Advent 2 - The Second Coming of Christ, Part 2

 

Homily for December 10, 2023

Second Sunday of Advent

The Coming of Christ, Part 2

 

            Last week I spoke about the return of Christ. We know He is coming soon, but as St. Peter reminds us in the second reading, “Soon” does not necessarily mean within the year, or even within our lifetimes. But when He does come, what can we expect? We see three elements of Christ’s Return within the readings today.

            The first is called the Last Judgment, or General Judgment. At the end of time, every soul that has ever existed will gather in the presence of the Lord, and He will reveal every single consequence of every choice we have made, for good or for ill. The secret prayers, the hidden acts of charity, the private thoughts of judgment, the hidden sins will all be revealed, and we will be able to see how we fit into the beautiful, mysterious plan of God’s Providence.

            Occasionally here we receive a glimpse into such things. I went to seminary with a fellow classmate named Clinton, who complained about everything – the food, the teachers, the buildings – literally nothing was to his liking. His room was next to mine, and we frequently would spend time together, but it gets old being with such a downer all the time. One day we were hanging out and he was complaining, as usual, and I was so frustrated that I said, “Clinton, I’m fed up with listening to your complaints. I’m going to the chapel to pray.” He said in response, “Okay, please pray for me.” I shot back, “No, you go pray for yourself.” Later that day I felt bad about my snappy response, so I apologized, and it was all good. But fast-forward three years. He was preparing to be ordained a priest and he said to me, “I just wanted to thank you for saving my vocation.” I had no idea what he was talking about, so he explained, “Remember that time you told me to go and pray for myself? I took it seriously. I realized I was so miserable in seminary because I wasn’t developing a real personal relationship with Jesus; I hadn’t been seriously praying. So from that day forward I began to pray, and it saved my vocation.” I was amazed at how a comment, which was probably rude and unkind, ended up impacting the trajectory of his life! At the Last Judgment, all will be revealed – all of the consequences of our sins and good deeds. Nothing will be hidden on that day – which is a bit unnerving, and prompts us to live as men and women of integrity, knowing that even our inmost thoughts and secret actions will be known by all!

            Our Scriptures also reveal that this current, broken world will be destroyed, and in its place will be a new heaven and earth. It is not merely mankind who is broken – because we are called to “have dominion” on the earth, we see that it, too, is fallen due to our sin. This is where natural disasters, cancer, and all sorts of disorder springs forth. But at the end of time, God’s new creation will be the earth as it was meant to be, with order and beauty unimaginable.

            We sometimes see glimpses of this in the lives of the saints. For example, in a small town called Gubbio in Italy, there was a wolf that was terrorizing the people. He had attacked many of the townspeople at night and killed several. The people petitioned St. Francis, who was nearby, to help them somehow. St. Francis, after several hours of prayer, received an inspiration from the Holy Spirit of what to do. He went out to the wolf’s lair, and called out the wolf. The wolf came forth growling, and Francis made the sign of the Cross over it and knelt on the ground to speak to the creature eye-to-eye. “Brother Wolf, why must you strike fear in the hearts of these good townspeople, who are made in the Image of God? If they promise to feed you daily, will you live in peace with them?” According to eyewitnesses, the wolf placed its forepaw in the outstretched hand of St. Francis to seal the deal. Francis then preached a sermon to the people, saying, “If we have been filled with fear from the jaws of this beast, how much more ought we fear the eternal and fearsome jaws of Hell!”

            From that time on, the wolf became a welcome friend in the town. When the wolf died some years later, it was actually given a reverential burial in the town’s church. Recent archaeological excavations did find the skeleton of a large wolf beneath the floor of that church! This is such a beautiful example of the order returning to the natural world through the sanctity of a saint – and the entire universe will experience such peace at the end of time.

            A final reality that will occur with Christ’s coming will be the resurrection of the body, which we profess in our creed. It is in and through our bodies that we practice virtue or vice, that we do good works or sin. Hence, our bodies will be reunited with our souls to share in the glory of Heaven or the sufferings of Hell. This body, so broken and weak and frail right now, will someday be made new – to rejoice eternally or to suffer everlastingly. If we use our bodies for God’s glory here, we can expect a reward from Him in eternity. How beautiful it will be to see the Face of Christ with our eyes, to hear the songs of angels with our ears!

            For centuries, people eagerly anticipated the coming of the Messiah – the one who would finally break the ancient curse of sin. And, although it took a while, God remained faithful to His promise in a way we could never have expected – He would send, not a prophet, but His only Son to die for us! In the centuries since, we have eagerly awaited the second coming of Jesus Christ. We can have the same confidence that, no matter how long it takes, God will be faithful and finish His work, bringing all of creation to its exalted and redeemed state. With Christians throughout the ages, we cry out, “Marantha! Come Lord Jesus!”