33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

November 17, 2019

Readings:

First Reading: Malachi 3: 19-20a

Psalm 98 “The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.”

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12

Gospel reading according to Luke 21: 5-19

+

Homily: 

The Temple in Jerusalem was one of the most beautiful temples in the Ancient Near East and of all over the Mediterranean Sea.  Its pillars of the porches and of the cloisters were columns of white marble, forty feet high, each one made of one single block of stone.  Of the ornaments, the most famous was the great vine made of solid gold, each of whose clusters was as tall as a man, as described by William Barclay (The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, 1985, p. 258).   Josephus, a Jewish historian, described the Temple as it stood in the time of Jesus, wrote, The outward face of the Temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise either men’s minds or their eyes, for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and, at the first rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery splendor, and made those who forced themselves to look upon it to turn their eyes away, just as they would have done at the sun's own rays.  But the Temple appeared to strangers, when they were at a distance, like a mountain covered with snow, for, as to those parts of it that were not gilt (gold), they were exceeding white (Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, book 5, section 5; William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, 1985, p. 259).  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'. (Luke 21: 5-6).  People were discussing about the beauty and the splendor of the Temple, (outside, façade) for truly it was, since it was covered by gold plated leaves and vines surrounding the pillars made of white marbles.  Jesus commented by prophesying. He said to those people full of awe and wonder that the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.  This meant a total destruction.  His prophesy happened in A.D. 70 when the Roman armies after a desperate siege in which the inhabitants of Jerusalem was reduced to cannibalism and in which the city had to be taken literary stone by stone (Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, p. 258). 

In order to prove a certain saying or prophesy, the Jewish people often ask for a sign.  There is a saying in their idiom or jargon: To see is to believe.   Then they asked him, 'Teacher, when will this happen?  And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?' (Luke 21: 7).  They asked Jesus the exact day it will happen and the sign indicating its happening.  He answered, 'See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'  Do not follow them!' (Luke 21: 8).  Jesus said that many will come and say I am he, that they are Jesus.  And truly many come saying they are Jesus, they are son of god, they are sent by god; even in our present time, like for example in Davao, the pastor there is saying that he is the son of god, and still many others were claiming that they were he, who came and gone.  Others also were saying the Time has come to their members, that is why many among their members were committing suicide, we called them the Dooms Day cults, the End Time cults, etc., where their leaders are taking advantages of the weaknesses of their members, especially women, girls and rich members ether to give themselves to their leaders or their properties.

In our daily news, we read, see and hear, for example, Seven dead in Iraq as security forces clear protest sites; Hugh Hong Kong rally after student dies and lawmakers arrested; Clashes erupt on anniversary of Arafat's death, Palestinian killed; Turkey begins deporting foreign jihadists, and many other news throughout the world, we cannot imagine life being lost, sacrificed, killed or murdered because of principles, religions, ideologies, etc.  But still Jesus said, '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' (Luke 21: 9). These things must happen first, but it is not yet the end for more calamities, anxieties, wars, destruction will come to cleanse the world from its sinfulness.  Then he said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom' (Luke 21: 10).  Many nations will fight against one another due to political, socio-economic, and cultural motivations. Kings fighting other kings due to territories, sakop, extent of powers, military might, stretching of arms and armaments, and so on and so forth. We are not safe in this time due to human-made disasters or environmental degradation, ruin, and dreadful conditions, ang hagupit ng kalikasan, because of humans.  'There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place, and awesome signs and mighty signs will come from the sky' (Luke 21: 11).  Amazon, California, Indonesia and Australia bush-fires leave three dead, at least 150 home lost; 20 dead as Cyclone Bulbul smashes into India, Bangladesh coasts; Iceland students see chilling reality of melting glacier; Three times earthquakes in Mindanao and another in Batanes; Floods, landslides in Pangasinan and some parts of Cagayan Valley due to typhoons, Africa suffered drought, famine, etc., and many other natural and environmental disasters.  These were predicted by Jesus for us to be always prepared and be ready and alert in times of calamities, disasters, wars, famines, etc., and above all, to have faith in him.

Again, it is not the end time yet for there will be persecution also among us, his followers.  'Before the end 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' (Luke 21: 12).  Because of our faith, hope, and love to Jesus the world who hates Jesus will also hate us.  It they were able to persecute Jesus body and soul, wounded his sacred heart, rejected his being as Son of God, and even His Lordship and as God by his enemies (Satan and his demons), how much more we who are followers of him will not experience the same experience he suffered and endured. All of us who follow him will experience what he had experience because of his name we proclaim, worship and praise.  We must be ready and prepare to offer ourselves to our persecutors for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer.  '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' (Luke 21: 13-15).  We are his witnesses by giving testimony of our lives and deeds as Christians.  But, he guarantees us that he is there to help us what to say or what to do for he is the one who will teach us what to say or do.  We will not go wrong in defense, dispute or argument with our enemies and/or persecutors.  They will have no match in our defense, argument and dispute for Jesus is the one defending on us against his enemies.

Even those people whom you do not expect to betray you, whom you know and close to you in the end you will discover that they too are your enemies.  'You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends and they will put some of you to death' (Luke 21: 16).  Our family members, relatives and friends, those people whom we trusted and loved might be the ones who will betray us, destroy us and even put us to death by handing over us to our opponents.  All people will hate us for following Jesus Christ. 'You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed' (Luke 21: 17-18).  But then again, Jesus is always at the rescue, at our side to protect and defend us, body and soul.  He will never allow us to loss, injure and defeat, not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

In all these predicaments we must be persistent in patient endurance, in our faith and perseverance to Jesus Christ.  'By your perseverance you will secure your lives' (Luke 21: 19), and believe that everything will pass away for the betterment of our spiritual and physical lives.  The Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed, as prophesied by Jesus Christ; there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down,  but it will be restored as our body the new Temple of God; famines, wars, earthquake and other environmental calamities will come and go but our resiliency will prove our strong faith in God's power.  Everything will change for the better; even our family members and friends who persecute us will be changed to Christian family of brothers and sisters in one Lord and God.  By our perseverance we will be secured, guaranteed by Christ Jesus.