The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us of the struggles we endure as we work to live in Jesus Way.
The reading from the Prophet Malachi is a vision of the Great Day of the Lord.
* [3:20] Wings: a common symbol of the manifestation of a god in the ancient Near East is the winged sun disk found, for example, on premonarchic jar handles. Cf. Nm 6:25; Ps 4:7; 31:17; 34:6; 84:12. (Malachi, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
Psalm 98 praises the Judge of the World.
* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9). (Psalms, PSALM 98, n.d.)
In the reading from the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul proclaims “we were not idle when we were with you.”
* [3:6] Some members of the community, probably because they regarded the parousia as imminent or the new age of the Lord to be already here (2 Thes 2:2), had apparently ceased to work for a living. The disciplinary problem they posed could be rooted in distorted thinking about Paul’s own teaching (cf. 1 Thes 2:16; 3:3–4; 5:4–5) or, more likely, in a forged letter (2 Thes 2:2) and the type of teaching dealt with in 2 Thes 2:1–15. The apostle’s own moral teaching, reflected in his selfless labors for others, was rooted in a deep doctrinal concern for the gospel message (cf. 1 Thes 2:3–10). (2 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells of the destruction of the Temple and foretells signs and persecutions.
* [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. Mark, for example, described the desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mk 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Dn 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke (Lk 21:20–24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Lk 21:24). See also notes on Mt 24:1–36 and Mk 13:1–37. (Luke, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)
Larry Gillick, S.J. comments that we hear Jesus speaking to His followers as He predicts how speaking and living His ways are going to be met with arrests, persecution, betrayals, even by family members. They will confront and then be seen as inconveniences and insults to the oppressors and dominators. In some way, they, as with Jesus Himself, will get what they bargained for.
I heard the whole Martyrology during my first five years as a Jesuit and each of us has listened to and perhaps prayed with these very verses from Luke’s Gospel. I then and now, and perhaps you as well, did and do wonder at what point would I excuse myself from His company with good excuses, such as “Well, I could stay alive to be available to do other good works.” Yes, a normal thought pattern. We can ponder whether the deaths of Kolbe, Delp, Bonhoeffer and the El Salvadorean companions brought about anything productive or helpful to the making of peace with Justice. Wouldn’t negotiations or denial work out better in the long run?
We are left with the final verses from both the First Reading from the Prophet Malachi and today’s Gospel and we pray, perhaps, to resist the self-condeming thoughts that we would not have the grace of perseverance and would drop out. We do, in our own small lives, live the daily martyrdom of living with our own earthquakes, wars, betrayals.
We ponder. What is worth living for and worth dying for? How precious is all that we give our every day to and for. We may not shed our blood for a cause or person, but that same blood gives us a life worth living for and that is an every-day offering. A good life is more than good when it is given to the living of others. Each day is a “thank You” for what we can share. (Gillick, n.d.)
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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 21:5-19 comments that Jesus was warning the people not to place all their confidence on the Temple alone (see Jeremiah 7:1-7). Rather than placing their hope in bricks and mortar, they needed to look to the God who inhabits the Temple. It wasn’t just the Temple, either. Jesus also foretold earthquakes, famines, wars, and persecutions. Nations would fall; good health, peace, and stability would collapse. Everything the people relied on—everything we rely on—would one day pass away. Only God lasts forever.
So where’s the hope? By exposing the lie that says security comes from money, status, or well-being, Jesus is pointing us to what does last: heaven. Because he loves us, he is warning us not to rely on fleeting things that will only disappoint us. As much as we enjoy the consolations and blessings of life on earth, they can’t possibly compare to heaven!
That’s the hope: Jesus is showing us the greatness of our God and the glory of the life to come. He’s opening our eyes to the only One who lasts: our faithful God. With him, we find everlasting life. That’s why, as we persevere and cling to him, we will “secure [our] lives” (Luke 21:19).
“Lord, my hope is in you!” (Meditation on Luke 21:5-19, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on seeing the great furnace as a source of awe, wonder, and light and not destruction. Paul counters the idleness of Thessalonians waiting for the return of Christ with an exhortation that those who do not work, should not eat. Friar Jude reminds us that early Christians anticipated the End Times in months but we should be ready for the arrival of the wolf in the night.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, talks about the Franciscan tradition’s identification with those on society’s margins. This priority shaped major periods of Fr.Richard’s ministry. Rev. Dr. William Barber, activist and co-director of the Poor People’s Campaign, finds scriptural support for those on the margins leading social justice movements. Dr. Barber builds on Psalm 118:22–23, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! This is God’s work. And it is marvelous in our eyes!”
The rejected must lead the revival for love and justice.
The cornerstone is that part of the foundation upon which the whole building stands. And the Psalmist says, speaking metaphorically of how we view human beings in society, that it is God’s intent that the stones that were once seen as unfit to be a part of the architecture—the stones that were once thrown away or kept in the quarry—have now been called to be the most important stones. The rejected stones make the best cornerstones. The rejected stones actually make the best foundation holders. And whenever you see rejected stones becoming the focus of society, it is the Lord’s doing. [2]
Jesus lived among the rejected. He ministered among the rejected. He died and was crucified as rejected, as somebody who was outside the political power structure. But early Sunday morning, from the grave he led a resurrection movement—a revival of love, a revival of justice, a revival of mercy, a revival of grace. [3] (Rohr, 2022)
We are reminded today of the end times and of the Presence of the Holy Spirit to lift us up through the struggles and persecutions that accompany our work for the Lord.
References
Gillick, L. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/111322.html
Luke, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/21?5
Malachi, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/malachi/3?19
Meditation on Luke 21:5-19. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/11/13/532520/
Psalms, PSALM 98. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?5
Rohr, R. (2022, November 13). A Movement with the Excluded — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-movement-with-the-excluded-2022-11-13/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Take Heed That You Are Not Led Astray. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=nov13
2 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2thessalonians/3?7
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