Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. – Luke 21:27-28
On this last Sunday before the feast of Christ the King, the Scripture readings look forward to what we usually call “the end of the world”, “the Second Coming”, or “the Final Judgment”. Each of these phrases expresses a certain aspect of what is to come. It captures some element of what the Lord has promised will happen when the time is fulfilled.
The concept of “the end of the world” is not only in Scripture and Church teaching. We see it all around us in science and in secular culture. Since the 1950’s, we have lived with the threat of a nuclear war which could wipe out most life on earth. We have been told of the potential devastating effects of a comet or asteroid colliding with the Earth. Some warn of the ongoing damage that pollution brings to air, water and land. Many fear that global warming will cause not only a significant rise in sea level, but such changes in climate that will make at least some areas of our planet unliveable by 2100. We are told that a major volcanic eruption in what is now Yellowstone National Park is due – an eruption that could cause a series of events which would wipe out most life on Earth. Hollywood has presented us with a stream of movies which depict many of these things in some form or another. Even the enduring popularity of Godzilla and zombies speaks to this unease or fear of an end that may come soon. We can see, then, that our culture is filled with secular prophets who are announcing “the end” in some form or other.
We turn to our Catholic faith for guidance. What we see, however, might not look promising or helpful at first glance. One example of what I mean can be found in our Gospel reading for this Sunday, as Jesus quotes lines from various Old Testament prophets:
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.
Science tells us that such things cannot literally happen. For one thing, stars are (for the most part) so much larger than our Earth that to have a star fall upon the Earth would make as much sense as having a boulder fall on a grain of sand. Besides, the Earth would be incinerated by even one star that would draw close to it. What do we do then? Do we dismiss such Scripture quotes as reflecting an outmoded view of the universe and, as such, as having nothing to say to us now? Or, when we read the Scriptures in this way, are we missing the point?
Let’s turn to the Gospel reading in its context. It is taken from Mark 13. Jesus has been in Jerusalem for a few days. Every influential group among the Israelites has confronted him and, in some way, rejected him. By his ‘cleansing of the Temple’, Jesus has announced the end of Temple sacrifice and that he himself was – and is – all that the Temple was meant to be. Jesus’ own suffering and death is very near.
Jesus and his disciples leave the Temple and go to the Mount of Olives. On the way, Jesus announces the destruction of the Temple – but, this time, with no promise of a new Temple being built. At the Mount of Olives, his disciples question Jesus about this. When would it happen? What would be the signs that it is about to happen? And – what happens beyond this? For them, the end of the Temple meant the end of the world, both literally and figuratively.
Jesus’ response here is fascinating. He does not directly answer their question. He tells them that terrible times are coming. Many people will experience great suffering – including Jesus’ own followers. But, Jesus’ disciples are not to go running away in fear or isolate themselves like survivalists, intent on saving their own skins. That will not work. Nor are they to run after every rumor that Jesus might be back, or waste time trying to figure out when it will all happen – thus feeling that they have some control of the situation, a control that belongs only to the Father, as Jesus insists. When Jesus returns, it will be as obvious as sunrise or sunset. No – Jesus tells his disciples that three things are required of them through all of this: One – they must not cease to spread the Gospel everywhere, in any way they can, in spite of any risk to their well-being. Two – they must be watchful, awake, alert, ready for Jesus’ return. Three – they must persevere in faith, for those who persevere to the end will be saved.
And what can they expect if they are faithful? The same thing that Jesus knows will be given to him: vindication.
“Vindication” is a word that may make some people feel uncomfortable. It sounds too much like “vindictiveness”, which is a kind of revenge. However, “vindication” is a key concept in both the Old and New Testaments, and a very positive one. In this, “vindication” is like the word “righteous”. To us, “righteous” may sound like “self-righteous”, which is a negative quality in Scripture. But “righteous” is quite positive in Scripture – it points to a person who has been “righted” by God and who now lives a life in basic harmony with God’s will. So, too, “vindication” is not “vindictiveness”. It is the promise that, in the end, those who are faithful to God will be acknowledged as such, and that all of God’s promises will come true in their time and in their way.
The roots of the idea of vindication go deep in the Old Testament. We see it in Abraham’s response to God’s informing him of the imminent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: “Can you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? What if only ten righteous people are found there?” We see it in God acting to bring his people out of slavery in Egypt and into a new lend where they could find freedom and peace. We see it in many Psalms, when the psalmist, facing grave danger from enemies, asks God to render judgment on his behalf, confident that all who trust in God will be saved and that their enemies will be shamed. In other words, they will be vindicated in the end. We see it again and again in the prophets, many of whom live in times when Israel as a nation is in grave danger. They assure the people that by being faithful to God, come what may, they will be vindicated.
The most extreme example of the promise of vindication in the Old Testament may well be in Isaiah 52-53. There, a mysterious “Servant of the Lord” undergoes great suffering and is finally put to death. Everything that happens to him would seem to utterly discredit him. Yet, God promises that this Servant will be vindicated if he gives his life in this way. God would bless him in ways that would go well beyond anything he lost through suffering, and that this blessing would, in turn, be extended to “the many”.
