NOVEMBER 18^th. THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Mark 13:24-32

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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The Gospel speaks about the end of the world and seems catastrophic and negative in tone. As always, Don Fabio insists that I apply this Gospel to my life right now in this moment. Every day we are confronted with disappointments, little upheavals and small crises. These are signs that the points of reference that I base my existence on are illusory and are passing away. We must learn to read the signs of the times and see that the Lord is at the door, wishing to enter and become the only reference point of my existence. At various times in our lives, the Lord has already spoken to my heart. We must cherish these “words” and make them become the basis of an encounter with the Lord that stands firm in the face of any tribulation

The Gospel speaks about the upheaval of the end times, but it also speaks about an upheaval that must occur in my life today

This Sunday’s Gospel invites us to think about the end times. It is an apocalyptic text and describes the end of the world in catastrophic terms. On a superficial reading, the passage fills us with apprehension and negative feelings. Jesus speaks of a great tribulation, at the end of which Jerusalem and the rest of the world will be destroyed. These words do refer to the end times, but they also have great relevance for our daily lives right now. The moment has arrived, right now, when we must pass to a new quality of encounter with the Lord, when he must come powerfully into our lives. His Advent is already upon us, and we will celebrate this in the liturgical calendar shortly. The coming of the Lord is not a negative thing, but something positive, highly significant, wonderful. How does the Lord come? The coming of the Lord always has certain typical characteristics, the same characteristics in our daily existence today as it will have when he comes at the end of the world.

The sun and the moon are our great points of reference for telling the time. At the end of the world, they will pass away. Every time we encounter difficulty and disappointment, the points of reference in our lives are shaken. This is a sign that the Lord is near

When the Lord comes, the sun will be darkened and the moon will lose its brightness. What do the sun and moon represent? At the time of creation, the Lord created the sun to rule over the day and the moon to regulate the night. The movement of the sun and the moon are the basis for marking time in human terms. In olden times people could tell the time of day by looking at the sun, and the time of the year by looking at the moon and stars. The failure of the sun and the moon refers to a time in our lives when the old reference points do not function any longer. In the Gospel this failure happens after the period of tribulation. And that is exactly how it is in our daily lives. In times of tribulation we cease to find security in the usual reference points and we start to look elsewhere for meaning. Tribulations can be blessed moments that can help us to found our lives on true points of reference instead of illusory ones.

When everything else has collapsed, we begin to see that it is only our relationship with Jesus that has eternal value

The Gospel refers to the things of this world that shall pass away. The first things that the Lord created, the sun and the moon, will come to an end. When all of these things pass, what remains? The word of Christ remains. When we start to base our existence on a genuine relationship with Christ, then all other things start to fade away in relevance. What is the “word” of Jesus? A word is not something that exists by itself. It is something that is proclaimed and received. When Jesus says that everything will pass away and only his word will remain, he intends to say that the only thing that has eternal value is our relationship with him. The word of God spoken in our hearts is more important than the sun and the moon, more important than our busy fretfulness in this world, more important than the projects and schemes that we become totally embroiled in. We do not appreciate how temporary and trivial these things are. It requires tribulation and disaster to give us a true perspective on these matters.

Jesus challenges us to look at the signs of the time and recognize from these signs that He is near.

Jesus takes the example of the fig tree as a way of reading the signs of the times. We are able to see from its leaves when summer is near. In the same way, when we see that our usual reference points don’t function anymore, then we know that the Lord is near. When we are confronted daily by disappointments, the collapse of things that seemed secure, by the small and great agonies of this world, then we should appreciate that the Son of Man is coming. What is it to be confronted by tribulation, to come face to face with something that turns our lives upside down? As long as we remain bogged down in a sensual, carnal way of looking at things, then we see only the superficial aspect of things. The challenge is to lift our gaze above the wreckage of the crisis that is confronting us and see that someone is standing at the door waiting to come in, someone who comes closer to us by means of tribulations such as these. When the fragile framework of my existence is shaken, then I must look to the One who is above all of these things, the only One who remains standing when everything else collapses, the only One who can speak to my heart in a truly meaningful way.

The Lord has spoken to our hearts at various times during our lives. We must cherish these things, making them the point of reference that will enable us to endure any tribulation

The words of Jesus stand the test of time when everything else fails. This Gospel challenges us to keep the word of the Lord in our hearts at all times. We must listen and hold strongly to these eternal words, remembering all of the times that the Lord has spoken to us in an intimate way. There have been moments in all of our lives when the Lord has passed close to us and touched our very souls, placing something important within us. We must do like the Blessed Virgin, who stored these things in her heart and recalled them, enabling her to stand firmly at the foot of the Cross. In the same way, the Lord has spoken an eternal word to each one of us. This word is stronger than any tribulation and will never pass away.