Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, C November 17, 2019
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Repent! The end is near! Repent! To most people, that kind of preaching is a joke, a caricature of a crazy man, out-of-touch with reality, working against his own goals. And yet, any Christian who takes scripture seriously has to acknowledge at least one preacher who made it work: Jesus himself. Jesus began his public ministry with almost the same words: repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand! Now, at the end of his public ministry, what does Jesus do? He prophesies about the end: “the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” He is talking about the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. But by talking about the destruction of the temple, he is also talking about the end of the world.
For ancient Jews, the temple was a microcosm of the whole universe. Many things in it symbolized the world: garden-themed decorations, a basin of water representing the seas; the veil in the sanctuary embroidered with the constellations. So, when Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple, he’s also talking about the end of the world.
Now, as far as the temple goes, Jesus tells the disciples that certain signs will lead up to that moment: war, famine, earthquake, disease, persecution, betrayal, and murder. But when did those things ever not happen? It’s like saying the end will come in time. Jesus does say something a little more specific: “Awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” The temple was destroyed around 70 A.D. A historian from that time records some bizarre supernatural occurrences that happened in the sky over the city of Jerusalem shortly before, including the appearance of a giant sword and the vision of armies moving around the sky. Then, the physical roman army showed up and destroyed the whole city and the temple, which has never been rebuilt.
So, what does that tell us about the end of the world? Those signs of war and earthquake are always happening. The persecution and betrayal and murder of Christians has been happening ever since there have been Christians. So how does pointing them out help? They tell us that the end times have already begun. Ever since Jesus came, we live in the end times, the last age of the universe. That means the time for repentance and getting your act together is right now.
Okay, but what about those signs in the sky that happened for the temple, will they happen again for the whole world? Jesus does say that his final coming will light up the whole sky like lightning, so in a way, yes. But, he also describes that moment as the same moment of final judgment. There won’t be this big gap between the final coming and your judgment. So, waiting for that moment to repent is dangerous and futile. That’s why Jesus gives the other signs that are literally always happening. Wars, earthquakes, persecution of Christians. The end is always near, so the time for repentance is always near.
And Jesus warns us about trying to guess when everything ends: “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them!” Yet, there are many Christians who try to calculate the final destruction of the world… or who get caught up following this or that leader that claims to be Jesus or to know the end of the world. Do not be deceived!
Yet, the proclamation of Jesus is not about fear. Yes, he begins and ends his public teaching with a call for repentance, but his real message is one of hope! For those who take his words to heart now, the end of the world is not something to dread, but something to look forward to! The prophet Malachi in our first reading talks about the “day… blazing like an oven” where the Lord will “set on fire” all “evildoers.” There’s plenty to fear there, but he also says this about the exact same day: “for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” The fire that destroys sinners is at the same time the fire that brings light to the saints. If you love the cold and dark, then a fire is something you avoid, but if you seek warmth and light, it is a joy.
That fire is God’s eternal love, his eternal justice. While some people like to imagine the final judgment as an arbitrary decision by God, he really has left that to us. God does not change. He constantly and consistently exudes perfect truth, love, and justice. We are the ones who change. If we genuinely seek the light of truth and the warmth of authentic, sacrificial love, then we will joyfully run towards the fires of God at the end of time. If we are proud, selfish, unjust, lazy, dishonest, perverse… then we will run in fear from the flaming light of his truth. And if you run from God, there’s only one place you can go…
What about you, then? Does the end of the world scare you? Excite you? A little of both? Whatever the case, here’s what you can do about it. First, please ignore anyone who claims to know when the world ends. Ignore anyone who claims to be Jesus. There will be no secrecy when he truly returns. Second, prepare yourself to suffer. Persecution and suffering is part of the deal for Christianity – it’s not the only part or even the most important part, but it is a necessary part. If you are not willing to suffer for Jesus, then you should be very afraid of the final judgment. That suffering might come from people who hate Christians. It might come from yourself as you fight tooth and nail to avoid sin. But it will come from somewhere as long as you are in this life.
Third, persevere. Suffering well is a sign of something deeper, something that is good. If we suffer with or for Christ, suffering causes us to grow, it proves our love for God, and it shows others that truth and love do not lose in the end. When love – real love – encounters evil and suffering, it produces perseverance. Perseverance is basically just love stretched over a period of time. When time ends, the suffering will end too, but the love will not. So yes, repent, for the end is near. But if you already know that, if you already suffer because you love the Truth about God regardless of how unpopular it is… because you love your neighbor enough to not hide that truth from them, then rejoice, for the end is near, not for your love, but for your suffering.