Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB - celebrant
Lk 21:5-19 Mal 3:19-20a
2 Thess 3:7-12
focus: In difficult times, we are called to put our trust in God and to live as disciples of Jesus.
During a pilgrimage to Israel years ago, I was quite impressed by a model of the ancient city of Jerusalem that was shown to us in a hotel called Holyland. It depicts what Jerusalem looked like at the time of Jesus. The most attractive structure is the temple which Jesus and his contemporaries saw in its impressive beauty.
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks about the destruction of the temple and the whole city. Nothing will be left standing to admire of the temple, so he foretells. In fact, in 70 AD, Titus, the son of the Roman emperor Vespasian, destroyed the city. He did order, however, that one wall of the temple should be left for the Jews to wail at.This wall is still there.
Plus, Jesus adds a whole catalogue of disasters that are going to come. He warns against deceivers, people who pose as saving leaders and claim to know even the greatest of all secrets, namely when the world will end.
Jesus tells his hearers to avoid leaders who manipulate their fear! (2x) This is not so easy!
It’s even more difficult to follow Jesus’ advice not to be frightened by wars and nations fighting each other. At the time of Jesus, battles and wars were limited by the weapons available then. Today we have others at our disposal! Nuclear weapons, used by some irresponsible country or party, could bring about the final end of life on our planet.
Jesus goes on to mention earthquakes, plagues and famines. They still are so much part of human suffering, as we see now again with Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. We know that some of these disasters mean for numerous people the end of their earthly lives, even though they don’t signify yet the end of the world.
Jesus adds that his followers will be persecuted for their beliefs. In this suffering he sees an opportunity for courageous witness.
Finally, Jesus mentions betrayal. When people start taking their Christian faith seriously, they can partly or totally lose the support of their families and friends.
Jesus is trying to make faith face the reality of suffering in the world. He doesn’t avoid the questions arising from living as believers in a world, in which so much seems to contradict the existence of God.
Some good people lose their faith when they see the evil and suffering in our world. They cannot look into the eyes of a child starving in Haiti or Sudan and still praise God. They cannot witness the senseless suffering of so many and still believe in a God who cares.
They cannot see, either, that these questions are completely answered by the argument of “freedom of choice.”
Some bad things just happen, without being caused by anybody’s wrongdoing. There are no ready answers to these questions. They are our questions, too. There are times when all faith can do is endure.
Dear sisters and brothers in the faith, Jesus has no quick answers for our difficult questions, either. He just tells us, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
“Do not be terrified,” Jesus encouraged once his disciples. This is also his message to us. You have nothing to fear … “Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” When it comes to giving a testimony of your faith, “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” One source of strength for me is Holy Scripture. Reading it daily and praying with it can always restore my inner peace. Sometimes it takes a while until a find the word that God has ready for me; but I always find it.
It was clear to the early Christians, that in spite of all tribulations God’s kingdom, God’s definitive reign on earth, has irrevocably begun with Jesus Christ; God is still present and at work in spite of all that is happening. Praying with Holy Scripture helps me see that. I also find it helpful to review my day in the evening asking God to show me what I am grateful for today. This draws my attention to the gifts of God that I receive every single day.
We don’t know what is still ahead of us. But whatever may happen, we may trust that we and our world are in God’s loving hand and that nothing can separate us from Christ, the “Sun of justice” whose rays finally, and already now in the present, can heal us, again and again. AMEN