Ml 3:19-20a
2 Th 3: 7-12
Lc 21: 5-19
From Advent to Christ the King, the liturgical year offers an exploration of the whole mystery of Christ. It begins with the announcement by the prophets and John the Baptist of his first coming which we then celebrate at Christmas. It finishes with the meditation of Christ’s second coming, at the end of the ages, when “he will come again to judge the living and the dead”.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of time which is divided in two periods around Him. The first period goes from the creation of the world to the first coming of Christ in the Incarnation. The second one begins with Christ’s resurrection and finishes with His second coming in glory at the end of times. Time thus leads to Christ; it comes from Christ and goes to Christ. To be in time is to walk towards Christ, who is the King of the Universe and the real axis of human time.
Our baptism has plunged us into the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. We are now orientated towards Christ’s second coming. Christ is the goal of our individual life. We are going to Him. Christ’s second coming will mean the end of the present world as we know it. We shall therefore not find our fulfilment on earth. Rather, we are called to enter by faith the kingdom of the Risen Christ and to live our life in the Spirit of the Father.
Today’s gospel is clear. There will be an end to this world, and this will be prepared by dramatic events: wars, earthquakes and pestilences, terrors and signs in heaven, and for the disciples hate, persecution and death. In fact, these signs of the end have accompanied the life of the Church over the centuries. Each new Christian generation lives with the perspective of the end. We work, we build, we plant, we have children and we prepare the future, but at the same time the eyes of our hearts are turned to God and to the city He has prepared for us in heaven.
What is remarkable in today’s Gospel is not so much the announcement of the signs of the end than Jesus’ tone of encouragement, hope and indeed victory. “Don’t be terrified”, don’t panic, He says: this world is fragile, but God’s love is solid. If persecuted, understand that you are given an opportunity for “testimony”. Jesus will be with you and share with you His divine wisdom. You might have to die but be assured that the hairs of your head are counted. You are known and loved. You are called to endurance, that is to say, to embrace patience and trust. You will be tested, not on your strength but on your hope.
These words of Jesus are pronounced just before His passion. Already, He is facing death. He walks to a terrible trial, but above all, to victory. And He shares with us the key to His unique dignity in all His sufferings. Just as He trusts that His Father’s love will be victorious in the resurrection, He invites us to put all our hope in His resurrection. Christ crucified and risen from the dead is our hope and already the source of a peace which the world cannot know.