Dan 12:1-3; Heb 10:11-14,18 ; Mk13:24-32
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.
There are numerous predictions about the end of the world. The French "prophet" and astrologer Nostradamus (1503-1566), foretold that the world would end when Easter fell on April 25. This happened in 1666, 1734, 1886 and 1943. In 1379, St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), a Spanish Dominican monk predicted the demise of the world in AD 3936. The Jehovah's Witnesses predicted the "end of the world" in 1914, 1918 and 1974. Many more such predictions we had seen. They were trying to base their predictions on the invitation of Jesus to be watchful.
Death is the unquestionable reality in our life. But no one can predict his death. Alexander Pope put this poetically:
"Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of Fate,
All but the page prescribed."
Death comes sometimes in a very unexpected manner.
Atilla was the fearsome ruler of the Huns from 434 to 453 AD. He was public enemy to the Roman Empire. Twice he attacked the Balkans; he marched his army through France; and his rulership spread from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. Many today regard him as a monster, a cruel dictator who ruled through fear. His death was really mysterious. He died on his wedding night from a simple nose bleed.
Bruce Lee's son Brandon was on the set of the film The Crow in which he was playing the lead role. One scene required Lee to be shot by a prop-gun firing blanks. The gun had been used several times before in filming but a cheaply made round of blanks had lodged part of the lead in the barrel of the gun. It caused his death.
Jesus said: "But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it." Hence he asks us to be prepared. None of us are guaranteed our next breath. We should always appreciate and acknowledge our blessings. An attitude of gratitude is a stepping-stone towards success. Our thoughts, our words, and our actions must be building blocks to creating the life that you want. But in reality, we do not dare to act. We wait for something. Dr. Seuss put it humourously (Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss).
"Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance." Everyone is just waiting." We have heard many times the line, "Live everyday as if it were your last" It is high time that we started doing something meaningful in life. So let us find our passion. Passion isn't just a hobby or a pastime. It's a kind of love that burns so deep it sets you alive. Passion allows you to feel that everything is right in the world. There are many people out there who follows their heart, no matter what. And it's brought them to great heights. So find your passion, and make your life meaningful. When you want to pass some form of positivity and happiness to others, the results can be amazing.
Even though we are all aware of the imminence of death, we still have the power to dream. We can look to the future for a day when we will achieve unrivaled greatness. Every day, we should bring us closer and closer to our goal, every day we must bring us closer and closer to greatness. With this mindset and decree, live life to the fullest. Enjoy every minute of the day. Do things that can make us happy. And always DO good things to others for we never know how long we will stay. Life is just borrowed, so we must live accordingly.
Satish
Anecdote #1:
The endtime phobia: French "prophet" and astrologer Nostradamus
(1503-1566), foretold that the world would end when Easter fell on April 25.
This happened in 1666, 1734, 1886 and 1943; it will occur again in 2038.
In 1379, St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), a Spanish Dominican monk, basing
his prediction on the number of verses in the Book of Psalms (2,537 verses),
predicted the demise of the world in AD 3936. By the end of 1998,
the Mount of Olives Hotel, run by Palestinian Muslims, wrote to 2,000
Protestant Christian groups in the U.S. asking "How would you like to be
reserving your rooms at the Mount of Olives Hotel, to wait for the
‘second coming’ of Jesus on the first day of the new millennium,
2000 A.D.?" Scientists, also, fueled public anxiety by citing
a series of possible ways, including, nuclear war and collision with a comet,
in which the world could come to an end. A very popular book in 1989 was
89 Reasons Why the World will End in 1989. The Jehovah’s Witnesses frightened
gullible followers at least 3 times during the last century with their “end of
the world” predictions in 1914, 1918 and 1974. It is this paranoid fear
that led people to die in the mass suicides organized by Heaven’s Gate and Jim
Jones. The film Omega Code, released in October, 1999, was an independent
movie funded by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Evangelical
Christian TV network in the U.S. It was promoted by a team of 2,400 U.S.
Evangelical pastors. The plot involved a portrayal of the “rapture” at
the imminent “Second coming” of Jesus , when “born again” and "saved"
Christians, both alive and dead, are supposed to fly upward in the air to meet
Jesus. The film was rated in the top 10 grossing movies for October,
1999. Over 17 million copies of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' novel Left
Behind on the “Second coming,” were sold by July 27, 2000. This is how
modern man reacts to the reality of the coming of the end of the world.
Hence, today’s readings remind us that we should be well prepared and
always ready to meet Jesus at any time, daily in our brothers and sisters and
at the end of our lives or the end of the world, whichever comes first.
# 2: Bingo
first! Who cares about the Second coming?: There is a second group of people
who ignore Christ’s Parousia and stick to their addictions. A woman was
hurrying home from work. This was her Bingo night. Suddenly she spotted this
fellow standing on the edge of the pavement holding aloft a placard which read:
The end of the world is near. She went up to him and said, ‘You say the end of
the world is near.’ ‘That’s right, missus,’ he replied. ‘But are you sure?’
‘Quite sure, missus.’ ‘And you say it’s near.’ ‘Yes, missus.’ ‘How near?’ ‘Oh,
very near.’ ‘Could you be more precise?’ ‘This very night, Missus’. She paused
for a moment to reflect on this. Then in a voice full of anxiety, she asked,
‘Tell me, son. Will it be before or after Bingo?’ (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday
and Holy Day Liturgies).