Father Koch: The End is Always Near
November 15, 2024 at 2:24 p.m.
Gospel Reflection for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we enter the final weeks of Ordinary Time the Liturgy begins to focus on the end of history and the final judgment. This theme also carries into the Advent Season as the birth of the Messiah prefigures and points us to the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time.
In the Temple precincts just days before his own death, Jesus delivers a message with very strong eschatological overtones using apocalyptic language to both highlight and obscure the message.
On the one hand this is nothing new. Apocalyptic fervor and waiting for the fulfillment of the promises of the Kingdom of God are as old as religion itself, predating the teaching of Jesus. While the Jewish and other pre-Christian peoples lacked the vision and teaching of Jesus, there is an innate sense within humanity that at some point history will end, and some kind of final judgment will occur. Virtually every ancient culture carries these themes in their mythic systems and some seem to be obsessed with this finality.
As the Romans controlled the city of Jerusalem and pockets of rebellion against the Pax Romana were persistent among the Jews, there was an undercurrent of hope that God would act in dramatic ways to save his people from oppression and return the kingdom to its promised place in the world.
While Jesus avoided the politically charged language, the suspicions among the Jewish people, fueled likely by his disciples, that he was the Messiah, built upon this hope among the people. Of course, as many were hopeful, many were also afraid of the consequences of the messianic talk.
In preparing for the Paschal events that will be transformative in salvation history, Jesus does need to address those eschatological expectations. As is common with his teaching, Jesus poses an eschatological teaching that is at the same time distant and immediate. Leaving those who heard him to wonder whether the kingdom is here, coming soon, or coming sometime in the distant future.
This has caused much confusion for the church from the beginning. Many early Christians, including Saint Paul, believed that Jesus was coming back within their generation. This assertion was based on a line that we hear in this Gospel passage as Jesus clearly states: “Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” One of the earliest crises of the early church centered on this unrealized expectation.
Due to the uncertainty of the world, the mistrust of religious leaders, and the many alleged apparitions of the Blessed Mother and a host of angels and saints, apocalyptic language and eschatological warnings abound. Various social media and internet platforms fuel these ideas, and often pair them with other popular prognosticators from the recent and distant past.
Jesus talks about the end times in vague terms because it is uncertain. This does not mean that there is no certainty to the event, but there is always a question as to the when. Jesus specifically leaves out the details, other than to say to his disciples that each day, each moment of history, and each epoch in which we live is the end times. The Kingdom of God is always present with us and within us. The Kingdom of God is always here and still unfinished or incomplete. When does Jesus return in his glory and end history -- no one knows, and anyone who says that they do know, is either mistaken or an intentional deceiver.
The warnings of Jesus about the coming of the Kingdom of God must be read in light of what he commands us to do: to love God and to love our neighbor, by feeding the poor, lifting up the downtrodden, and welcoming the stranger. Nothing else really matters.
The tendency to focus on the final times means that we tend to lose a sense of intimacy with the Kingdom of God here and now.
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Gospel Reflection for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we enter the final weeks of Ordinary Time the Liturgy begins to focus on the end of history and the final judgment. This theme also carries into the Advent Season as the birth of the Messiah prefigures and points us to the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time.
In the Temple precincts just days before his own death, Jesus delivers a message with very strong eschatological overtones using apocalyptic language to both highlight and obscure the message.
On the one hand this is nothing new. Apocalyptic fervor and waiting for the fulfillment of the promises of the Kingdom of God are as old as religion itself, predating the teaching of Jesus. While the Jewish and other pre-Christian peoples lacked the vision and teaching of Jesus, there is an innate sense within humanity that at some point history will end, and some kind of final judgment will occur. Virtually every ancient culture carries these themes in their mythic systems and some seem to be obsessed with this finality.
As the Romans controlled the city of Jerusalem and pockets of rebellion against the Pax Romana were persistent among the Jews, there was an undercurrent of hope that God would act in dramatic ways to save his people from oppression and return the kingdom to its promised place in the world.
While Jesus avoided the politically charged language, the suspicions among the Jewish people, fueled likely by his disciples, that he was the Messiah, built upon this hope among the people. Of course, as many were hopeful, many were also afraid of the consequences of the messianic talk.
In preparing for the Paschal events that will be transformative in salvation history, Jesus does need to address those eschatological expectations. As is common with his teaching, Jesus poses an eschatological teaching that is at the same time distant and immediate. Leaving those who heard him to wonder whether the kingdom is here, coming soon, or coming sometime in the distant future.
This has caused much confusion for the church from the beginning. Many early Christians, including Saint Paul, believed that Jesus was coming back within their generation. This assertion was based on a line that we hear in this Gospel passage as Jesus clearly states: “Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” One of the earliest crises of the early church centered on this unrealized expectation.
Due to the uncertainty of the world, the mistrust of religious leaders, and the many alleged apparitions of the Blessed Mother and a host of angels and saints, apocalyptic language and eschatological warnings abound. Various social media and internet platforms fuel these ideas, and often pair them with other popular prognosticators from the recent and distant past.
Jesus talks about the end times in vague terms because it is uncertain. This does not mean that there is no certainty to the event, but there is always a question as to the when. Jesus specifically leaves out the details, other than to say to his disciples that each day, each moment of history, and each epoch in which we live is the end times. The Kingdom of God is always present with us and within us. The Kingdom of God is always here and still unfinished or incomplete. When does Jesus return in his glory and end history -- no one knows, and anyone who says that they do know, is either mistaken or an intentional deceiver.
The warnings of Jesus about the coming of the Kingdom of God must be read in light of what he commands us to do: to love God and to love our neighbor, by feeding the poor, lifting up the downtrodden, and welcoming the stranger. Nothing else really matters.
The tendency to focus on the final times means that we tend to lose a sense of intimacy with the Kingdom of God here and now.