hatred and division, no more sickness and suffering, and evil of any kind shall never more be known in the Kingdom of God. So, yes, big changes are coming for humanity and while we await them we must never forget that God is a Father who loves his children and always keeps his promises.
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