Homily, 11-17-24; Sunday of the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B:
“Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.”
We are approaching the end of the liturgical year. In two weeks we will begin the Advent Season. But now is a time to reflect on the end times; both the end of our own time and the end of the world. In today’s gospel passage, Jesus speaks in prophetic words about what happens after the final tribulation. But as often happens with prophetic messages, the words can apply both to the time at which the prophesy is made and also to a future event.
We can look back and consider how the holy of holies of the temple was a prefigurement of Heaven for the Jewish people. And this can lead us to two possible fulfillments of Jesus’ words. First we can see how they apply to His own crucifixion. In foretelling His death and resurrection, Jesus used the symbolism of the temple to say that it would be torn down and rebuilt in three days. And we heard today: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” It sounds very similar to the events that occurred as Jesus died on the cross. The sky was darkened by an eclipse. The veil in the temple was torn in two. Earthquakes shook the land.
The second possible fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic words is the physical destruction of the temple in the year 70 AD. In a commentary by Mary Healy, she states: “For the Jews, the temple was a microcosm of the universe. Images of stars and constellations were embroidered on the temple veils; the seven light of the menorah represented the sun, the moon, and the five known planets. The temple was the center of the universe, the meeting point of heaven and earth. Thus its destruction would be a cataclysm of cosmic proportions.” She adds: “In traditional Jewish reckoning, a generation was 40 years.” The Temple was destroyed less than 40 years after Jesus spoke saying: “This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” So,, this too, is a possible fulfillment of Jesus’ words.
So we have two possible fulfillments of Jesus’ words that have already taken place: His crucifixion and the destruction of the temple. They represent the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new covenant. But what about the end times, the new heaven and the new earth that we await.
Clearly, our gospel passage points to the time when Jesus will return in glory after a time of tribulation. Jesus says: “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.” When we hear that the sun will be darkened and the stars fall from the sky, St. Bede suggests that the sun and stars will not actually change but that they will no longer be visible because of the much greater light of Jesus that will make them seem to disappear just as the stars do during the day under the light of the sun. Of this time of Jesus’ return, we are told that we cannot know the day or the hour. We are living in the end times, the final generation, that began with Jesus’ triumph over sin and death.
So what are we to do? We cannot have an effect on the past events that occurred after tribulations. We cannot know when Jesus will return in glory. But I would like to propose that there is another future event that may be a fulfillment of Jesus’ words; and that is the end of our individual lives.
Our physical death also comes to us after a lifetime of trials and tribulations. At that time light will be taken away from us; we will be laid in the darkness of the earth to see the sun, and the moon, and the stars no more. The power of heaven will shake as we face our particular judgement. Will it be because the angels are rejoicing, or because we face wailing and gnashing of teeth? Of all the possible fulfillments of what happens after the tribulation, this is the one we can have some control over. We can determine how we live our lives each and every day even though we do not know the day or the hour that they will end.
But we cannot succeed on our own. We need the help of the Church. We pray to the saints for their intercession. And in a special way we ask St. Michael, the Archangel, to defend us. We hear about him in our first reading today from the prophet Daniel. God tells Daniel: “At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.” Those on the right side of the battle will escape, but those who are not “shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.” It’s important for us to pick the right side of the battle.
After Mass we pray the St. Michael prayer written by Pope Leo XIII. And we should pray it often. There are many conflicting stories about the incidents and the vision that led the pope to write the prayer. Here is one: “It is said that one day having celebrated the Holy Sacrifice, the aged Pontiff Leo XIII was in conference with the Cardinals. Suddenly he sank to the floor in a deep swoon. Physicians who hastened to his side feared that he had already expired, for they could find no trace of his pulse. However, after a short interval the Holy Father rallied, and opening his eyes exclaimed with great emotion: ‘Oh what a horrible picture I was permitted to see!’ He had been shown in spirit the tremendous activities of the evil spirits and their ravings against the Church. But in the midst of this vision of horror he had also beheld consoling visions of the glorious Archangel Michael, who had appeared and cast Satan and his legions back into the abyss of hell. Soon afterward he composed the well-known prayer.”
Satan’s activity in our world is real. Let us always pray for heavenly protection from the evil one. Let us strive to keep our lives in proper order because it has eternal consequences. Let me leave you with advice from St. Peter, our first pope: “We await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.” Amen.