Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 159
Reading 1
Lo, the day is coming, 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.
But for you who fear my name, there will arise
the sun of justice with its healing rays.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 9) The Lord comes to rule the earth with
justice.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth,
he will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
You know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day
we worked, so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you,
we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work,
neither should that one eat.
We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a
disorderly way,
by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.
Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly
and to eat their own food.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "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."
Then they asked him,
"Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"
He answered,
"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!
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."
Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
"Before all this happens, however,
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.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
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.
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,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Wherever there are two or more people gathered, there is a possibility of conflict. This is unavoidable because each of us are individuals with needs, wants, and desires that motivate us towards different goals. Complicating these interactions with each other further is the propensity for us to react negatively towards others who disagree with our goals and opinions, which are formed around the preservation of that which we deem important. We then self-justify our actions, convincing ourselves that we are doing nothing wrong. A vision of what things should be like is then constructed around a central core concept, which is us. Sometimes there is agreement, but only when it benefits all involved in the collective. This then leads to more conflict, because there are now groups opposing groups with no end in sight. The Church is not exempt from these things, because the Church is made up of people and no person is fully free from this condition because we all are corrupt in some way. The only thing we can do is try to overcome this state by keeping our focus on Jesus Christ.
All of our thoughts and actions should be focused on what God wants and not what we want. Setting aside our needs, wants, and desires then replacing them with God’s can automatically reduce our selfish inclinations which leads to sin. The prophet Malachi describes the presence of God as the sun of justice with its healing rays.” This is what is promised when we find ourselves living in the presence of God, now and forever. Selfishness is replaced with selflessness. We can find ourselves being led instead of leading ourselves to self-destruction. As Saint Augustine said,
“What then should the Christian do? He ought to use the world, not become its slave. And what does this mean? It means having, as though not having.”
In other words, we should live in the moment and enjoy what has been given to us by God while knowing that so much more is yet to come. The more is to come from God and not from the work of our own hands. Whatever is produced by our hard work should be used to move everyone we interact forward to God the Father. This all but eliminates the negative and lets the love of God pour in. With the presence of God and His will, all the darkness created by the wantonness of corporal things fades away. The Apostle Paul urged the Thessalonians to work together towards a common vision using him and Timothy as a model of conduct. He was concerned about conflict and them not having Jesus Christ as the central focus of their hard work. We too need to keep Jesus Christ as our vision. All conflict should be shunned and avoided. Earlier in the letter, Paul reminded them,
“But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”
As long as we are with God, then He is with us. This is where true joy is found: one unified vision guided by the will of God instead of everyone being torn apart by an ever-changing set of selfish needs, wants, and desires.
The most powerful words that Jesus spoke in the Gospel Reading today were,
“Do not be terrified.”
Whatever is happening in this world is of no consequence because it is temporary. As God said through the prophet Joel:
“Then everyone shall be rescued who calls upon the name of the Lord.”
We should remind ourselves constantly that regardless how dark is the night, there is always light. That light is Jesus Christ. When we move in one direction, with one purpose, there is nothing that can oppose us, because we are doing the will of God. Let us all recommit ourselves to God’s will and be thankful that we are His children. Next week marks the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. This is where we celebrate The Feast of Christ the King of the Universe. It is befitting, after all of these readings we read that has encompassed Final Judgement, that we are then reminded what our final destination is to be: into the welcoming arms of He who loves us the most. We should not worry about the trivial things that come before that which is eternal: our savior and our God.
Deacon Tom
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