Mark 13:24–32
Jesus said to Peter, James, John, and Andrew, “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Commentary
As we are coming to the end of the liturgical year, the Church wants to remind us that this universe will come to an end one day. Then will come the general judgment, when Christ will gather his faithful followers from the four corners of this earth.
Jesus mentioned the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem and the end of the world in the verses precedes today’s gospel reading. The destruction of the temple took place in AD 70, forty years later after the crucifixion our Lord. As regards the end of the world Jesus could not tell his disciples because this was not revealed to him as man. However, he warned them to be ever vigilant living according to the truths he had taught them.
At the beginning of today’s gospel reading , Jesus uses the apocalyptic imagery of the Old Testament describing the “Day of Yahweh” in Amos 5:18-20; Isaiah 2:12; and Jeremiah 46:10 where the whole universe will break up. However, he tells his disciples that when the present world ends, he, who is the “Son of Man” (see Daniel 7:13), will come in “power and glory” to judge mankind. Thus his second coming will be very different from his first when he came in humility and meekness.
Also will come with him are angels, who are his servants and messengers. They will come to collect his faithful from the four corners of the earth.
Without doubt, the message we must learn from today’s gospel is that we must always be ready to face our judgment for we know no the day nor the hour when we will be called from this life.
When or how this world will end is of no great importance to us. What is important is that we shall leave this world very soon and our eternity will depend on the state of our consciences at the moment of our departure.
This is the steady thought the Church wishes to put before our minds today. We all know that we must die someday. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. We have not here a lasting city. No sane person among us will try to deny this and yet, many of us are so immersed in the things of this world that we forget or try to forget that we must leave this world soon.
This is very natural. Life is a precious gift and as our earthly life is the only one of which we have experience our very inclination is to hold on to it at all costs. Even when our intelligence tells us that it can end very soon we try to convince ourselves that that “very soon” is really in the distant future.
We have God’s word for it and the example of Christ’s resurrection to a life of glory. Let us appreciate the truth that our death on earth is not the end of life but rather the beginning of the true life that will never end. The liturgy in the Mass for the Dead says well: “Life is changed not taken away”, because our death is the doorway through which we pass into the unending life.
The years on earth are a gift of God to enable us to earn the infinitely greater gift which in God’s loving mercy he has prepared for us from all eternity. God in his mercy is calling on each one of us to be ready when our call comes. We can do nothing about the when or where of that call, but we can do much about the state of our relationship with God when death comes.
A very practical way to see how we stand in relation to God and to the things of this world, is for each one of us to ask himself today: “How would I fare if I were called to render an account of stewardship tonight?” This is the practical question that God, through today’s gospel, is asking us to put to ourselves. Amen.