by f. Luis Casasús, General Superior of the Idente missionaries
Paris, November 18, 2018.
XXXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time
Book of Daniel 12,1-3; Letter to the Hebrews 10,11-14.18; Saint Mark 13,24-32.
Today’s readings speak about the end of the world, the final coming of Jesus to take all peoples and all creation to himself. We are not so much concerned with the physical end of the world. Technically, we know that the Earth will be burned and evaporated by the Sun which will explode into a red giant star in 5 billion years…probably you and I will be in another safer place.
But we are worried, however, by our own final days and those of our loved ones. Death is a taboo subject in many current cultures; our society is a death-denying society and we tend to avoid conversations about death. When a conversation comes up about death, it is typically interrupted either by a gesture of disappointment and dislike, or knocked off with a joke. Even religious people, particularly priests, find difficult to convey comfort and consolation to the people who have lost a family member or a true friend. The uncertainty, the physical and emotional distress that accompany many illnesses and the pain caused by separation, are often stronger than words.
This is why we should take advantage of some moments of prayer to meditate about the four last things of death and judgement, heaven and hell. If we do not do this, we will have a severe limitation of our understanding of our pilgrimage to heaven. We would end up believing that death, judgment, heaven and hell are not part of our existence. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).
And, worse still, we will waste our limited energy and we will not fully exploit our capabilities. There is no other practice which so intensifies life. As an everyday example, we know that astutely managing our fear in the proximity of an exam can be a wonderful stimulant, encouraging us to work harder and focus on our task. It is only when we are aware of the brevity of life that it becomes precious: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Everyone you meet on your life journey will die. Knowing this, how can I be angry at anyone? If we don’t treat people with kindness and respect now, when shall we do it? As the saying goes, a single rose for the living is better than a costly wreath at the grave.
Saint Paul was glad to look forward to his own death. He even preferred death and seemed disappointed that he had to continue to live on a while longer: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake (Phil 1:21-24).
But for us Christians, the “end of the world” refers primarily not to the annihilation of the planet or our own death, but to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Rather than a day to be feared of, it is a day filled with hope because it ushers in the final completion of history and the full reign of God.
The following story is a beautiful metaphor which shows us that our life in this world, our death and our final judgment form a continuum, different stages of the plan of salvation wanted by God:
There was a blacksmith who worked hard at his trade all his life. But finally the day came for him to die. The angel of death was sent to him, and much to the angel’s surprise, the man refused to go. The blacksmith pleaded with the angel to make his case before God, arguing that he was the only blacksmith in the village, and it was time for all his neighbors to begin their planting and sowing. He was needed. So the angel pleaded his case before God, saying that the man didn’t want to appear ungrateful, and that he was glad to have a place in the Kingdom awaiting for him—but couldn’t he put off coming for a while? And so the blacksmith was given more time. A year later the angel came back again with the same message: The Lord was ready to share the fullness of the Kingdom with him. Again the diligent man had reservations about going, and said: A neighbor of mine is seriously ill, and it is time for harvest. A number of us are trying to save his crops so that his family won’t become destitute. Please come back later. And off the angel went again. This became a pattern. Every time the angel came, the blacksmith had one excuse or another. Finally, the blacksmith grew so old and frail that even he had to admit to himself that he was ready now to go: God, if you’d like to send your angel to me again, I’d be glad to go home now. Immediately the angel appeared and the blacksmith said: If you still want to take me home, I’m ready now to live forever in the Kingdom of heaven. The angel smiled and looked with heavenly delight at the saintly blacksmith. The angel asked: Where do you think you’ve been all these years? Where, if not already home?
Our Final Judgment will be based on love of God, manifested on our love for neighbor and materialized in the works of mercy. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: We must find Jesus present in the distressing disguise of the poor.
St. Vincent de Paul actually called the poor “his masters”. They really show us the will of God, as the experience of many saints and people of good will tells us.
