Homily
for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)
Based
on Mk 13:24-32 (Gospel),
Dn 12:1-3
(First Reading) and Heb 10:11-14,18 (Second Reading)
From
the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
SIGNS OF
THE END
“There will be
signs in the sun and moon and stars” (Lk 21:25)
The Gospel Reading for this 33rd
Sunday in Ordinary Time is taken from Mk 13:24-32.
Verse 24 says: “But in
those days after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will
lose its brightness,
Parallel texts are:
1.
Mt 24:29-31 - Immediately after the distress of those
daysm the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness,
the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven will be shakenn
(v. 29). And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven;o
then too all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.p
(v. 30). And he will send his angels with aloud trumpetq to gather
his chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.r
Footnote m says “Join with v. 25; vv. 26-28 are a digression”;
Footnote n says “Cf. Jr 4:23-26; Ezk 32:7f; Am 8:9; Mi 1:3-4;
Jl 2:10; 3:4; 4:15 and especially Is 13:9-10; 34:4; the text repeats the
phrases of the last two references. The ‘powers of heaven’ are the stars and
all the other celestial forces”; Footnote o says “For
the Fathers this ‘sign’ was Christ’s cross but possibly it is Christ himself
proving by the triumph of his kingdom on earth that he has truly risen and is
in glory”; Footnote p says “In
these words Daniel foretold the establishment of the messianic kingdom by a Son
of Man coming on the clouds. The cloud is the usual accompaniment of both OT
and NT theophanies: Ex. 13:22+; 19:16+; 34:5+; Lv 16:2; 1 K 8:10-11; Ps 18:11;
97:2; 104:3; Is 19:1; Jr. 4:13Ezk 1:4; 10:3f; 2 M 2:8. For NT, cf. Mt 17:5; Ac
1:9,11; 1 Th 4:17; Rv 1:7; 14:14”; Footnote q says “Add.
‘and a voice’”; Footnote r says “Lit.
‘from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to their ends’, a composite
formula from Zc 2:10 and Dt 30:4, texts which treat of the reunion of scattered
Israel, cf. Ezk 37:9 and Ne 1:9. See also Is 27:13. Here therefore as in vv. 22
and 24, the ‘chosen’ are those Jews that Yahweh will rescue from the ruin of
their nation in order to admit them, along with the pagans, into his kingdom v.
30.”
2. Lk 21:25-27 - There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars;
on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamor of the ocean and its waves
(v. 25); men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers
of heaven will be shaken (v. 26). And then they will see the Son of Man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory (v. 27).
Verses 25 and 26 say: the stars will come falling
from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory;
Parallel texts for verse 26 are:
1.
Mt 14:26
- ‘I am,’ said Jesus ‘and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand
of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.’
2.
Dn
7:13-14 - ‘I gazed into the vision of
the night. And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man.k
He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence (v. 13). On him
was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations
and languages became his servants (v. 14). Footnote k says “Like the Hebrew ben adam, the Aram. Bar
nasha used here, has the primary eaning ‘man’, cf. Ps 8:4. In Ezk. God
addresses the prophet thus. But here in Dn the expression signifies a man who
is mysteriously more than human. That it indicates an individual is attested by
early Jewish apocryphal writings (Enoch, 2 Esd) inspired by this passage, as
also by rabbinical tradition from the 2nd to the 9th
centuries, and most particularly by Jesus, who applies it to himself, cf. Mt
8:20+. That it has a collective sense also is deduced from v. 18 (and v. 22)
where the ‘son of man’ and the saints of the Most High’ seem more or less
identified. But the collective (and equally messianic sense is an extension of
the individual sense; the ‘son of man’ being leader, representative and
exemplar of the saints of the Most High. It was with this in mind that St.
Ephraim believed that the prophecy applied first to the Jews (the Maccabees),
but beyond this, and perfectly, to Jesus.”
3. Mt
8:20 - Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Manh has nowhere
to lay his head.’ Footnote h
says “With the exception of Ac 7:56, Rv
1:13; 14:14; this title appears only in the
gospels. There is no doubt that Jesus used it of himself, and indeed
preferred it to others. At times he uses it to express his lowly state, 8:20;
11:19; 20:28, especially the humiliation of the Passion, 17:22, etc. At others
times it is used to proclaim the definitive triumph of his resurrection, 17:9,
of his return in glory, 24:30; of his coming in judgment, 25:31. That this
title, Aramaic in flavor, could bring together these seemingly opposed qualities is clear from the following
considerations. The phrase originally meant ‘man’, Ezk. 2:1+, and by reason of
its unusual and indirect form it underlined the lowliness of man’s state. But
the title suggested glory, too. It was used in Dn 7:13+, and later in the
Jewish apocalyptic Book of Enoch, to indicate the transcendent figure, heavenly
in origin, who was to receive from God’s hand the eschatological kingdom (the
kingdom ‘at the end of times’). In this way therefore the title both veiled and
hinted at (cf. Mk. 1:34+; Mt. 13:13+) the sort of Messiah Jesus was. Moreover,
the explicit avowal in the presence of the Sanhedrin, 26:64+, should have
removed all ambiguity.”
