The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, November 17, 2019 as the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Church’s Year C. It is the last but one Sunday of the Church's Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place. Amen.”
In these last Sundays of the liturgical year, Mother Church invites us to meditate on the last things, that is, the end of our lives on earth and the Second Coming of Christ our Saviour – the Parousia. In the first reading, the prophet Malachi speaks in graphic terms of the end of time when the evil ones will burn like an oven while the righteous ones will shine out before the Lord. Like many of his brother prophets, Malachi is loud in his condemnation of the abuses among God’s people. He attacks the common evil of his day: the oppression of the poor, the laxity of the priests, and the non-payment of the temple taxes.
In the second reading, Saint Paul tries to clear the confusion among the Thessalonians about the signs of the Second Coming – the Parousia – of our Lord. Some of them are already claiming that Christ is coming soon. They have become so preoccupied about the approaching end of the world that they have even stopped working for a living, preferring to idle around and let other people take care of them. Paul asks them to imitate him and his companions, who have always worked for their livelihood. “If anyone does not work,” he tells them, “he should not eat.”
In the Gospel, Saint Luke prophesies the end of time through the description of the fall of the Holy City of Jerusalem, a historical fact that was to occur forty years later – in 70 AD. Christ warns his disciples of the dangers awaiting them as they take the Gospel message everywhere. They will have to bear witness by enduring persecutions but their fidelity, patience and endurance will set them firmly on the way of Jesus to eternal life. In the course of this holy Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to follow Christ more closely in total disregard of the hardships and persecutions we may suffer in his name.
First Reading: Malachi 4:1-2.
Behold the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Malachi is one of the twelve Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. The others are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Haggai and Zechariah. They are referred to as ‘minor’ not because their works are less important than those of the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) but because their works are much shorter than those of the Major Prophets. For example, Malachi is only three chapters long while Isaiah is sixty-six chapters.
Church historians tell us that the prophet Malachi wrote his book in about 450 BC shortly before the arrival of Nehemiah as governor of Jerusalem. It was Nehemiah who rebuilt Jerusalem and purified the Jewish community. Like his fellow prophets, Malachi roundly condemns the abuses his people are suffering in the hands of the civil and religious authorities. He strongly attacks the common evils in his day, the oppression of the poor by the ruling secular and priestly society, and the indifference that has crept into the worship offered in the temple. The second temple had been completed in 515 BC to great enthusiasm but the people soon became uncaring about the worship they made to God. The priests became unfaithful to the duties of their office, even endorsing marriages that went against Jewish law.
In the dialogues that make up this book, we see the same problem that is worrying many other prophets. Is God really just in his dealings with men? Does he really care that there are so many wrongs in the world? These are similar questions many in Cameroon today, especially those living in the northern, northwestern and southwestern regions, are asking themselves. If God really cared for us, why are we suffering so much hardship to the extent that our villages are being razed off the face of the earth, our people, young and old, are being killed, or imprisoned with impunity?
In the passage of our meditation, Malachi replies that God is taking note of all that is happening and preparing the day of reckoning when He will balance things once and for all. The day of judgment will bring about the ultimate separation of good from evil and God’s justice will finally be seen by all in the utter destruction of the wicked and the triumph of the good. The prophet warns the godless of his day – and of our own day – that God’s anger will strike them in due time. He comforts believers by announcing the coming of God, who will redeem them from the hands of their oppressors. Let us pray that when our Lord comes, he will find us worthy to receive him. Amen.
Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12
Brethren, you know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, we did not eat any one’s bread without paying, but with toil and labour we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you. It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone will not work, let him not eat. For we hear that some of you are walking in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Saint Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians was meant, among other things, to reassure his converts of Thessalonica of the fate of those who had already died in the Lord. However, some converts did not understand him correctly and became very worried because they believed that Christ’s coming was already at hand. It was then that he wrote his second letter to clear up whatever misunderstanding had arisen from his first letter.
