Gospel & Reflection For 33rd Sunday.
Mark 13:24-32
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.
‘Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
‘But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.’
Reflection
Friends, there is something sombre and threatening about our readings this weekend, especially the Gospel. It uses words such as ‘distress,’ ‘darkened’ and ‘shaken.’ These are words that can unnerve us, especially as we are already somewhat distressed by the state of our modern world and at times, our own country.
But just as every country has nuances in their language, so also does the Bible. For example, we often speak about it ‘raining cats and dogs’ or that on occasion we ‘could eat a horse.’ We know immediately what those expressions mean, and it has nothing to do with horse meat or seeing our pets falling from the skies in bad weather! So, language is unique to every culture, nation, and people and so to with the Bible.
The dire language of the Gospel this weekend is what we call ‘Apocalyptic’ language. However, contrary to common belief, the word ‘Apocalypse’ does not mean the end of the world. It actually translates from the Greek as ‘taking away the veil.’ Its Latin equivalent is ‘Revelation’ – ‘revealing.’ So, apocalyptic language is not there to frighten us about the end of things; it’s there to give us hope about what is to come, what is to be revealed and unveiled by God.
It is no surprise that such use of Apocalyptic language is found in St. Mark’s Gospel particularly because St. Mark wrote his Gospel to encourage and strengthen the Christians of Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero in the first century. As we know, Nero was a psychotic, megalomaniac, going as far as to even start a devastating fire in Rome for the sole purpose of purchasing, previously unavailable land. Having got others to purposely started the fire, Nero then had to quickly find a scapegoat to cover his own guilt. He soon found what he was desperately looking for.
The Roman historian Tacitus records: “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class called Christians by the populace… they were made to serve as objects of amusement, they were clad in the hides of beasts to be torn apart by dogs, others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed.”
Those suffering such cruelty because of their faith needed hope and consolation. St. Mark addresses their suffering but quickly unveils the light and promise of their faith which they were holding onto, at such a great price. In short, St. Mark was calling on his fellow Christians to stand firm, not lose heart, to persevere and to be brave in the face of persecution and hatred. Suffering would not have the last word. The day of the Lord would soon be revealed.
Friends, on this final Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, that message of resilience and revelation has travelled down through the centuries and speaks as loudly today as ever before. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today, fact. That persecution takes many forms from the most violent to the subtlety calculating. There is no popularity to be found in our Christianity, our Catholicism. But what we do find is Christ and His reassurance to us all that we are created, loved, and held always in His care.
Our relationship with the Lord never passes away. He is the sure foundation of our lives. When everything might seem to be falling apart for us, He is the one who endures, the centre that holds, drawing us to Himself. In times of disturbing change, we can rely on the Lord as our one constant, the one who will always be there for us. In distressing times, when we can feel like a ship tossed about in a storm, the Lord will be our anchor.
So, let us together hold firm in the Lord and take hope in Him. The good news to be heard in today’s readings is that no trial need ever destroy us because the Lord is near, at our very gates.
Fr. Richard