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| Signs of the Times |
The Harvest of the Earth images from the Book of Revelation invoke gathering and gloom.
* [14:14–20] The reaping of the harvest symbolizes the gathering of the elect in the final judgment, while the reaping and treading of the grapes symbolizes the doom of the ungodly (cf. Jl 4:12–13; Is 63:1–6) that will come in Rev 19:11–21.
Jesus offers an ambiguous description of the Signs of the End in the Gospel of Luke.
* [21:5–36] Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired by Mk 13 but Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus found there. Luke maintains, though in a modified form, the belief in the early expectation of the end of the age (see Lk 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of the end from Mk 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the parousia.
Michael Kavan remembers Jesus said that despite the terrible things happening around us that we should not be terrified for they are not signs of an immediate end.
As many of us know, times of great challenge and difficulty often bring opportunities for renewal and growth and that is exactly what the season of advent provides – a chance to prepare ourselves for the second coming of Christ. We rejoice in the birth of Jesus and prepare, with hope, for his second coming by reflecting on and then acting upon his message - a message of kindness, compassion, justice, and love. So, as life, both good and bad, continues around us, do we hide beneath the covers or do we shake off our fears and actively live his message and secure our future in the kingdom of God?
Don Schwager quotes “First signs of the end times,” by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD).
"Perhaps you are anxious, brothers and sisters, at the fact that we hear constantly of the tumult of wars and the onsets of battles. Perhaps your love is still more anxious since these are taking place in our times. The reason is the closer we are to the destruction of the world, the closer we are to the kingdom of the Savior. The Lord himself says, 'In the last days nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. When you see wars, earthquakes and famines, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.'This nearness of wars shows us that Christ is near." (excerpt from SERMON 85.1)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 21:5-11 asks wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could enter into the new liturgical year holding fast to this simple phrase: I will not be afraid?
In all situations, in the face of every worry, Jesus offers the same words: “Don’t worry; my Father is with you. I will never leave you or abandon you.” Today, as the Church year draws to a close, Jesus tells us not to be scared. You may see troubling things, you may hear frightening news, but don’t let it overwhelm you.
The angel with the sharp sickle reminds Friar Jude Winkler that those who have done evil will have to live in the evil they have chosen. When we choose selfishness we have a foretaste of hell. Friar Jude notes that in crisis people predict the end of the world even when these “end time” events happen all the time.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that many people today are not sure where we came from, who we are, and where we are going, and many do not even seem to care about the questions. If we could recover a view of the world and God that was infused with Bonaventure’s teaching, it would provide a foundation that we lack in our often aimless and adrift age. It could hold our lives together during times of despair and cynicism.
Ken Wilber shares the lovely symmetry of St Bonaventure theology. It can be summarized in what Bonaventure named the three great truths that for him hold everything together. He summarizes all his teaching in these three movements:
Emanation: We come forth from God bearing the divine image; our very DNA is found in God.
Exemplarism: Everything in creation is an example and illustration of the one God mystery in space and time, by reason of its “origin, magnitude, multitude, beauty, fullness, activity, and order.” [1]
Consummation: We return to the Source from which we came; the Omega is the same as the Alpha and this is God’s supreme and final victory.
Concluding on the note that Bonaventure’s theology is clearly not the later reward/punishment frame that took over when people did not experience God. We endure unnecessary anxiety when we merely believe propositions.
References
(n.d.). Revelation chapter 14 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/14
(n.d.). Luke chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/21
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved November 27, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). 34th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/
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