November 17th 2019. Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Luke 21:5-19

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

Please check us out of Facebook

Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Luke 21:5-19

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now-the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed’. And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’

‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand”. Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

‘But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Sunday’s Gospel highlights the fact that the things of this earth are not eternal. In response to our anxiety about the finitude of this world, many false messiahs will come, Jesus tells us in this passage. People seek out the false messiahs of pleasure, possessions, entertainment, health, wellbeing, big ambitious projects. All of these things are efforts to exorcize our feelings of emptiness. The advice that the Lord gives us in this Gospel is not to follow any of these false solutions. These solutions make things in this world into absolutes, but such earthly things can never be ultimate. Then Jesus tells us that we must expect to be rejected by others in this world. If everyone thinks well of me and applauds me, then it is clear that I am no prophet! If we are open and honest about the emptiness and vainglory of this world, then we can expect the world to reject us! We must expect tribulation in the world because our priorities lie elsewhere. Where does a Christian normally manifest his Christianity? Upon the cross. True generosity is demonstrated in the midst of famine. Peacefulness is manifested best when a person is subjected to violence. Peacefulness at times of peace may be nothing more than wellbeing. Difficult situations are opportunities for great and sincere witness. At the end of the passage, Jesus tells us that we must not prepare our defence when we are handed over for persecution because he himself will give us his eloquence and wisdom. What is the point here? The point is that it is in our relationship with Jesus that things find their joy, meaning, peace. It is in relationship with Jesus that things go beyond tribulation, and endure beyond death, This world ends, and may bring about our end in a violent way, but if we are in the hands of God then we attain true freedom from these things that are passing.

Everything in this world will come to an end. Our ultimate destination is beyond these earthly things.

“Be careful not to be deceived”, says Jesus to his disciples, while he announces that history is heading towards a dramatic climax. In fact, we can be misled when we hear that "the time will come when not a stone will be left on a stone". The first misunderstanding is to think that this concerns only the moment of the end of the world. Not so: everything we see will come to an end. All things must end, and this is not some kind of injustice: rather it is to be expected given what we know of the world and of salvation. Our final destination is not in this world; our goal is ahead.

All the tribulations we experience can become the road to salvation if we remain with Christ

But it is easy for us to be deceived about the end things. Jesus says: "When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be terrified, because these things must happen first, but it is not the end immediately." And when is the end? That is not the issue. "By your perseverance you will save your life." Salvation, this is the goal. And human history is the story of salvation. Whatever happens - earthquakes, famines, pestilences, persecutions and betrayals – they are never what they seem. If we remain on the side of Christ, these events are nothing more than the prelude to one of his works. They become, by faith, the road to salvation.

We were not born for comfort or pleasure, but for love, and love involves sacrifice and the cross. That is why tribulations are necessary if we are to live the life of love.

Of course, it is natural to be perplexed and it is completely normal to ask oneself: but why must this be the way? Why is it necessary to go through these tribulations? If we were born for comfort, for fulfilment, for the pleasure of understanding everything and possessing everything we desire, all these discourses would be absurd. But we are born for love, and that is another thing altogether. The cross of Christ is not an accident along the way, but the true face of God. In order for God to reveal himself as a Father of mercy, His blessed Son had to show the nature of their mercy and reveal himself as our Lord, suffering for love in his own body all the evil that man can produce. But this was not the end. It was the road to Heaven. Don Tonino Bello said that the cross is only a temporary location. The end of things, from Christ onwards, is not pain. The tribulation of the world is, to be precise, a labour pain, a giving birth.

We seek salvation without pain, but we cannot grow without the growing pains; we cannot give birth without the pains of labour. If I seek God without the cross then I risk finding a cross without God.

We often deceive ourselves by seeking a salvation that involves no pain, but there is no birth without blood. There is no new life without the loss of the old one. "Many in fact will come in my name saying, ‘It is I’, or ‘The time is near’. Don't follow them!" The comfortable messianic promises are all traps. A young person does not become an adult without going through a purification, a marriage does not become authentic without going through tribulation, a friendship does not become real without forgiveness. It takes these things to recognize what is valid and what can be trusted. If I seek God without the cross then I run the risk finding a cross without God. This Gospel passage leads us to authentic life, a life that is beautiful precisely because it is not simple, a life that is nourished by authentic challenges. This life experiences salvation over and over again, between consolations and tribulations.