Homily for 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C) (go to readings)
Malachi 3:19-20a
Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19
“MEMENTO MORI.” Remember that you will have to die. This wisdom from Greek Stoic Philosophy is captured in the psalms as, “Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Ps 90:12). And this wisdom can be found in the liturgy of Ash Wednesday, as each of the faithful is marked with a cross of ash on their forehead, with the words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The author of the book of Sirach tells us why this wisdom is important: “in all thy works be mindful of thy last end and thou wilt never sin” (Sir 7:36).
The bulletin column this week is a reflection on the readings as reflections on the end of the world, as we approach the end of the liturgical year. There’s a certain aesthetic, considering our mortality, as the brown autumn leaves leave the trees bare and cover the green grass. We start with our first reading, from the Prophet Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. “Lo, the day is coming.” What day? The day of the coming of the Lord. The later prophets of the Old Testament were highly critical of the injustices and corruption of Israel, and you think Israel would have learned their lesson by now. But no. The corruption of the temple priesthood, of worship, of the political leaders, corruption that caused the poor and vulnerable to suffer cruel injustices and struggle in poverty. When these Old Testament prophets proclaimed, “Israel, prepare to meet your God,” it was something like, “You wait till your father gets home!” It was the day of reckoning. Or in more Catholic tradition terms, the “Dies Irae,” the Day of Wrath. We must remember that “it is a fearful and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” it says in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews. So, this is not just “Old Testament angry God” rhetoric. God is indeed merciful. But let us not forget what condemnation of our sins his mercy is saving us from, if we repent in faith.
“…blazing 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, says the LORD of hosts.” When the fire of God comes, those who have not repented and called upon his mercy will be condemned to eternity without the God of life. As Jesus says in the parable of the twelve virgins, those who are not vigilant and prepared will be locked outside where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, according to sweet and gentle Jesus.
There’s a false dichotomy that God in the Old Testament is wrathful and vengeful, and God in the New Testament is merciful and gentle. And some claim that it seems like they’re two different gods. But most of the Scripture’s verses about God’s mercy and care are in the Old Testament. And no one talks about the reality and danger of hell more than Jesus himself. For example, the last line of our first reading from Malachi turns a corner: “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” So a carrot and a stick. God uses both, whatever it takes to get us to choose life in him: the carrot to help us to choose goodness and faithfulness, which win the blessings of the covenants God has made with his people, or the stick to help us to avoid the curses of breaking the covenant by unfaithfulness and sin. For those who remain faithful, and fear his name, or show reverence for him as our God, he will heal our imperfections and take us to himself in eternal joy. Not a hard choice, in theory. But if it were that easy in reality, no one would ever sin.
But that’s the point of “Memento Mori.” It can happen in an instant, and we know not the day nor the hour. It could be on your way home, in your sleep; the Lord could come in a million years, or the Lord could come tomorrow. You can think about that and live in fear, but that’s not a great way to live, and it’s not the way God wants you to live. A much better idea is to live the right way, to live simply, honestly, faithfully, virtuously, and you never need to fear the day or the hour, because you’re always ready. The first letter of John says, “Love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). If you consider the image of dying unexpectedly and having someone you love going through every bit of your life, cleaning out drawers and closets and basements and boxes, internet history, files, and everything, do you fear what they might find? Do you have secrets and shame? What if, instead, you remember, “Memento Mori,” and live with simplicity and integrity, what you see is what you get, no secrets, no shame, no fear. Just living 100% pure divine love (or if you’re of a certain age, 99+44/100ths % pure, clean as Ivory).
Our second reading, finishing up weeks of going through Saint Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, matches up with today’s theme as things are getting wrapped up at the end (the end of the liturgical year, and the end of the world). Paul is instructing the Christian community not to sit back and waste time waiting for the return of the Messiah, getting into other people’s business and not minding one’s own need to be found being a good and prudent servant.