Verses 27 to 32 say: Then too he will send the angels to gather
his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the end of
heaven. Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and
its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. So with you when you see
these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates. I tell you
solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things have taken
place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ‘But
of that day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the
Son; no one but the Father.
Parallel texts for verse 28 are:
1.
Mt 24:32-36 - Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and
its leaves come out, you know that summer is near (v. 32). So with you when you
see these things: know that hes is near, at the very gates (v. 33).
I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things
will have taken placet (v. 34). Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away (v. 35) But as for that day and hour, nobody knows
it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son u; no one but the
Father only (v. 36). Footnote s says “The Son of Man coming to establish his kingdom”; Footnote t says “This
statement refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and not to the end of the
world. In the course of his preaching Jesus probably made the distinction
between these two things clearer, cf. 24:1+ and 16:28+”; and Footnote u says “Om.
(Vulg.) ‘nor the Son’, probably for theological reasons. Christ as man received
from the Father the knowledge of everything that has to do with his mission
but, as he explicitly asserts in this passage, he could be ignorant of certain
elements in the divine plan.”
2. Lk
21:29-33 - And he told them a parable,
‘Think of the fig tree and indeed every tree (v. 29). As soon as you see them
bud, you know that summer is now near (v. 30). So with you when you see these
things happening; know that the kingdom of God is near; g (v. 31) I
tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all will have taken
place (v. 32). Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away (v. 33). Footnote g
says “The kingdom has already
come, 17:21, but this refers to the period of its triumphant progress which
begins with the destruction of Jerusalem. Cf. 9:27p.”
The First Reading is from Dn 12:1-3.
Verse 1 says: ‘At
that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who mounts guard over your
people. There is going to be a time of great distress, unparalleled since
nations first came into existence. When that time comes, your own people will
be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book.a
Footnote a says “The book of the Predestinate, or the Book of
Life, cf. Ex 32:32-33; Ps 69:28; 139:16; Is 4:3; Lk 10:20; Rv 20:12+. See also
Dn 7:10+.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Dn
10:13 - The prince of the kingdom of
Persia has been resisting me for twenty-one days, but Michael,c one
of the leading princes, came to my assistance… Footnote c says “The
angel of Yahweh who confronts Satan in Zc 3:1-2 is called Michael (‘Who is like
God?’) in Jude 9, where he leaves Satan’s condemnation to God. The same
conflict is described in Rv 12:7-12. Michael is the guardian angel of the
people of God (v. 21 and 12:1), cf. Ex 23:20+). The prince of Persia is
apparently one of the guardian angels of the nations. This championing of
opposed sides by different angels signifies that the fate of nations is a
secret awaiting God’s revelation and hidden from the angels themselves.”
2. Jos
5:14-15 - He answered, ‘No, I am captain of the army of Yahweh, and now I
come…’ Joshua fell on his face to the ground and worshipped him and said, ‘What
are my Lord’s commands to his servant?’ (v. 14). The captain of the army of
Yahweh answered Joshua, ‘Take your sandals off your feet, for the place you are
standing on is holy’. And Joshua obeyed (v. 15).
3. Jr
30:7 - This is indeed a great day, no other like it: a time of distress for
Jacob; but he will be freed from it.
4. Lm
1:12 - All youf who pass this
way, look and see: is any sorrow like the sorrow that afflicts me, with which
Yahweh has struck me on the day of his burning anger? Footnote f says “Lit.
‘O all you’ corr. Cf. Vulg.; ‘not for you; Hebr.”
5. Jl
2:2 - Day of darkness and gloom, day of cloud and blackness. Like the dawn there
spreads across the mountains a vast and mighty host, such as has never been
before, such as will never be again to the remotest ages.
6. Mt
24:21 - For then there will be great
distress such as, until now, since the world began, there never has been, nor ever will be again.j Footnote
j says “Cf. Ex 10:14+; 11:6; Jl 30:7; Ba 2:2; Jl
2:2Dn 12:1; 1 M 9:27; Rv 16:18.”
