33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 18/11/2018 - Gospel: Mk 13: 24-32
The reality
The celebration of the second coming of Jesus is a reminder of what Jesus has promised. It is the reality of the eternal life that Jesus offers for those who have taken his teaching by heart. Eternal reward is not the result of our human efforts but rather it is the result of the way in which we love the gift of faith and of Jesus himself. According to St Mark the second coming of Jesus is undeniable and when it will be happening is unknown to us. Because we don't know when it is coming, we need to prepare for it and be ready for its coming. People are responding to the second coming of Jesus differently. Some take it seriously and daily make preparations and when it comes they will be ready. Others occasionally look into it; they need to make a change and make their lives more relevant to the teaching of Jesus; and others again show that they don't care and completely ignore the teaching of Jesus; they would experience the dreadful times when Jesus appears in his glory with the angels accompanying him. Fear and being frightened are the results of poor timing and the ignorance of reading the signs of the time. Furthermore the lack of preparation would throw them into chaos when the time comes.
Because we don't know when; we live in hope and in waiting and at the same time we live with assurances that the second coming of Christ will ultimately come because we believe in the promise of Jesus that he will come again. For the faithful believers there are warning signs for them to read the second coming of Jesus. The same signs bring more hope for believers and tremendous fear for non believers. For the believers salvation is no more a promise but it becomes the reality. For non believers, there will be times of disturbances both on a personal and cosmos levels. It sounds like the forces of darkness would make the final struggle before it would be completely destroyed by the power of the Son of Man. The final victory Christ has gained for the faithful believers and the angles of God will gather them to Christ. St. Mark reminds us that no matter how busy our lives are we need to remember the second coming of Jesus is real and make it the first priority each day. Fearful is short lived for the believers because Jesus Christ is on our side. We live in the present time but look forward to the future. The gift is given and not yet received.
We Christians believe in both physical and spiritual deaths. We are unable to prove that human love exists; what we are able to see are the results of the human relationships. Through acts of kindness and compassion and the reality of our own existence, we Christians believe that God has created us and would never leave us orphan. Where we come from and where we will be when our pilgrimage ends? For us, Christians the answer is clear and positive. We come from God and will return to God at the end of our earthly journey; for those who deny the existence of God the answers for these fundamental questions are uncertain.
Because we don't know when; we live in hope and in waiting and at the same time we live with assurances that the second coming of Christ will ultimately come because we believe in the promise of Jesus that he will come again. For the faithful believers there are warning signs for them to read the second coming of Jesus. The same signs bring more hope for believers and tremendous fear for non believers. For the believers salvation is no more a promise but it becomes the reality. For non believers, there will be times of disturbances both on a personal and cosmos levels. It sounds like the forces of darkness would make the final struggle before it would be completely destroyed by the power of the Son of Man. The final victory Christ has gained for the faithful believers and the angles of God will gather them to Christ. St. Mark reminds us that no matter how busy our lives are we need to remember the second coming of Jesus is real and make it the first priority each day. Fearful is short lived for the believers because Jesus Christ is on our side. We live in the present time but look forward to the future. The gift is given and not yet received.
We Christians believe in both physical and spiritual deaths. We are unable to prove that human love exists; what we are able to see are the results of the human relationships. Through acts of kindness and compassion and the reality of our own existence, we Christians believe that God has created us and would never leave us orphan. Where we come from and where we will be when our pilgrimage ends? For us, Christians the answer is clear and positive. We come from God and will return to God at the end of our earthly journey; for those who deny the existence of God the answers for these fundamental questions are uncertain.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
