Living in hope while awaiting Christ’s return

Nov 15, 2024

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Readings: Daniel 12:1-3;
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18;
Gospel: Mark 13:24-32

Ever since humanity started looking heavenwards and admiring the beauty of the cosmos, our imagination has been seized by the various celestial bodies and events that occur from time to time. Even today, we are still fascinated by what is happening out there in space, as evidenced by the various space probes that have been sent out. These probes allow us to observe what the naked eye cannot see and reveal to us the grandeur of creation and how unfathomable space can be. Therefore, it is not surprising that Jesus Himself used celestial imageries in today’s Gospel to portray His second coming.

At the start of the Gospel, Jesus describes what we know today as solar and lunar eclipse and meteor showers. After describing these events, He goes on to say that people will see His coming in power and glory. This is the basis of so many prophecies, predictions and promises of various cults and their leaders. Throughout human history, humanity has been trying to figure out when the end will come. I think all of us will remember the movie 2012, where there was speculation about the end of the Mayan calendar which signified the end of the world. Of course, it was later clarified that the end of the calendar just meant the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one.

This gives us an indication that many people want to know for certain when the end will come. Scientifically, the world will not end for a long, long time but that is seen from the empirical point of view. Further on in the Gospel, Jesus gives the example of the fig tree, telling us that when its leaves come out, summer is near. We see all these celestial events taking place and Jesus tells us that He is very near. The statement that convinced people during the time of Jesus that the end was near was that “before this generation has passed away”, all these things will have taken place. This was why the early Christians thought that the second coming would happen in their lifetime. But it didn’t, and the waiting continued, and it continues even now. Does that mean that Jesus was wrong? Did He give us wrong or misleading information? To answer that question, we need to look further into the text.

Throughout the ages, many people have tried to figure out when exactly the second coming will occur, even to the extent of reading too much into Scripture to find references that are not there, especially from the Apocalyptic literature. The fact is that we didn’t need to waste all that time and energy because Jesus tells us very clearly that “as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.” This statement clearly tells us that Jesus did not give us the wrong information or deliberately mislead us. After all, all He said was before this generation passed away, all the celestial events that He described would have taken place and since these are naturally occurring phenomenon, they have taken place for many generations.

This begs the question – is it that important to know when the end will come? Even if we knew the exact date and hour of the occurrence, will it do us any good? The reality is that there will always be people who believe it or dismiss it as complete nonsense. I think the better question would be “how do I live my life before the end comes?” We cannot control the future but we certainly can control the present. What we do now in the present will definitely affect our future. If we keep on looking at the horizon, we will forget the very things that are in front of us. Whatever happens in the future, the story of our life is written by us and not by anyone else. When we are able to focus on the present, we can see what is more important to us and this will shape the future that we want, bearing in mind the promise of eternal life. We live our lives looking towards the hope that Christ has given to us, the hope of eternal joy.

As we journey towards the season of Advent, let us continue to foster in ourselves a heart of joyful longing and waiting. A heart that longs to hear the choirs of angels bringing the news of great joy to us – the greatest miracle of all time, the birth of the Saviour. In this time of waiting, let us prepare ourselves so that we can be fit to receive our Redeemer and King.