Homily for Ordinary Time 33
November 17, 2024
The End of Your World
Christians
should always be ready to do three things: to pray, to share our faith, and to
die.
Our
Gospel seems to speak about the end of the world. But then why does Jesus say
that “some standing here will not taste death until they see these things”? No
one living in Jesus’ day are still living now. But Jesus is speaking on two
intertwining levels. He is speaking about the end of the world…but He is
also speaking about another event which shook His listeners to their core.
Exactly
one generation (40 years) after Jesus’ death, Jewish leaders rebelled against
Roman occupation. This sparked a war known as the First Jewish Revolt, which
culminated in a disastrous event in 70AD – the complete destruction of the
Temple of Jerusalem. It was the end of the world for the Jews – the very
meeting-place of God, the location of the daily sacrifices, the pride and joy
of an entire nation was leveled to the ground. To this day only one small part
of the Temple remains, a small retaining wall called the Western Wall (or
Wailing Wall), where Jews go to pray. It’s hard for us to understand just how
devastating this event was for Israel – it’s as if the entire Vatican were
destroyed and the Eucharist could no longer be celebrated ever, for two
thousand years.
But
theologically, the destruction of the Temple made sense, as our second reading
points out. The Temple was the place of sacrifice, but once Jesus’ sacrifice on
the Cross was consummated, there is no need for further sacrifices. The Temple
ended one world, because a new one was dawning – a world of faith in Jesus, the
Son of God, the Perfect Sacrifice.
So,
although the world did not end in 70AD, in a sense their world did. Similarly,
it is unlikely that you or I will get to see the end of the world (of course, I
could be quite wrong about that!). But we are guaranteed to see the end of our
world – at some point we will breathe our last, and death will end our world.
Our life of faith in God will give way to the vision of God.
I have
always been haunted by those words in Daniel’s vision – “Those who sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an
everlasting horror and disgrace.” When that last breath is taken, will we live
forever in the presence of God, or spend forever away from Him. At the end,
there are only two eternal dwelling places for the soul – Heaven or Hell, glory
or tragedy.
We think
so highly of our life when we are alive. King Louis XIV of France named himself
“the Sun King”, saying, “I am the center of the universe, without equal.” But
on his deathbed, he final words to his heir were, “Do not follow the bad
example I have set.” How quickly does our life pass before we return to God Who
made us! We ought to follow the advice of St. John Chrysostom who said, “Go to
the grave, contemplate dust, and sigh.”
So how ought a Christian prepare for the day
when our world will end? Four suggestions to live a life worthy of a noble
death and a happy eternity.
First,
contemplate frequently the shortness of life and the length of eternity. This
is not a morbid fascination with death, but a proper appreciation of who we are
and where we’re going. St. Bonaventure uses the example of a sailor. For a boat
to get to its proper destination, a sailor always needs to keep his eyes
looking in the right direction. Likewise, for a soul to make it to the safe
harbor of Heaven, we must always keep that destination in mind, realizing that our
life’s journey is actually heading in a direction. We’re not wandering aimlessly
upon storm-tossed ocean – we are either heading to our eternal home, or heading
away from it. Consider daily that life is short and this is not our home, and
it will help point our life in the right direction.
A second,
connected, suggestion is to evaluate everything in the light of eternity. Will
this decision advance me closer to eternity with God, or will it draw me
further away? Will this music I listen to, this TV show I watch, draw me closer
to God, or push me further away? When I am on my deathbed, will I regret what I
posted on social media; will I regret the amount of time I spent on this hobby,
to the detriment of my spiritual life; will I regret how this friendship led me
astray; will I regret how much time I worried about my appearance or my bank
account? Looking at our lives in the light of eternity makes us realize what’s
truly important – love of God and love of neighbor – and what’s not important
at all, like most of the things we worry about. As CS Lewis said, “Aim at
Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in'; aim at earth and you will get
neither.”
One time
the brother of the great spiritual writer Thomas a Kempis built himself a luxurious
house and filled it with all the finest luxuries money could buy. His holy brother
visited him and said, “Ah, this is a beautiful house but it has only one flaw.”
“What’s that?” asked the worldly brother. Thomas responded, “It has a door.” “A
door? Why is that a flaw?” asked the brother, offended. The holy man replied, “Through
this door your lifeless body will one day be carried, and you will leave this
house forever. Where then will your treasure be?” Evaluate all things in light
of eternity.
A third way
to prepare for a happy eternity is to go to confession regularly. St. John Chrysostom
once said, “Nothing brings more happiness than a good conscience.” Imagine if a
person were headed to court because they hadn’t paid their debts. But on the
way there, they won the lottery. Should they pay off the debt, and avoid jail
time? Of course! That would be the logical decision. We are all headed to
judgement, too – the judgement of our lives before God. But what if we could
quickly and easily pay off the debt of all our sins? We can – in the Sacrament
of Confession. This is where the great wealth of Jesus’ Blood is applied to our
debts, so that we can stand before the Father cleansed. Do not wait, for we are
not guaranteed tomorrow – confess frequently, and pay off the debts with the
Blood of Jesus, so that when we approach judgment, we can stand before the
judge with our debts paid!
Finally,
we needn’t fear death if we are constantly drawing close to the Heart of God, trusting
eternally in His mercy. What is Heaven but spending time with the God Who loves
us? We make ourselves ready for Heaven by spending time with Him here. Because
I know Him, I know what a good and merciful Father He is, which takes away all
fear of death. God is not a cruel teacher who is waiting to fail us on the test
– He is, rather, a good Father Who so desperately wants His children to be with
Him that He sent His own Son to die in our place. With such a good Father, how
can we not trust Him completely when He comes to call us home?
My
friends, Christians should always be ready to do three things: to pray, to share
our faith, and to die. Are you ready to do all three?
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