Verse 2 says: Of
those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth many will awake, some to
everlasting life, some to same and everlasting disgrace.b Footnote
b says “One of the key texts of the OT on the resurrection of the body, cf. 2 M
7:9+.”
Parallel texts are:
1. 1
S 25:29 - Should men set out to hunt you
down and try to take your life, my lord’s life will be kept close in the sachel
of lifei with Yahweh your God, but as for the lives of your enemies
he will fling them away, as from a sling. Footnote i says “God
takes care of his friends’ lives as man would
as a treasure. The image is similar to that of the ‘book of life’, Ps
69:28; Is 4:3; Dn 12:1; Rv 3:5.”
2. 2
M 7:9 - With his last breath he
exclaimed, ‘Inhuman fiend, you may discharge us from this present life, but the
King of the world will raise us up, since it is for his laws that we die, to
live again forever’.a Footnote a says “Belief
in the resurrection of the body, not clearly expressed in Is 26:19 and Jb
19:26-27 (see notes) is here asserted for the first time, vv.9,11,14,23,29,36,
and in Dn 12:2-3 (again in the context of Antiochus Epiphanes’ persecution, Dn
11). Cf. also 2 M. 12:38-45+; 14:46. By the power of the creator the martyrs
will rise again, v. 23 to a life, v. 14, cf. Jn 5:29, which is eternal, vv.
9,36. At this point we encounter the doctrine of immortality which will be
developed in the atmosphere of Greek thought and without reference to the
resurrection of the body, by Ws 3:1-5:16. For Hebr. thought however, which
makes no distinction between soul and body, the notion of survival implied a
physical resurrection, as we see here. The text does not explicitly teach
universal resurrection, and is only concerned with the case of the virtuous,
cf. v. 14, Dn 12:2-3 is clearer.”
3.
Ezk 37:10 - I
prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life
again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.d
Footnote d says “Here,
as in Ho 6:2, 13:14 and Is 26:19, God announces, vv. 11-14, the messianic
restoration of Israel after the sufferings of the Exile, cf. Rv 20:4+. But
also, by the imagery chosen, he is already preparing minds for the idea of an
individual resurrection of the body, vaguely perceived in Jb 19:25+ and
explicitly stated in Dn 12:2; 2 M 7:9-14,23-36; 12:43-46; cf 2 M7:9+. For the
NT, see Mt 22:29-32 and especially 1 Co 15.”
4.
Jn 5:29…those who did good will rise to life;
and those who did evil, to condemnation.
Verse 3 says: The learned c
will shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who those who have
instructed many in virtue,d as bright as stars for all eternity.
Footnote c says “Cf. 11:35”; and Footnote d says “Lit.
‘those who have made (men) virtuous’. Hence ‘teachers of virtue’. The preceding
verse suggests that the reference here is not only to the great name that the
devout leave behind them, as in Ws 1:7 and Is 1:31, but to an eschatological
transformation of the whole person into a glorified state.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Is
66:24 - And on their way out they shall see the corpses of men who have rebelled against me. Their worm will not die,
nor their fire go out; they will be loathsome to all mankind.
2.
Jg 5:31 - ‘So
perish all your enemies, Yahweh! And let those who love youx be like
the sun when he rises in all his strength!’ And the land enjoyed rest for forty
years. Footnote x
says “‘who love you’ Greek and Lat. ‘who love him’ Hebr.”
3. Ws
3:7 - When the time comes for his visitationd they will shine out;
as sparks run through the stubble, so will they.e Footnote d
says “Lit. ‘in the day of their visitation’, cf. Ex
3:16+”; and Footnote e
says “Symbolizing the triumph of Israel over all
enemies, who perish like stubble in the fire, Is. 1:3 (LXX), Jr. 5:14; Zc 12:6;
Ml 3:19.”
4. Mt
13:43 - Then the virtuous will shine
like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.j Listen, anyone who has
ears! Footnote j says “To the kingdom of the Son (the messianic
kingdom) of v. 41 there succeeds the kingdom of the Father to whom the Son
commits the elect whom he has saved. Cf Mt 25:34; 1 Co 15:24.”
5. 1
Co 15:41-42 - The sun has its brightness, the moon a different brightness, and
the stars a different brightness, and the stars differ from each other in
brightness (v. 41). It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing
that is sown is contemptible but when it is raised is imperishable (v. 42).
6. Dn
8:10 - It grew right up to the armies of
heaven and flung armies and starsj to the ground, and trampled them
underfoot. Footnote j says “The
stars symbolize the people of God, 12:3. (And vf. Mt. 13:43).”
The Second Reading is Heb 10:11-14,18.
Verse 11 says: All the priests
stand at their duties every day, offering over and over again the same
sacrifices which are quite incapable of taking sins away.
