33rd. Sunday (Year C)
(Malachi 3:19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19)
The day is coming, burning
like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day
that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor
branch. But for you who fear My name,
there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.
Though terrible events be taking place all around them, the
People of God will not be afraid, neither will they allow themselves to be
disturbed in any way because, “fearing the name of the Lord" in spirit
and in truth, leads them to fear naught
else.
Malachi’s picture of a people thus set apart from all
others agrees with St. Peter's description of the true disciples of Jesus:
You are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, (the Lord’s) own special people, that you may
proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous
light. (1 Peter 2:9)
God’s children, say both the prophet Malachi and the
Apostle Peter, are meant to be -- as we hear in the canon of the Mass --
"a chosen generation, a people set apart".
In what respect are they set apart from others? Surely, not because they are aloof from, or
indifferent to, others, for charity is the essence of the great commandment
that rules their way of life; while the Lord they worship and follow, Himself
gives the supreme teaching and example of fraternal love. Nor are individual Christians to set
themselves apart by any flamboyance or exuberance; on the contrary, St. Paul tells
us that Christians ought to be quiet in their lifestyle:
We command and exhort (you)
in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in a quiet fashion and eat (your) own bread.
So, we realize that Christians are to be
"different" from others, above all, by their strength of character: fearing
the name of the Lord, they will fear no other, naught else; always and only --
in the power of the Spirit and by their moral discipline -- bearing witness to the
love of Christ in all circumstances and before all peoples.
If we now turn our attention to Jesus, we can see how He
Personally formed the character of His foremost disciples along those lines:
As some spoke of the temple,
how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, (Jesus) said, “These
things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left
upon another that shall not be thrown down."
Here He would seem to be weaning them from such false
supports as national pride, or vain-glorious human enthusiasm, sparked off by external
circumstances such as the magnificent Temple recently built by King Herod in
Jerusalem:
Take heed that you not be
deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He', and 'The time has
drawn near.' Do not go after them!
"Take heed not to be deceived", even though many
others be misled; "do not go after" the crowd, to join in the comfort
of communal emotion. There Jesus is
clearly seeking to form in His disciples a characteristic attitude that will distinguish
them in the future: they will not be afraid to walk alone with their Lord; for
His sake, to stand apart from other men when necessary, overcoming every desire
to hide in, or run with, the crowd.
That was not to be all, however, for Jesus went on to warn
of yet greater trials:
When you hear of wars and
commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but
the end will not come immediately.
Mature Christians must be able to stand resolute amidst
widespread anxiety and contagious panic: the only fear they acknowledge being a
heartfelt and reverential fear of the Lord they will have sufficient spiritual
courage and moral discipline to wait for, and confidently trust in, Him; though
everything else, be it even the very heavens, might seem to be falling apart:
There will be great
earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be
fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
Fear is instilled above all by imminent and urgent threat
to self: to one's life, one's reputation, one's family; and only the
supernatural Christian fear of the Lord can overcome the effect that such natural
and fundamental fears can trigger off.
Here we should appreciate, People of God, that Christian fear of the
Lord is no ordinary gift from God, but such a sign of His blessing that, according
to the prophet Isaiah (11:1-3), the Messiah Himself would take special delight
in it:
Then a shoot will spring from
the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord.
Fear of the Lord, therefore, is indeed a supernatural gift
from God which we ourselves are called upon to co-operate with and develop as
part of our character; but, much more than that, it is a supreme sign of God’s love
and favour, meant to be our special delight and ultimate defence against
anything this world can throw up against us or the devil devise to ensnare us.
And that is just the final situation which Jesus puts
before His disciples now:
They will seize and persecute
you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons; and they will
have you led before kings and governors, because of My name.
Then indeed, fear of the Lord and trust in His mercy and
power, must be seen to be the disciple’s great delight and sure shield. Jesus insists they then look neither to men,
nor rely on themselves; but, rather, turn to Him and:
So make up your minds not to prepare
beforehand how to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom
which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
People of God, recognize what Jesus is looking for in His
disciples, appreciate the sort of character He wishes us to have, for today many have an idea of holiness that
is not only sugar-coated but also largely conformed to worldly standards, set
up for worldly acceptance.
True holiness, however, is not worldly, but Christian and
personal, being God’s gift, by the Spirit, to the committed disciple of Jesus.
Therefore, we should appreciate that Paul’s teaching -- though it does indeed
reflect his own character and his personal appreciation of Christ – is, nevertheless,
the teaching of one who was most particularly chosen by the Risen Lord Jesus
Himself, and most specially endowed by God for his role as teacher of the
nations. Paul was supremely one with,
and committed to, the Risen Lord: as witnessed by his incomparable sufferings for
Christ and the glowing eloquence of his witness and testimony to the Gospel. And we – ordinary mortals with our feet still
muddied by the filth of the world -- should in no way presume to suspect, let
alone criticize, the intentions of one who had been raised up to the third
heaven, when he chooses to write in the name of his Lord and Saviour words such
as:
If anyone is not willing to
work, then he is not to eat, either.
Our true Christian duty and privilege should be to learn to
appreciate them truly, and to live them aright, for St. Paul was following the
example and purpose of Jesus Himself by preparing and promoting in his
converts, as best he could, that moral discipline and spiritual strength
essential for disciples who would, inevitably, have to carry the Cross with
their Lord for God's glory and mankind's salvation; and such strength is never
acquired through indulgence, nor is mere encouragement or comforting exhortation
able to promote it.
Today we find similar weaknesses, similar desires for
quick, sugar-coated, easily seen, and popularly appreciated, holiness still
preventing the wholesome teaching of the Scriptures and Mother Church from
finding practical acceptance: how many parents, for example, today, “don’t
like” to correct, let alone discipline, their children; with the result that
the children suffer many and more serious difficulties and dangers resulting
from their emotional indiscipline and moral ignorance. Likewise, how often is the Gospel watered
down for public approval rather than proclaimed with apostolic integrity; how
publicly is discipline laughed at, mocked, while sin, and at times even depravity, is passively
condoned.
And today indeed, in these our own ‘latter days’, there are
some former Catholics and even presumed Christian leaders, who find themselves ‘so
deeply sorrowful’ for having hurt the feelings of so many of their fellow human-beings
-- I also am very sorry to say I cannot
find any teardrop type!! -- by holding teachings that they are now willing to drop
as they desert Jesus and the Church He founded on the bed-rock of Apostolic faith,
and profess a new, supposedly superior, not Christianity, but ‘Christ-insanity’,
where pseudo-love of neighbour – whatever the neighbour’s faith or practice –
is to be supreme, and the only blameworthy act is whatever disturbs the all-embracing
harmony of people freely living and promoting their own version of life, so
long as that version does not prevent or
impinge harmfully on the rights of others to do the same. Thus, they become a ‘body’ of humanity without
any bone structure, just a formless ‘blob’, going nowhere -- for it has no future vision other than ever-present
indulgence – nowhere that is, except to its own destruction and disgrace.
Jesus’ final words in the Gospel reading have special
significance for all those called to be witnesses to Him. They are not soft words to coax, for He wants
all who are thus called and will aspire to become His disciples to be strong
enough, in Him, to glorify the Father by the power of the Spirit, and to this
end He chooses to help them, and us ourselves, surely, with clear words of
strength and inspiration:
You will even be handed over
by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and some of you will be put to
death. You will be hated by all for My
name's sake, but not a hair on your head will be lost. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.
