The End

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time C-2

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps 85 (84):9 The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him.

Collect Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: Apocalypse 18:1-2.21-23;19: 1-3.9; Psalm 99; Luke 21:20-28

Jesus said, When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:20-28)

The End In our passage today our Lord speaks in a manner redolent of the Old Testament, predicting terrible calamities for the chosen people. He is obviously referring to the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans — Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles — but this event is also an omen of sufferings far beyond the fall of the City, “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” He speaks of cosmic events — “there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” Our Lord speaks of it being “the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written,” but it would seem to be more than that. It will also be a time of trial for the just who await redemption. The key to the prophecy is Christ’s oft-repeated reference to himself as the “Son of Man.” I am sure that chapter 7 of the Book of Daniel was among those prophetic passages of the Scriptures that were much loved by our Lord. It speaks of “one like a son of man” being given the everlasting kingdom. The chapter opens with the vision of the four beasts coming out of the great sea. Each beast was an ogre and different from the others. The horrifying threat is then eclipsed by the scene of the Ancient One on his throne, full of glory — brightness, whiteness and fire. The books are opened and the beasts lose their dominion, but are granted a season more. Then “one like a son of man” comes on “the clouds of heaven” to the Ancient One, and receives an everlasting kingdom that will never be destroyed. In our Gospel passage today, our Lord describes the terrible confusion and upheaval, and himself “coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” His coming is a cause of rejoicing — just as in Daniel 7, where “the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship, to possess it forever and ever.” Our Lord at various times spoke of his disciples judging the tribes of Israel — which is to say, sharing in his kingship. In our passage, our Lord confirms the prophecy of Daniel, showing that he is the one being referred to.

In the Book of Daniel, the “one like a son of man” comes on “the clouds of heaven.” That is to say, his status is unique, beyond compare. The “cloud” was an abode of God — in the Book of Exodus, “the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling. Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling. Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the Israelites would set out on their journey” (Exodus 40: 34-36). The presence of God, shown in the cloud, was their great consolation on their journey. In one of the greatest miracles of the Gospels, the Transfiguration, a cloud overshadows them, and from the cloud is heard the voice of God. “This is my beloved son: hear him!” (Luke 9: 34-35). In our Gospel today (Luke 21:20-28), the “Son of Man,” our Lord himself, will come “in a cloud with great power and glory.” This will be a great consolation to Christ’s faithful: “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” All this is to say that our Lord is predicting many tribulations and the judgment of God, but that he himself is the King to whom we can look, whatever be the course of events in a world marked by good and evil, consolation and suffering. He is near, and he is coming. He will prevail and his kingdom will never end. It is a prediction of the End, which, whatever be our course in life and whatever be the experience of the nations and of the world, will be a coming to us of glory and happiness. This glory and happiness will be founded on Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords, the one to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been granted. While on the one hand today’s is a sombre prediction, it is, more than anything, a prediction of hope. “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” This applies to the macro-scene and to the micro-scene. It applies to the world in general, and it applies to each of us.

Let us accustom ourselves to looking on life and human history in terms of what, on the word of Jesus Christ, we know to be the End. We ought so live that, were the End to come suddenly, we could look forward to what is at the heart of that End, the coming of the Lord. We ought keep before our minds, that whatever be the tribulations of life, all is in the hands of the Ancient One and the Son of Man to whom has been given the everlasting kingdom. To him be the glory!

(E.J.Tyler)

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