Parallel
text is Heb 10:1-4 that says: So, since the Law has no more than a
reflection of these realities, and no
finished picture of them, it is quite incapable of bringing the worshippers to
perfection, with the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year (v. 1).
Otherwise, the offering of them would have stopped, because the worshippers,
when they had been purified once, would
have no awareness of sins (v. 2). Instead of that, the sins are recalled year
after year in the sacrifices (v. 3). Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless
for taking away sins (v. 4)…
Verse 12 says: He, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins,
and taking his place forever, at the right hand of God,
Parallel texts are:
1.
Heb 7:27
…one who would not need to offer
sacrifice every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then
for those of the people, because he has done this once and for allg
by offering himself. Footnote g says “The
one and only sacrifice of Christ is the center of salvation history, Ac 1:7+.
It closes a long epoch of preparations, 1:1f, cf. Rm 10:4; it occurs ‘at the
appointed time’, Ga. 4:4+, Rm 3:26+, and it begins the eschatological epoch.
Though the Last Day, 1 Co 1:8+; Rm 2:6+, will follow, 2 Co 6:2+, only at some
unspecified, 1 Th 5:1+, time in the future; salvation for the human race has
been in essence certain from the moment when, in the person of Christ, it died
to sin and rose to live again. Heb makes a special point of how the whole of
this hope flow from the absolute, unique, unrepeatable sacrifice of Christ,
7:27; 9:12,26,28; 10:10; cf. Rm 6:10; 1 P 3:18. Being unrepeatable, 10:12-14,
this sacrifice is different from all
others in the O.T. that had to be repeated again and again because they were
unable to actually to save anyone.”
2.
Heb
10:10 - And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body
made once and for all by Jesus Christ
Verse 13 says: where he is now waiting until
his enemies are made into a footstool for him.
Parallel texts are:
1. Ps 110:1 - The Messiah: king and priesta
Yahweh’s oracle to you, my Lord, ‘Sit at my right handb and I will
make your enemies a footstoolc for you. Footnote a says “The
prerogatives of the Messiah, worldwide sovereignty and perpetual priesthood,
cf. 2 S 7:1+; Zc 6:12-13, are no more conferred by earthly investiture than
were those of the mysterious Melchizedek (Gn 14:18+. V. 1 is accepted in the NT
epistles and elsewhere as a prophecy of the ascension of Christ to the right
hand of the Father”; Footnote b says “The
risen Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, Rm 8:34, Heb 10:12, 1 P
3:22”; and Footnote c says “Cf.
Jos 10:24; Dn 7:14.”
2.
Ac 2:33 - Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand,s he has received from the father the Holy
Spirit, who was promised,t and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.
Footnote s says “Words borrowed from Ps. 118 (v.16 LXX ‘The
right hand of the Lord has raised me up’) used in their preaching by the
apostles who took it to be messianic: Ac 4:11, 1 P 2:7, Mt 21:9p,42p, 23:39, Lk
13:35, Jn 12:13, Heb 13:6. But it is possible to translate. ‘ Having raised up
to the right hand of God’ and to se in this an introduction to the quotation
(v.34) of Ps. 110); which is another name of Apostolic preaching: Mt.
22:44p,26:64p, Mk 16:19, Ac 7:55,56, Rm 8:34, 1Co. 15:25, Ep. 1:20 Col. 3:1,
Heb. 1:3,13, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, 1 P.3:22; and Footnote t says “According
to the prophets, the gif of the Spirit would characterize the messianic era, Ex. 36:27+. Peter explains
the miracle his bearers have witnessed as the ‘pouring out’ of this spirit,
foretold in Jl 3:1-2 by the risen Christ."
Verses 14
and 18 say: By virtue of this one
offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying.
…When all sins have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offering.
Parallel texts for verse 14 are:
1.
Heb 11:40 …since
God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to
reach perfection except with us.i Footnote
i says “The eschatological epoch of ‘perfection’ was
inaugurated by Christ, 2:10; 5:9; 7:28; 10:14; and access to the divine life has been made
available only by him, 9:11f; 10:19f;. The OT saints, who could not be
‘perfected’ by the Law, 7:19; 9:9; 10:1; had thus to wait till the resurrection
of Christ before they could enter the perfect life of heaven, 12:23, cf. Mt
27:52f; 1 P 3:19+.”
2.
Jn 17:19 - And
for their sake I consecrate myself,n so that they also may be
consecrated in truth.o Footnote n
says “Jesus offers himself in sacrifice for his followers”; and Footnote
o says “Dedicated
to God’s worship ‘in spirit and truth’”.
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