THE COMING OF THE LORD.

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR B.
November 19, 2006
(First Reading: Daniel 12:1-3) (Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14, 18)
(Gospel Reading: Mark 13:24-32)

THE COMING OF THE LORD.

I. Preliminary Considerations for the understanding of the coming of the Lord:
1. How can we say that the Lord Jesus is coming if, in fact, he has already come, and our faith tells us that he is always with us? In deed, God is always with man, but man is not always with God. An example will clarify this statement: I can deeply care for a loved one, but the loved one may not even know I exist. In the same manner, God does love me deeply, but I may choose to ignore him. In this case,I have decided to separate myself from God.

The coming of the Lord is necessary every time human beings separate themselves from God. God will come back to us again as he did the first time.

2. This Sunday's gospel reading uses symbolic language. Symbolic language is that which expresses human realities using external symbols in order to more effectively convey a message ordinary language may not be able to convey.

3. Definition of the coming of the Lord. In this gospel there is a revelation of what the coming of the Lord is: The coming of the Lord is the revival of the Lord's death and resurrection (that is, of his Paschal experience) in each human being individually and in the human race in general. Our separation from God is death, and his coming to us is life. We, human beings, are therefore involved in the coming of the Lord whenever we share in the experience of his cross and his resurrection; his death and his life.

II. Now, Let us explain the gospel reading concerning the coming of the Lord:
1. Jesus begins this gospel stating that his coming is preceded by "days of great tribulation" (Mark 13:19, 24), days which we could also call days of great separation of man from God. The gospel of Mark, in the text just before this Sunday's gospel reading, explains what the days of great tribulation are: Days of wars and threats of war; nation will rise against nation; there will be famine; Christians will be beaten, arraigned before governors; brother will hand over brother for execution; those days will be more distressful than any between the beginning of the world and now; false messiahs will mislead people (Mark 13:7-8, 12, 19, 22).

Mark, in this text, describes a world separated from God, a world which is turned upside down, a world which breathes death instead of life, promotes war instead of peace, brings about famine instead of prosperity, sows discord instead of harmony, proclaims lies instead of truth, covers up its crimes instead of righting them.

This description of Mark is certainly the description of our world today. Today, in our world, we see wars and readiness for war, nations are prepared for war rather than peace; the abundance of wealth for the few results in famine for the vast majorities of the world; the unborn are killed all over the world; those who denounce evil are silenced.

2. The symbolism used to describe the great tribulation in our world. The Lord Jesus found it fitting to use symbolic language in an effort to make us understand the severity of the world's situation: "In those days after that tribulation 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 in the heavens will be shaken" (Mark 13:24-25).

This symbolism tells us that in the same way that the sun is supposed to give light not darkness, man is to promote peace not war. In the same way that the moon is to reflect the light, man is to share his wealth with all human beings. In the same way that the stars are to be permanent in the firmament, the achievements of man are meant to always be used for the common good of all mankind. In the same way that the powers of heaven are the immutable foundation of life, man is to always seek life not death.

The gospel, therefore, is telling us that whenever human beings are ruled by war, death, oppression, destruction, selfishness (which is expressed symbolically by a darkened sun, darkened moon, disintegrating stars, or shaken heavenly powers), the time has arrive for man to "see the Son of Man coming" (Mark 13:26).

3. How does the Lord come again to the world? By showing us his presence, and he shows his presence through the elect; "He will... gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky" (Mark 13:27). The elect are those who will work with the Lord to bring life to a world of death, who will end the separation of man from God, those to whom the Lord gives his "great power and glory" (Mark 13:26) for the accomplishment of such a task(1).

4. When will the Lord come? (Another way to ask the same question is: When will man end his separation from God?) The gospel gives us the answer: "This generation will not pass away until all this things have taken place" (Mark 13:30), and then it adds: "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark 13:32).

These two statements are not two answers, but one answer. This one answer is that the coming of the Lord does not occur in a specific time (chronologically speaking, as in a specific hour or specific day), it rather occurs in the heart of man. Man knows that his acceptance of the Lord will end his separation from God, but only the Father knows when this will occur.

To all Christians and people of good will: Let us bring to and end our separation from the Lord, let us make the coming of the Lord into the world a reality.
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Footnotes.
(1) The symbolism of the darkened sun also expresses the image of such a sun's uselessness, and the need of replacing it with a new one which can give light. In the same manner, whenever a socio-economic system fails to attend to the common good of all humankind, then, human beings (the elect) must assume the task of replacing it with a system which does attend to the common good of all mankind. Similarly, whenever a society promotes war, human beings (the elect) must take on the task of replacing it with one which promotes peace.