Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday 11/14/21
Readings: Dn 12:1-3, Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11, Mk 13:24-32, Heb 10:11-14, 18
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus says that there will be tribulation, after which the sun and moon will be darkened, the stars will fall from the sky, and so on. Then he will come, loose his angels, and gather together his chosen ones. He concludes by saying, “Amen, I say to 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 of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
This is very confusing and controversial material. Christians have been arguing about the meaning of these words probably since the day and hour Jesus spoke them. Some say these times have already come, that they refer to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 AD. Some say they are about the future. But there are problems with both interpretations. If Jesus was speaking of past events, can we find proof in the historical record, or references later in the New Testament, that the sun and moon were darkened and that the angels were loosed at that time? But if Jesus was speaking of a future time, why does he say, “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place”? That generation has clearly passed on. Furthermore, whether Jesus is speaking of the past or future, what does he mean by inserting the phrase, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”? These words don’t seem to have anything to do with the time of his prophecy, past or future. Or do they? I believe they are very important, and we’re going to come back to them later.
For the moment, let’s turn the five verses that follow today’s reading. Jesus explains himself using the parable of man traveling abroad. He says, “It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
Does Jesus mean that we should never sleep again? Of course not! A human being can go without sleep at most a few days. And constant vigilance is constant tension, and it’s impossible. You can do it for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, an hour if you have nerves of steel and perfect focus. I think it’s safe to say that he’s being metaphorical here. So what is he talking about?
Well, those who must be ever-vigilant – law enforcement officers on the lookout for crime, shepherds guarding flocks, hunters waiting for prey, monks bewaring the encroach of their own sin, and self-defense instructors like myself – have developed certain techniques that have come down to us across the millennia that keep us on guard, and yet relaxed.
The truly watchful do not distract themselves with the unimportant or the trivial. They don’t sleepwalk through their days. They are present in the moment in which they find themselves. They don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. To prevent being tricked by wolves in sheep’s clothing, they are not judgmental or presupposing. They exist in this moment – they are engaged in the ever-unfolding now. They behave, as it happens, in just the same way Jesus says we should behave in the Sermon on the Mount. This isn’t a coincidence!
Friends, I want to suggest the possibility that in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is speaking of the destruction of the temple, and of a time that is yet to come! He is speaking of events that have happened, will happen, and are happening right now, for individuals, for communities, for nations and for the world. I believe that’s what he means when he interjects the statement, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” His prophetic words are true for Christians in all times, in all places and in all circumstances. Perhaps the best exposition of this idea is found in Luke 17:20-21, in which we hear, “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