That is what happened to Marian Preminger, who was born in Hungary in 1913, raised in a castle with her aristocratic family. While attending school in Vienna, Marian met a young Viennese doctor. They fell in love and married when she was 18. The marriage lasted only a year and she returned to Vienna to begin her life as an actress. While auditioning for a play, she met the brilliant German director, Otto Preminger. They fell in love and married. They came to America soon after he began his career as a movie director. Marian got caught up in the glamour and excitement and soon began to live a sordid life. When Preminger discovered it, he divorced her. She returned to Europe. In 1948, she learned that medical doctor, and missionary Albert Schweitzer was visiting Europe. Marian had read about him as a little girl and she wanted a chance to meet him. After a visit, she knew she had discovered what she had been looking for all her life. When he returned to Africa, he invited her to come to Lambaréné and work in the hospital. She did and in doing so she found herself. There in Gabon, the girl who was raised like a princess, became a servant. She changed bandages, bathed babies, fed lepers…and became free. She titled her autobiography, All I Want Is Everything and in wrote that she could not get the “everything” that would satisfy and give meaning until she gave everything. She spent the latter part of her life performing Works of Mercy and in doing so experienced God’s grace.
As the Idente charism reminds us, Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy have to go hand in hand. Jesus said point blank: What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and loses his soul in the process. What can a man do in exchange for his soul? Pope Francis lamented in The Joy of the Gospel that one of the most common and grave neglects is the failure to preach the Word of God to the poor. For us as Catholic missionaries, our central concern is the presentation of the person of Jesus Christ, with his call to repent and believe that we always have something to offer to our fellowmen…mainly through these works of mercy.
The spiritual works of mercy are:
- To counsel the doubtful.
- To instruct the ignorant.
- To admonish sinners.
- To bear wrongs patiently.
- To forgive offenses willingly.
- To comfort the afflicted.
- To pray for the living and the dead.
Today is the appropriate time to think whether I have properly incorporated these works in my daily missionary life, within the framework of my religious vows. We are not told to feed everyone or visit everyone or clothe everyone. Rather, the gospel first calls us to become more aware of the people around us, and then reach out to one; feed one hungry person, forgive one member of my community; comfort one afflicted; just one at a time. If I do this, many will know the compassionate and caring touch of another human being. That is where it all begins. This is how Christ is made known and served in daily life.
If we look at today’s world (and any previous time in human history!), we see all kind of tensions and daunting challenges, magnified by the individualistic and selfish ways of the world. Socially, historically and personally, many of the signs announced in the First Reading are plainly visible. This includes our sins and mediocrity.
The intelligent Christian response to all of life’s tragedies is, first of all, to see that hidden in every crisis there is opportunity. We need not feel like helpless victims who must surrender to doubt and despair. Have not our greatest artists given us their best creations in the midst of terrible loss, in time when their worlds have come crashing down around them? Has not history demonstrated that great cultures have risen from the ashes of previous collapsed cultures? Even more, didn’t Christ come to die for you and me because we are sinners?
Second, a spiritually sensitive person has to take all these signs as a purification, drawing the conclusion that we cannot rely on our good will, skills or experience, but only on the mysterious God’s plans, revealed mainly through the suffering and the dreams of our neighbors.
In answer to the question how could a loving God judge anyone? we have to remember that it is a family judgment and in which, therefore, tenderness decides everything (Fernando Rielo). This is how our father Founder describes it:
The particular judgment is the personal judgment that God makes to man at the time of death and that is characterized by two fundamental circumstances: 1) because the soul, after death, is in complete freedom, nothing conditions it before the presence of the Supreme Good; 2) because, at that moment, God reveals to the one who is going to be judged the knowledge of Himself as Supreme Good (July 28, 1984).
In Gospel times the belief in the power of the stars was very strong. What is being said in today’s Readings is that these celestial bodies which people believed controlled history would be shown to be powerless under the power of God. And so, the sun and moon will stop giving light; stars will fall from the skies. These signs are not factual descriptions of the end of the world, nor ways to calculate the time of the Lord’s coming. The early Christians did expect that Jesus would come in their lifetime. This was natural for to those who grew up in the Jewish tradition; the end of Jerusalem could only mean the end of the world.
Today’s readings confirm that God is with us all the days of our lives and that we will have the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst guiding, protecting and strengthening us in spite of our human weakness and uncertainty. Since the Holy Spirit is God, we literally have God living in us. We are actually walking here on earth with heaven in us…. God has promised He has gone to prepare a place for His people and that He will come for them.
As we near the end of another liturgical year, let us take some time to imagine how beautiful heaven really is. The more we keep this thought in our minds, the more we will find ourselves encouraging other people, through our love and service, to join us on the way.