In fact, some people were already so preoccupied about the approaching end of the world that they gave up working for a living. They wondered why they should work when Christ would soon come to take them with him to heaven. It is precisely to refute this view and prompt his converts to continue living their lives in prayer and thanksgiving that Saint Paul decides to write this second letter. In it, he tells them about some of the events that will signal the Lord’s coming: rebellion, or apostasy and the appearing of the ‘man of lawlessness’ (2 Thess 2:3).
Paul refers to his own life of constant work. He has always worked for a living so as not to impose any burden on anyone else. He then gives them this solid advice, which can perhaps work very well in many of our Cameroonian homes today: “If anyone will not work, let him not eat.” For those with nothing to do, Saint Paul says that “Such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living” (2 Thess 3: 12).
In one of their documents, Gaudium et spes, 43, the Fathers of Vatican II Council are emphatic on the value of human work. “This Council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk earthly responsibilities.”
Saint Jose Maria Escriva de Ballaguer says that “… everyone, in his job, in whatever place he has in society, must feel obliged to make his work God’s work, sowing everywhere the peace and joy of the Lord” (Friends of God, 70). Like Saint Paul, Saint Jose Maria and the Fathers of the Church are encouraging us, each in his or her vocation, to do our duties to ensure a better world where peace, justice and reconciliation can reign, now and forever. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to stand with confidence before the Son of Man. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Luke 21: 5-19.
At that time, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, Jesus said: “As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” And they asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?” And he said, “Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” Then he said to them, “Nations will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
In each of the first three Gospels (the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke), Jesus speaks about the events of the future, particularly what will happen to the Holy City of Jerusalem and its temple (Mt. 24: 1-51; Mk 13: 1-37). In Luke’s gospel passage of today, the disciples are seen admiring the beauty of the temple of Jerusalem, its fine architecture as well as the visual splendour of its decorations. But Jesus then dampens their enthusiasm with a catalog of disasters among which is the complete destruction of the object of their admiration – the Holy Temple.
Jesus deals with three inter-connected events: first of all, the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred forty years later, in 70 AD; secondly, the end of the world and thirdly, the second coming of our Lord in glory and majesty – the Parousia. He also predicts the persecution the Church will experience and exhorts his disciples to be patient, pray and be watchful.
Among the disasters he predicts, Jesus warns against future false prophets who will come claiming to be speaking in his name. These are the people who pose as saviours and prophets – and there are many of them among us today. They all claim to know when the world will end and who will be saved and who doomed. They cause unnecessary anxiety among people and, as Saint Paul warns the Thessalonians, “Let no one deceive you in any way” (2 Thess 2:3). Real saviours, he warns, do not create anxiety and fear among their people. Both Jesus and Paul ask their followers to avoid leaders who manipulate their fears and so lead them astray.
Jesus also mentions natural disasters, like earthquakes, plagues and famines, as regular features of human suffering but he warns that such disasters do not signal the end of the world. He exhorts his followers not to be tempted to believe that even though these difficulties will afflict them, they do signal the end of the world. They should therefore not be afraid to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. They will no doubt suffer persecution for their beliefs but they must stand firm, because anyone who decides to follow Christ must be ready to carry his own cross (Mt 16: 24-26).
On his list of worries for his followers, Jesus also mentions betrayal by friends and even family members. He warns against the naïve optimism that supposes that family members will necessarily understand them and support them in their faith. It is not rare for family members to disown their own kind just because the latter have embraced the Lord. It was true then; it is still true today. We must pray for a strong faith that can make us stand firm in our beliefs, even in front of family members who may try to discredit our faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is not out to scare us. He is simply making us aware of the reality of suffering in the world, especially a world, like ours, that is increasing denying even the existence of God. Suffering and persecutions provide us with an opportunity to bear witness to Christ. Our Lord promises to give special help to those who suffer persecution, and he tells them not to be afraid because he is always with his own. Only those who persevere in faithfulness to Christ will receive salvation.
Let us pray for the courage to withstand all trials and tribulations for the sake of the Gospel. When our Lord comes at the end of time, we will see the power of his glory as he comes to judge the living and the dead. Amen.
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