With that brief intro, we return to Mark 13. Jesus knows that he will soon be put to death, a death on a cross. In fact, Jesus’ enemies insist on crucifixion, though they could have had him put to death in other ways – such as stoning. Why crucifixion? It was their belief that if they could crucify Jesus, that very deed would prove that Jesus could not be the Messiah. They would have used the passage from Deuteronomy, “Cursed be anyone who hangs on a tree”, and applied it to anyone who was crucified. How could someone cursed by God be God’s Messiah? Paul would have to deal with this objection, and quotes this line in one of his letters. But Jesus, like the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, trusts that his Father will vindicate him. How?
Jesus would be vindicated in that, in spite of the curse of being crucified, he would be raised up on the third day. The Resurrection would be the Father’s main vindication of his Son.
Jesus would be vindicated in that the Temple would be destroyed but, this time, it would not be rebuilt. Jesus himself would be all that the Temple pointed to. Jesus’ followers, his Church, would all be living stones in this Temple. The destruction of the Temple and its not being rebuilt would be seen as signs of this, and a vindication of what Jesus said.
Jesus would be vindicated in the faithful lives of his followers. They need not worry about what they are to say if they are brought before hostile judges on Jesus’ account. They would be given what to say. Moreover, by the disciples’ love for one another – and their forgiveness of even their worst enemies – they would be a sign that Jesus was truly among them as Lord and God. Such love and forgiveness could only happen through the Lord’s grace in their lives.
Finally, Jesus’ followers would themselves be vindicated. Like Jesus, they would face persecution in many forms. Many would seek to discredit them as uneducated, backward, rigid, and so on. Jesus’ disciples will often live in times and places where the ruling powers are themselves opposed to Jesus and the Gospel. The disciples may feel outnumbered, insignificant, vulnerable, powerless as the world defines power. Nevertheless – just as Jesus was vindicated by the Father because of his faithfulness to the end, so will his disciples. Worldly powers will not have the final say.
Now we are ready to understand the quote above about stars falling from the sky, and others like it. To do so, we need to see the sun, moon, stars and planets as the ancients saw them. We see stars as great balls of flaming gases, and planets as large rocky spheres (for the most part). The ancients saw them as gods and goddesses – divine beings. And since the cultures of empires like Egypt, Babylon, and Rome usually saw their rulers as divine, then these celestial divine beings were seen as supporting and guaranteeing the status quo. Everything on earth and in the skies supported the regime.
When Jesus or any of the Old Testament prophets speak of stars falling from the sky or the sun not shining (as they did about the fall of Babylon, for example), this had nothing to do with anything literally falling to earth. It had to do with worldly regimes that were opposed to God and his people, and the divine beings in the heavens who allegedly supported them. This world, this regime, however powerful it might seem, will be overthrown. God will ultimately be revealed as the true Lord of the universe. Those who trust in the Lord, to the end, will be saved. Their faith will be vindicated.
It shouldn’t be too hard to make a connection with our own lives today. We live in a world where most of the ruling powers do not follow Christian teaching. People who do follow Christian teachings may find themselves ridiculed – not only by unbelievers, but by other Christians who consider themselves ‘enlightened’. Science is used by many to either disprove Christian faith or to at least show that faith is unnecessary to life. Selfishness, abuse, random acts of violence, and utter carelessness seem to abound. People who break the law or who flout Christian teachings seem to succeed – sometimes spectacularly – while faithful Christians are rarely respected. It is all too easy to paint all Christians, these days, with the sins of some. Scandals in the Church have been portrayed as a ‘vindication’ of sorts for those who do not believe, or who are struggling to find some kind of faith.
In Mark 13, Jesus does not mince words or sugarcoat anything. He tells us that faithfulness to him will bring us suffering and rejection at times. But he also assures us that this same faithfulness will bring us vindication. He points to the fig tree as an example. “When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves”, he tells us, “you know that summer is near”. Interestingly, the fig tree sprouts around Passover time – the time when Jesus himself would suffer and die. Jesus goes on: “In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates”.
Jesus is ultimately talking about the End. But he is also talking to us, now, about our sufferings in his name. When we arrive at our Passover time – our suffering – Jesus points to the fig tree. Can we see the branch become tender and sprout in us? As we endure whatever we endure in Jesus’ name, do we find ourselves becoming more tender, more compassionate, more human – even in trials that could make us bitter or resentful? Do we find our hearts enlarging, in spite of the weaknesses of our bodies or minds? Then, Jesus assures, us, know that he is near, even at the gate. Know that our vindication is near, even at the door. Know, further, that what we may taste of the Lord now is only a hint of what he has for us at the End. That will awaken in our hearts a desire for the Lord that nothing can satisfy – a desire that will remain insatiable in this present life. This, too, is a sign, a promise, of our coming vindication – and the vindication of all who have trusted in the Lord, no matter what they have endured. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!