Paul and his co-workers could have required of the community a sort of stipend for their ministry, which would have been just and a normal expectation. But instead, they worked their trades as tentmakers in their off hours, to give a better example, as the Thessalonians needed. “…we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.” This does not mean refusing to give alms to the poor, which Jesus explicitly requires of us. This is to be prudent in our almsgiving, not enabling those fully able to work to be unproductive, which is often destructive to virtue and salvation, and the whole community, especially the truly needy.
And finally, in our gospel reading, Jesus and his apostles were on the Mount of Olives, looking over the valley at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. We are finishing up the Mount Olivet Discourse in the Gospel of Luke, the last part of Jesus’ teaching before he begins Palm Sunday and Holy Week, which we covered back in the spring (at Palm Sunday and Holy Week). And his apostles, a bunch of country bumpkins from up north in Galilee, are marveling at the majesty of the Jerusalem Temple across the valley. And Jesus says, yes, it’s great and beautiful, and “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
So they ask him, really? when will that happen? How will we know it’s about to happen? And here we have, let’s say four, important teachings from our gospel reading.
One. “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them!” Jesus said in our daily Mass reading on Thursday, “For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” When the day comes that Jesus returns, no one will mistakenly miss it. It will be a global event, a cosmic event, that will not be mistaken. So until then, just keep doing the holiness thing, and don’t worry about what people are saying about the end of the world.
Two. “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place…” So basically, human world history as usual. And these will not be cause for fear, as terrible as they seem. So just keep doing the holiness thing, and don’t worry about what people are saying about the end of the world.
Just as an aside, Dr. Brant Pitre, in his notes on this weekend's readings, mentions that he has a presentation, "Jesus and the End Times: A Catholic View of the Last Days". While (as I say below) focusing excessively on the "end times" can serve as a distraction from focusing on the good we are called to do here and now, the scriptures do tell us about the end times, and so it's good that we understand it, particularly as it can help us keep faith against incorrect things we might hear about the end times. It's a set of five hour-long presentations, and I've only listened to the first one so far, but it is excellent!
Three. “…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… You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name…” Oh, persecution of Christians. Right, So basically, human history as usual. This has happened in the past and will likely happen again, perhaps in the near future. They’re not going to prevent us from going to Mass, from having a church, from celebrating Christmas. They’re going to make it offensive, if not also illegal, to speak against society’s views on gender, marriage, sex, abortion, and whatever else is coming down the pipeline we can’t even imagine yet. And not all the public condemnation and suffering, as we now know, will be legal persecution. It could be vigilante violence.
Four. “Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” There’s an old phrase in Catholic tradition, “grace builds on nature.” What good you have naturally, grace makes greater. Jesus is not saying, “Don’t learn your faith. Don’t study the bible. Don’t worry about having to understand and explain your faith.” The bible does say, “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear” (1 Pet 3:15-16). So the more we learn our faith, the more we pray, the more we equip the Holy Spirit to pull out of us what is the perfect response for the moment of necessity. Joan of Arc was asked in her trial, “Do you know whether or not you are in God’s grace?” Her response, filled with faith, was, “If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.” That brilliant response didn’t come out of thin air. That was inspired from her deep life of faith. She didn’t sit in her cell preparing to give that answer. But it came from deep within her, and was her response inspired by the Holy Spirit. But also the story of St. Joan of Arc can remind us that just because “your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” your wisdom doesn’t necessarily mean your persecutors will admit they were wrong and you’ll be free to go.
And lastly, I saw a quote the other day, “If the devil can’t destroy you, he’ll distract you.” (Alternatively, “If the devil can’t make us bad, he’ll make us busy.” – Corrie Ten Boom). A lot of people waste a lot of time uselessly speculating about the end times. Don’t get caught up that game. It is (or can be) a distraction from the present moment, this moment in which we are called to be present and holy and give glory and thanks to God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us use this and every present moment to be holy, to be prepared. “Memento Mori” is not a call to live in fear. It’s simply a reminder (memento) always to be ready, so that we need not dread death with fear, but to pass through death to our long-awaited embrace of our Lord whom our heart has faithfully loved.
The Snarky Vicar 