33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Mal 3:19-20; 2 Thes 3:7-12; Lk 21:5-19

A German missionary in Africa went home on leave and came back with a fine set of large colored pictures to illustrate his sermons. They were a great success. Every Sunday after the sermon the natives rushed to the picture and discussed it with excitement.

One day, the sermon was on hell. The natives seemed very impressed, and the priest went off to breakfast hoping that the picture of the lost souls would fixed the impression. Before he got inside his house he heard screams of delight and laughter, and turned round to see his congregation dancing with glee in front of the picture of hell. Very indignant, he strode back to the crowd. “Silence! What do you mean by all this noise? Hell is not a laughing matter!” One of the natives took him by the arm up to the picture. “Don’t you see, Father? Look – all the people in hell are white!”

(The story is from More Quotes and Anecdotes by Anthony P. Castle)

As the Liturgical Calendar Year is about to end, the liturgy deals with themes related to the consummation of time.

Jewish people considered the end of time as the Day of the Lord or the Day of Judgment. It is going to be a time of punishment for the wicked and deliverance for the righteous. In the first reading, the prophet Malachi puts it clearly: “The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evildoers will be like stubble. . . But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays”.

Moreover, the Jews expected that the end of time would be accompanied by signs. Thus, the people asked Jesus, “When will this happen and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?” The Lord answered the question with some elements common in ancient apocalyptic literature such as rumors of wars and insurrections, deadly conflicts between nations and kingdoms, earthquakes, plagues, famines and cosmological disorders. Yet, quite obviously, the Lord redirected the attention of his listeners from the “signs” to the period before these final signs. He admonished disciples not to believe those self-proclaimed Messiahs and those who will say that the time is near at hand. (Remember that in another part of the gospel Jesus clearly said that only the Father in heaven knows the day or the hour of Judgment). Importantly, he encouraged followers to continue proclaiming the good news and to remain steadfast in the face of trials and persecutions. For Jesus, the period before the end-time is important because it is the occasion for witnessing the values of the kingdom.

In light of the inevitability of the end of time or the Lord’s Second Coming, disciples are challenged to keep the following attitudes:

First is to look at the coming end of time with hopeful expectation, not with fear and anxiety. The end-time would be the day of our vindication, the victory of good over evil. Because we believe in Jesus, we trust that the Day of Judgment would be our ultimate liberation from the bondage of evil and sin.

And second is to commit ourselves to daily witnessing of gospel values or to faithful following of Jesus’ way of life. Disciples cannot afford to be indifferent or complacent in the face of evil and sin. In the second reading, Saint Paul reprimanded some Thessalonians for sitting around in idleness. It appears that these people came to believe that the second coming of Christ was just around the corner, to the point that they found no more reason to keep working. Paul reminded them that this was not supposed to be the case. While expecting the final coming of the Lord, disciples must continue to fulfill their daily tasks and work quietly for the good of the community or for the building of God’s kingdom on earth.