HOMILY FOR 33RD SUNDAY IN OT—B

THIS IS A DIFFICULT CHAPTER IN MARK BECAUSE IT IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE SHOULD DO IN THE HERE AND NOW IN TERMS OF WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.  IT IS NOT ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD BUT RATHER HOW TO LIVE IN IT.  IF WE WENT ON TO READ THE NEXT FEW VERSES, THE MESSAGE WOULD BE CLEARER.  IN THOSE VERSES JESUS TALKS ABOUT HOW THE SERVANTS SHOULD ACT WHEN THE MASTER GOES ON A TRIP.  THEY SHOULD ACT LIKE THEY EXPECT THE MASTER TO RETURN AT ANY MINUTE.  THAT’S THE WAY WE SHOULD ACT.  WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN OUR MASTER JESUS WILL RETURN.  SO WE SHOULD FOLLOW HIS WORDS WHICH CONCLUDE THE CHAPTER: ‘WHAT I SAY TO YOU I SAY TO ALL—BE ON THE WATCH!’  WHAT WE’VE LEARNED FROM JESUS WORDS IS THAT YES THE WORLD WILL END BUT THAT THOSE WHO CONSTANTLY PERSEVERE IN HOPE AND FAITH WILL BE SAVED.

TWO OTHER THINGS ARE WORTH MENTIONING ABOUT THIS CHAPTER.

FIRST, SOME SAY THAT JESUS WAS IN ERROR WHEN HE SAID ALL THESE THINGS WERE TO HAPPEN BEFORE THE PRESENT GENERATION PASSED AWAY.  HE WASN’T.  IN THAT SECTION OF THE CHAPTER, JESUS WAS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE END TIMES BUT ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE.  WE KNOW THAT FOR TWO REASONS.  THE FIRST REASON IS THAT WHEN THE CHAPTER BEGINS JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES HAVE JUST LEFT THE TEMPLE AND HAVE TURNED TO LOOK AT IT AND TALK ABOUT IT.  THE SECOND REASON JESUS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE END TIMES IS THAT IN THE VERY NEXT SENTENCE HE SAYS HE DOESN’T KNOW WHEN THAT DAY WILL BE SO HOW COULD HE SAY THAT IT WOULD OCCUR BEFORE THIS GENERATION WOULD PASS AWAY.

THE SECOND IS SOME PEOPLE’S PENCHANT FOR TRYING TO PREDICT THE END OF THE WORLD.  PEOPLE TALK OF THE SECOND COMING HAPPENING SOON BECAUSE OF ALL THE SIGNS.  THEY MUST THEN KNOW SOMETHING JESUS DOESN’T BECAUSE HE SAYS THAT TIME IS ONLY KNOWN BY THE FATHER.  SUCH SPECULATION IS ACTUALLY VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT CAN BE TAKEN AS BLASPHEMY.  A BETTER TITLE WOULD BE THE SIN OF PRESUMPTION SINCE, WHEN WE TRY TO PREDICT THE END OF THE WORLD, WE ARE PRESUMING WE ARE GREATER THAN JESUS AND CO-EQUAL WITH THE FATHER.

IN CLOSING, IN THIS CHAPTER JESUS DRAWS A VERY PRACTICAL CONCLUSION.  WE KNOW HE WILL RETURN BUT WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN.  WE LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF ETERNITY, BUT THAT IS NO REASON FOR FEAR.  THE CONCLUSION IS VERY, VERY SIMPLE.  WE MUST LIVE OUR LIVES SO THAT IT DOESN’T MATTER WHEN HE COMES.  WE JUST NEED TO MAKE EVERY DAY FIT FOR THE LORD AND BE READY TO MEET HIM FACE TO FACE WHENEVER HE DECIDES TO RETURN.  WE MUST LIVE CORRECTLY IN THE NOW FOR THE SAKE OF THE FUTURE.