Lk 21:5-19
Mal 3:19-20a
Thess 3:7-12
Focus: Faced with suffering and the impermanence of all earthly things, we are called upon to put our trust in God and to live as disciples of Jesus.
Dear sisters and brothers in the Lord, 0. a. Here is a short version of a story/poem that a retreatant shared with me this weekend: An elderly man went into a church every day at noon and knelt down at the tabernacle for a little while. Then he left again. Finally the sacristan who had noticed this asked him what he was doing. He said, he worked at a factory and took his lunch break. Visiting his Lord he speaks to him thus:
“I just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I’ve been, since we found each other’s friendship and you took away my sin. Don’t know much of how to pray, but I think about you every day. So, Jesus, this is Ben checking in.” The sacristan’s heart was touched and he started to pray in similar words.
After a while, the old man suddenly stayed away. The sacristan inquired with the factory about Ben and found out that he was sick and in the hospital. Visiting the hospital, the sacristan learned from the staff that Ben had had a good influence
on the other patients. His smile and his joy were contagious. Now he was near death. No family had come to visit him, but Ben said, that’s okay.
HE comes here, Ben said, Jesus, his Lord: Every day at noon, a dear friend of mine, you see. He sits right down, takes my hand, leans over and says to me:
“I just came again to tell you, Ben, how happy i have been, since we found this friendship, and i took away your sin. Always love to hear you pray, I think about you each day. And so, Ben, this is Jesus, just checking in today.” Ben peacefully died soon thereafter.
Cultivating his relationship with Jesus in prayer every day and picturing Him close to him even in his illness, had helped Ben. Therefore, he was peaceful, serene, even joyful at the end of his life, on the day and in the hour of his death.
Today’s Scripture readings point us to the end of the world. In the gospel, Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. To Jesus’ contemporaries, it was hardly conceivable that this magnificent building could fall down and be destroyed one day. In the year 70 AD though, this prediction came true, as the Romans conquered and sacked Jerusalem.Plus, Jesus speaks about wars, earthquakes and famines.
All this won’t be the end yet, he says. Such events, which occur at all times, can be very frightening and bring great suffering. There are many examples. We only have to think of the terrible wars in Syria and Ukraine, which cost so many human lives, or of devastating Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and Florida. Events like this call us to charity and to sharing our resources; And they are signs for us: they serve as reminders that everything in this world is transitory. Nothing on this earth will stay forever.
Our own death will be the end of earthly things for every one of us. Throughout our lifetime, God prepares us for this moment. In our lives, there are little worlds ending all the time: there is end of childhood, the end of education, the end of midlife’ vitality, retirement, etc. The courage and readiness with which we deal with these endings will prepare us for our life’s final ending.
It’s also true that every time we love unselfishly, we die a little bit to our own precious plans and preferences. If we die daily in these small ways, we will have less difficulty with the final dying // when our plans are once again revised and we hold out our lives, once and for all, to a merciful and loving God.
My sisters and brothers in the Lord, faced with the impermanence of all earthly things, we are called upon to letting go on a daily basis—with great trust in God.
The big disasters, but also the suffering of individual people around us, are an invitation to us to help in whichever way we can and to make something visible of the sun of justice with its healing rays, which God so desires for all people to experience.
When things become difficult in our lives, when we are confronted with losses, especially then also the Eucharist is helpful for us. In it, Jesus takes us along on his way. In his death, he practiced letting go in the most radical manner and surrendered himself totally to his loving heavenly Father whom he called Abba, daddy.
In the Eucharist, we are invited to present with the gifts of bread and wine our life to God, with all the sorrows, worries and struggles. As God transforms bread and wine, so he can transform us. If we hand over everything to God in this way, Jesus’ words from the gospel will come true for us, “You have nothing to fear …”
The man in our story, Ben, had found a good way to pray. Entering into Jesus’ presence in such a way on a daily basis can help us, too, to know that we are not alone while in this world, and that He has prepared what eye has not seen and ear has not heard
for those who love him in heaven, where He one day will offer us His loving embrace.
AMEN.
~Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB