First Reading – Daniel 12:1-3;
Second Reading – Hebrews 10:11-14, 18;
Gospel – Mark 13: 24-32
Today is the second last Sunday of the Church liturgical year. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. As the church brings its liturgical year to an end, it traditionally presents the knowledge of the end times. This gives us the message that Jesus is the beginning and end of all things, all things exist in and through him. He is the Alpha and the Omega and he is the source of all things. Today when we look around the world, we see so much of sufferings, hardships and pain. There is much unrest, war, corruption, terrorism and poverty. The world experiences the hardships of what is generally termed as the climate change. But here we have a message of hope in the words of Jesus. We visualise the Kingdom of God that offers love, compassion, kindness and mercy, the sign of new hope of the future. Even in the midst of suffering and hardship, the word of God continues to be alive and active. As we wait for the fulfilment of the kingdom of God in Christ and look forward to a just, loving and peaceful world. Today’s Gospel anticipates the dramatic events that will take place at the end times. It speaks of a time of suffering, the sun being darkened, the moon not giving its light, the stars falling from heaven, and the powers of heaven being shaken. It will be a time when heaven and earth will pass away forever.
The First Reading taken from the Prophet Daniel tells us of the protective power of God over all creation and over all people. It tells us how God took care of his people all through the years of persecution and oppression by Persia, Greece and Syria.
In the Second Reading the author to the Letter to the Hebrews continues to compare the priesthood of Christ with the Jewish priesthood. The Temple priests offered the same sacrifice of goats, sheep and oxen day after day. But those sacrifices could not remove the barriers that stood between Gad and man. Any graces resulting from these Jewish sacrifices were obtained in view of the real sacrifice that was to come. Jesus the High Priest offered the sacrifice once and for all for our sins, as a fulfilment of all the sacrifices. The sacrifice he offered was of infinite value because it is God’s own son, who is incarnate, offering this sacrifice to God. The task of every priest is to offer sacrifice, standing day after day at the service of God and offering again and again the same sacrifice. They reminded people of their sins and prepared them for purification, for the one perfect eternal sacrifice of Jesus.
As the church brings its liturgical year to an end, it traditionally draws upon that portion of the Gospel that deals with the end time. In the Gospel of Mark, the whole of chapter 13 deals with issues of the end of the world. This chapter is known as the apocalyptical discourse as it speaks in the apocalyptical language though it is not technically a discourse. The Gospel speaking about the Son of Man “coming in clouds with great power and glory” echoes a passage in the Book of Daniel but here the Son of Man is even more victorious. Jesus speaks of the appearance of the Son of Man in glory and the final establishment of the Reign of God. The Son of Man here is understood as Jesus, the man on earth that the disciples knew and loved, but now appearing in all the unparalleled glory of God’s own majesty. His appearance is described in terms usually used in the Old Testament for the appearances of God himself. He sends out his angels or messengers and gathers all God’s people together: acts of God in the language of the Old Testament. Here they are gathered to the Son of Man, who commands the angels to perform the final act for him.
Jesus then gave a short parable or lesson from the fig tree. Fig trees were a prominent and well-known feature on the Mount of Olives, the place where Jesus was speaking. This tree only sprouts its leaves in late spring. When the buds appear, they know that summer is near. The obviousness of the time for the coming of the Son of Man will be just as recognisable and certain. So Jesus, in effect, is telling them that although the end of the world is being described with such terrible signs, his disciples were called upon to respond with faith, with hope, with anticipation. The end of the world means good times, summer, for them. It will come and will bring them joy and happiness like every summer providing good times. They are the signs that God is in full control of history but that he is bringing things to a triumphant end.
Now, at the end of the year, let us revive our confidence in Jesus, our Lord and saviour. Let us, we who believe in the Word of God, be confident that the Lord will do everything in order that we might appear before him and hear him say to us: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” We also will listen to his consoling words: “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Today, in this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus does give us signs that he will come but at an unexpected time and we must be ready to welcome him. On his part he is ready to welcome us and accept us as his beloved children.