COME, LORD JESUS!

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 13:24-32

Throughout human history, people have always questioned themselves about the end of times, that is, the end of the world. It is always conceived of as a "time of great distress" when people must endure all kinds of suffering. It will be a time of chaos, when nature will rebel against itself, bringing in the collapse of the natural order. It is accepted, even by scientists, that the world will end. When will that happen? Science has no answer for that. However, some people claim to have special and secret knowledge that enables them to assert the time and date of such an event. During the most difficult periods of history, eschatological movements have led people to prepare themselves for the incoming end. And so it is during this time of ours. many groups, while predicting the end of the world, call on people to be prepared and take measures to survive.

Christians associate the end of times with the second coming of Jesus Christ. He will come to fulfil the work of salvation, establishing a new order by creating new heavens and new earth. Then, we will be filled with the glory of God, who will be all in all (1 Co 15:28). This crowning of the work of salvation will be preceded by judgment. Seated on his throne of glory, Jesus Christ will reward or punish us according to our choices and behaviour here on earth.

“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.”

That’s why the Christians don’t live in fear but call on the Lord Jesus: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Ap 22:20; 1 Co 16:22)). Do not delay, Lord. Come and bring the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God. As for the time of the end of the world, we should not worry. Nobody knows: “But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.”

For that day - be it the end of our lives or the end of the world, we must be prepared:

Stay awake, praying at all times

for the strength to stand with confidence

before the Son of Man. (Lk21:36)

THE LORD GIVES BREAD TO THE HUNGRY

XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 12:38-44

We are invited to look at two widows and learn from them this Sunday.

In the first reading, we find the prophet Elijah being ordered by God to leave the land of Israel and go to Zarephath in Sidon, where he found refuge in a widow’s home. She was destitute, having nothing more than “a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug.” (1 King 17:10-16). With so little, in a time of famine, she was preparing for death in the company of her son. However, despite her hopeless situation, at the prophet’s word, she put her trust in the Lord and accepted Elijah in her house.

In the gospel, Jesus calls our attention to the widow who offered the little she had, being left with nothing.

In both cases, the widows are extremely poor and, despite that, they offer everything they have. Putting their trust in the Lord, they do not care about tomorrow. The day of tomorrow belongs to God and he takes care of his servants.

In both of these widows, we find the beatitudes being practised in real life: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3) In fact, the Lucan version applies even better: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Lk 6:20). Being utterly poor, they put their lives in the hands of God, accepting being touched by Him who cares for the orphan and the widow.

The responsorial psalm sang after the first reading expresses this confidence in the Lord:

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,

  who is just to those who are oppressed.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry,

  the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,

  who raises up those who are bowed down.

It is the Lord who loves the just,

  the Lord, who protects the stranger.

The Lord upholds the widow and orphan

  but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,

  Zion’s God, from age to age. (Ps 146)

YOU ARE NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 12:28-34

Twice a day, in the morning and the evening prayers, the faithful Jew recites the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (words taken from Dt 6:4-6). It is a prayer and a profession of faith with implications for how we live and situate ourselves in society and the world.

However, in this world of ours, society, in general, has lost its reference to God. We live as if He does not exist. If He did, He has died. Indeed, some people proclaim that God is dead. We have thrown Him out of our lives since He was an obstacle to our freedom. With all our hearts and minds, we want to be the masters of our lives and our world. However, despite all our efforts, that is no more than wishful thinking. At any moment, the raw power of nature shows itself, escaping any attempt at controlling it. A society without God is a society that has lost its way. Time and again, we go through the experience of Adam and Eve. In their audacity to become gods, they rejected God’s Law and established themselves as the rule by which good and evil can be measured. And society turned upside down: evil became good, and good became evil.

We must reassert God’s centrality in our lives and society. When we live by faith, God alone is the absolute, and everything else is relative. And our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, sets us free, accepting us as his beloved children.

Guiding themselves by the Torah, the Jewish People found 613 commandments that must be followed. One may ask: how could they follow so many commandments? And which one is the first and the most important? During Jesus’ time, that was a big point of discussion. That’s why a scribe asked Jesus: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus answered, reciting the Shema. The greatest commandment is: “… you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” We may say that this is the only commandment since the second one is the natural sequence of the first: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” We cannot love God without loving our neighbour.

Jesus makes it clear that we do not need so many commandments. Two are enough, and these two can be reduced to a single word: love. God is love, and those who live their lives in God live them in love. If we do that, then we are on the way to the Kingdom of God.