Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 13, 2022 - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Mal 3:19-20a; 2 Thess 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19]While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, "All that you see here - the days will come when there will not bes left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down," [Luke]
The Gospel According to Luke is largely organized around the progress of Jesus' ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem. As we come to the end of the liturgical year, the selections turn to "last things." In the passage from Luke today, the "last things" are on two different levels of meaning. By the time this gospel was composed, the Romans had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem! For many Jews, this would have been a sign of the end of the world - at least for them! But Luke was writing for a community that included converts from paganism. Jesus mentions other "signs" but warns that just as the destruction of the temple did not signal the end of times, neither would wars, famines and plagues necessarily mean the "end" was near. We know this from history, but we cannot say we weren't warned!! Luke is concerned with what Christians should be doing in the meantime! That "meantime" may mean persecution and opposition, which the community was experiencing when the gospel was composed.
St. Paul is also concerned about the "last times." However, his admonition is simple: "Stay busy! Live your lives according to the gospel. That way you will be in good shape when the Lord returns.
More than two thousand years later, we are still awaiting the Lord's return and we face the same challenges the Thessalonians and the community of Luke faced. The advice from Jesus and St. Paul also remains the same. Live by the gospel and leave the Second Coming to God's decision. In the "meantime," stay busy with lives that build up the Body of Christ. AMEN