We are coming the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year (Advent is only two weeks away), and we are hearing from scripture readings that might cause us to ask “This is the Good News?” We are being told about the end of time, when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. The Gospel passage begins with Jesus saying to his disciples, “In those days after that tribulation …”
What tribulation is that? The first reading from the Book of Daniel says “it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress.” And Jesus’ description of the end includes just about every dread event they could imagine. He is referring to a time of severe persecution for the Church and her believers. There would be false prophets, wars, natural disasters, trials, persecutions and betrayals. “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.”
In this passage, Jesus is actually talking about two distinct but related events. The end of the world, and the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Temple. One of them—the destruction of Jerusalem—would take place within a generation, which actually happened in the year 70 A.D. The other event, the end of the world, will happen at a time when no one knows; not even the Son. And the first prefigures the other, because the Jews saw the Temple as a microcosm of the universe, so the destruction of the Temple would have seemed like the end of the world to them.
Our first reading from the Book of Daniel and the gospel reading from Mark are both written in a style that is called “apocalyptic.” They are very symbolic, and full of images and visions that appear frightening and intimidating. This apocalyptic style of writing was popular from the second century B.C. to about 100 A.D., and was meant for a specific purpose: to offer hope to those who feel that all hope was lost, but also to remind the readers that they need to remain steadfast in their faith in order to withstand the trials that will come.
Jesus is saying these things not to scare us, but to make us realize that we need to be prepared for the tribulation of the Antichrist, and the false prophets who will come and try to deceive us, cause confusion, and tempt us to follow imposters.
We are challenged by these readings today to understand that our trust and faith in God don’t necessarily protect us from trials, suffering, and death. Jesus doesn’t tell us it will be easy; he doesn’t say there won’t be trouble. Instead, he assures us that it will come and we must prepare for it. But if we endure with grace and faith in him, then it can be an occasion to strengthen and add depth to our relationship with God. It is emphasized over and over again in the Gospel of Mark that suffering and persecution is a very necessary and appropriate method of preparing for meeting the risen and glorious Jesus.
And the teaching of the Church re-emphasizes all of this. I want to read to you what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about the trials the Church and her believers will encounter, but also how she will be victorious in the end. It’s a little lengthy, so please bear with me in this.
675 Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, … by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow the Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendency, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.
769 The Church … will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven, at the time of Christ’s glorious return. Until that day, the Church “progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world’s persecutions and God’s consolations. … The Church, and through her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen says that “It is part of the discipline of God to make his loved ones perfect through trial and suffering. Only by carrying the Cross can one reach the Resurrection.” (Life of Christ, p 67)
The questions naturally arise: “If it’s assured that the Church will be glorified and victorious, then why do we have to face these trials? Why should there be so much suffering?” These are some of the hardest questions we have to try to answer, and I don’t think there is any clear-cut answer. But I do think that one reason is that we have to be able to see what sin does. And it’s only when we realize the damage sin can cause, that we are able to try to work towards reconciliation: with ourselves, with others, with the Church, and with God.
When we look at the world today, we see countless signs and symbols that we might say would be a signal that the end of the world is near. Some of these may be fairly general and widespread; some may be more personal to us. These readings today tell us that the focus on the end-time is to prepare us for the final judgment and to make us more attentive to the ways of God here and now.
We all know of people whose lives have been torn apart by addictions, family violence, job loss, illness and death, and other tragedies. Even in our own personal lives we recognize times of insensitivity, moments of selfishness and being caught up in our own self absorption. And at times it can seem as disturbing to us as the beginning of Mark’s gospel passage today: “. . . the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shed its light, the stars will fall out of the skies, and the heavenly hosts will be shaken.”
But we can take comfort and be certain that God is found in the darkness. He is calling us to live the lives of justice and witness so that we may carry and proclaim the gospel to all the places that we go.
When we come to the table to share in the Eucharist, we are reminded that the suffering of Jesus and his resurrection tell us that our own suffering is not useless suffering; that there is hope; a joy and happiness we can’t even begin to comprehend. So when we think of the future and the events that lead to the end, fear, worry and speculation must give way to careful and constant preparation. That preparation consists in living wisely and justly in all we are, and in all we do, so that we can be strengthened and persevere.
There is no need to fear Christ’s Second Coming. All we need to do is surrender ourselves to living the paschal mystery, and accept his gift of mercy. This is a small price to pay in this life in order to share in His eternal glory.