November 16, 2019 // The Sunday Gospel
By persevering in faith, the just will be saved
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 21:5-19
The Book of Malachi supplies this weekend’s Liturgy of the Word with its first reading. Actually, Malachi was not the name of the author of this book. Rather, it refers to a title, “Messenger of God,” that appears in 1.1. It is thought that the book was written about 450 years before Christ.
As in the cases of all the prophets, the purpose of Malachi is to summon the people to greater religious devotion. This book was written, it is believed, in the aftermath of religious reforms. It probably was an effort to reinforce these reforms.
Many prophets warned people that if they did not return to a more exacting observance of religion, they would reap the whirlwind. Such is the case in this reading. One terrible day God will come with swift and final justice. The wicked and the lukewarm will not escape.
For its second reading, the Church this weekend offers us a passage from the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians.
In this reading St. Paul again declares how seriously he took his vocation to be an Apostle. He says that he considered nothing else. Further, he says that he has worked day and night in order to be an example. He was focused on his vocation and on it alone.
St. Luke’s Gospel is the source of the last reading for this weekend.
Generally speaking, in reading the four Gospels at Masses, the Church teaches that we should be aware of three stages of interest. The first stage is the actual life of Jesus. The events in the Lord’s life, told in the Gospels, are important. Circumstances surrounding these events are important.
The second stage is the experience of the Christian community existing when the Gospel was written, and for which the Gospel was written. The Gospels were written long after Jesus lived.
The third stage is the context that the composition of the Gospel itself creates.
Quite clear throughout Luke, and surely in this reading, is the fact that Christ, and then Christianity, faced serious hostilities in the first century A.D. Roman imperial world. In this weekend’s reading, Jesus warned the disciples that they would be hated simply because they were disciples. He predicted catastrophes that in time actually occurred.
Most shocking of all predictions was the Lord’s announcement that one day the temple would fall. It was so shocking because the temple was regarded as God’s dwelling on earth, indeed a symbol of God. To say that the temple would fall could be construed to mean that God, the almighty, the eternal, would fall. Of course, Jesus also said that God would rebuild the temple, and the new temple, the new dwelling of God, would be the Lord Jesus.
Reflection
The Gospel reading from St. Luke is typical of other sections of the same Gospel. It is somber and chilling. Terrible things will happen. When the Gospel was written, and also quite likely at the time of Jesus, Christians were seeing their own friends and enemies turn against them. It was a frightening sight. Christians were left alone in the face of bloodthirsty enemies, literally.
These readings together remind us that we cannot choose our circumstances in every situation. We are at the mercy of fate and often of other human beings. Circumstances in our lives can be very perplexing. Others’ decisions can disturb us.
Our task as Christians, indeed our only option, is to be true to the Gospel. As Paul indicates, nothing else truly matters. Being with God for eternity is the only reason to live.
Pursuing the ideal of being with God requires deep and uncompromising commitment. We cannot hesitate. We cannot turn away. God will assist us. He finally will reward us with the everlasting gift of life.
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