Homily: 33rd Sunday Cycle C

Cycle C 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov 14

[Mal. 3:19-20; 2 Thess. 3:7-12; Lk. 21:5-19]
 
The Liturgical year of the church is coming to an end. Next Sunday, we shall celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, and the Sunday after, we shall start the New Liturgical Year.
 
Today's readings direct our attention to the End of the World, otherwise known as the Last Things, or the Day of the Lord. “The End Time” is a theme spoken of in all the religious writings, in the traditions of every society, and celebrated much in literature.
 
Childhood’s End is a science fiction novel written by Sir Arthur C Clarke. In this novel, he describes that humanity is visited by aliens who resemble Satan. The aliens, named in the novel as the overlords, are seen in the role of "heralds" for a god-like force named the Overmind. A transformation occurs in the last human generation, which ultimately merges with this Overmind and resulting in the destruction of the earth and the solar system.

All the religions have their own beliefs about the end of the world, the triumph of good over evil and Judgment Day.

In Christianity, the End Times are often depicted as a time of tribulations that precedes the Second Coming of Jesus. Jesus on his Second Coming will usher in the Kingdom of God and bring an end to suffering and evil. In slam the “Day of Resurrection" or “the Day of Judgment", Allah's final assessment of humanity, is preceded by the end of the world. In Judaism the term "End of Days" is taken as a reference to the Messianic era and the Jewish belief in the coming of Messiah.

During the First Reading from the Book of Malachi,  we heard the Lord say, "'See, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and all evildoers will be  like stubble; the day that is coming shall burn them up,' says the Lord of hosts, ' leaving them neither root nor branch.'

In other words, the evildoers will be wiped off the face of the earth. When they die, there will be no tombstone to mark their graves. Over time, their existence will fade away from the memories of the passing generations.

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus’ announcing the destruction of Jerusalem, that of the world and his second coming.  Some of the faithful believed that Jesus was about to return at any time to establish His Kingdom. Therefore they refused to work. One of such community was that of Thessalonica. To such persons, St. Paul commands and exhorts in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. [2 Thess. 3:12] Every Christian, when he is able to do so, must support himself and not live off the income or wealth of the others.

The same false belief has been held throughout every generation, even to this day. The Shakers thought the world would be over in 1792, while the Jehovah’s Witnesses pegged various years between 1914 and 1994 as an end date. More recently, some doomsday forecasters have focused on the year 2012.

The Day of Judgment and the End of the World ought to cause us to think more about what is valuable to do today. The Church puts the Last Days in front of us so that we can judge what is right and what is wrong in what we are doing in the present.   Rollo May, A popular writer, once observed, “The most effective way to ensure the value of the future is confront the present courageously and constructively.” When we live the present responsibly and meaningfully, we are preparing ourselves for the second coming of Jesus into our lives.

The Day of Judgment for every person is his own death. It can happen at any time, in any way. The end of the world for me can be through an accident, by means of death by old age, or by means of a natural calamity. The recent floods in various parts of the world caused thousands of death, and it was the end of the world for them; the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused thousands of people feel that it was the Day of Judgment for them. The tsunami that swept the shores of Indian Ocean brought the world to an end for thousands. So, we must wait for this great moment.

But while waiting for this great moment to come, we must adjust to a long period of waiting and persecution. But, Jesus also has promised us his infallible assistance in our attempt to make our life meaningful. He has assured us that, “Your endurance will win you your lives.”

Satish


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Anecdote 1) Beware of false messiahs: On November18, 1978, Jim Jones, leader of the People’s Temple committed mass suicide with over 900 of his followers in an isolated community called Jonestown in Guyana. Jones was fascinated with his power to manipulate people and preached ‘revolutionary struggle’ that would end either in victory (socialism) or ‘revolutionary suicide’ (death). Nowadays, people’s temples and doomsday cults seem popular among believers for whom religion is opium, and God, an idol. Doesn’t Jesus’ warning in today’s gospel also sound pessimistic and destructive? – (Francis Gonsalves, “Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds” p.418)

Anecdote 2) The theater is on fire: The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each act is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager appears on the stage, apologizing for the interruption. He announces at the top of his voice that the theater is on fire, and begs his patrons to leave the theatre immediately without causing a commotion. The spectators think that it is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again feverishly implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire races through the whole building engulfing the fun-loving audience with it. "And so," concludes Kierkegaard, "will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators?" (Resource, July/August). Today’s readings warn us about a similar fate if we are not well prepared when the “Day of the Lord” dawns quite unexpectedly, marking the end of the world.

Anecdote 3) A man was living in the Canadian prairie with his daughter, and one of the great problems about living on the prairie was the fear of prairie fires which rage through and destroy everything in its path. Well, their fears became real when a huge prairie fire broke out, and the father realized that there was nowhere that they could run because they were surrounded by fire.  So the father started his own fire with his frightened daughter, and watched as the area burned, and then he took his daughter into the centre of the area that had been burned already.  He knew that the approaching fire would not touch this area because there was nothing left to be burned. He spoke gently to his very frightened daughter and told her not to be frightened, that the flames could not get to them because everything combustible had already been burned.

Anecdote 4) Consider the Joy!: Consider the story of one young man. He was often sick as a baby. He was always small, puny some would say. As a youth he was always frail and delicate. He was not able to play sports with the other boys his age. Eventually he entered the ministry. But his health was so fragile; he was unable to serve his growing congregation.
    Amazingly, he did not dwell on his troubles. In fact, his spirit soared. His only real complaint was the poor quality of the hymns of his day. He felt they did not convey hope and joy. Someone challenged him to write better ones. He did. He wrote over 600 hymns, most of them hymns of praise.
    When his health collapsed completely in 1748, he left one of the most remarkable collection of hymns the world has ever known. His name was Isaac Watts. In a few weeks we will be singing one of his most famous hymns, "Joy to the World!" Isaac Watts discovered joy in his life because he knew that God would never desert him. He was able to live his life with all sorts of health problems feeling close to God and Jesus. He had joy deep in his heart. –Timothy J. Smith

Anecdote 5) Stop Speculating!: There is an old story about a warrior who was struck one day by a poisonous arrow. This man happened to be a speculative sort of person, so as he lay on the ground he mused to himself: "I wonder what kind of wood this arrow is made of? What sort of birds, do you suppose, the feathers come from? I wonder what type of man shot this arrow — tall or short, dark or light." His comrades, who saw his plight, could bear it no longer, but cried out in frustration: "For God's sake, man! Stop speculating and pull out the arrow!" –Gary L. Carver and Tom M. Garrison

Anecdote 6) The theater is on fire: The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each act is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager appears on the stage, apologizing for the interruption. He announces at the top of his voice that the theater is on fire, and begs his patrons to leave the theatre immediately without causing a commotion. The spectators think that it is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again feverishly implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire races through the whole building engulfing the fun-loving audience with it. "And so," concludes Kierkegaard, "will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators?" (Resource, July/August). Today’s readings warn us about a similar fate if we are not well prepared when the “Day of the Lord” dawns quite unexpectedly, marking the end of the world.