Mark 13:24 - 32
Have you ever felt like the world is
going to hell in a hand basket? It seems like our whole political
system is coming apart. Where people used to disagree, they now go
to great lengths to destroy the person they disagree with. The
tensions between countries is rising as well and we fear another cold
war or worse. And whatever we may think about climate change, we
can’t escape the fact that we are dumping a garbage truck full of
plastic into the ocean every minute, and there is a patch of plastic
the size of Texas floating around in the Pacific ocean. And it seems
as though organized religion is dying out; certainly in much of
Europe and increasingly in this country. For every convert to
Catholicism, there are six and one half people who identify as
“former Catholics”. And of those who identify as Catholic, about
one third actually come to Mass once a week. Did I mention the
clergy scandals? Are you depressed yet, because I could go on?
But I ran across an article the other
day that said the year 536 AD was the worst year in human history.
We know based on written records from England to the middle east that
report months without sunshine, crop failure and starvation, and
eventually plague, resulting in a massive dying off of the human
population and the subsequent dark ages. And recently they’ve
shown that what started all of this was a massive ongoing volcano
explosion in Iceland which made clouds of ash that hid the sun for
about three years. Apparently there was something similar going on
in the South Pacific, so that the whole world was affected.
If you were to read the whole
thirteenth chapter of Mark you would hear Jesus talking about wars
and rumors of wars, brother against brother and father against son,
earthquakes, famines, the rise of false prophets, the destruction of
the Temple in Jerusalem, and persecution of Christians. There will
be false Messiahs, the sun will be darkened, and things will be so
bad that no one could survive if it were not for the sake of the
elect, for whom the time will be shortened.
The first reading from Daniel is
similar. It follows Chapter 11, which is a prediction of terrible
things that are going to happen, when whole nations will be
destroyed.
Daniel is writing at a low point in
the history of Israel. Since the time of Solomon, the powerful and
influential Jewish kingdom had first of all divided into two parts,
then the Northern kingdom had been conquered and the people sent into
exile, never to be heard from again; and finally the little remnant
kingdom of Judea was treated the same way. Daniel has never seen his
ancestral home.
And Mark is writing, we believe, to
Christians at the time of Nero’s persecutions and the rise in
persecution throughout the empire. Crucifixion was common, and Nero
even burned Christians to light up the night. And it was a time when
the split between Judaism and Christianity became permanent, the Jews
blaming the Christians for drawing down the wrath of Rome and the
destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
And the messages of Daniel and Mark
are similar – when it looks like everything is falling apart and
the whole world seems to be against you, God will not fail you. The
angel Michael, the protector of the Jewish people, will be sent to
rescue them. And Jesus himself will return to save those who have
kept the faith.
These so called apocalyptic writings
are not really meant as predictions of the future except perhaps to
tell us that we can’t control it. They are really written to
remind their audience that turmoil and trouble in their respective
worlds are in a way, reminders that God is in charge, that God has a
plan, of which all these things are a part. They are being written
to awaken hope.
We Christians receive the theological
virtue of hope at Baptism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says
this:
“Hope answers the Christian's strong
burning desires for happiness, a desire that God has implanted in
every heart. It includes the inspirations that lead to his actions,
making them pure of heart so they are oriented towards the Kingdom of
God. It gives the Christian strength so he will not become
discouraged. It supports the Christian when he feels deserted. Hope
makes the Christian's heart shine in anticipation of eternal supreme
blessedness. Encouraged by the virtue of hope, the Christian is
preserved from self-concern, leading him to greater happiness that
comes from charity.”
Theological virtues are given to us,
but have to be practiced. As with Faith and Charity, when we
cooperate with the Holy Spirit in exercising these virtues we grow in
Holiness and closeness to God. How do we strengthen the virtue of
hope? We remind ourselves that God is looking out for us. If I
something terrible is happening, hope will remind me of this. If I
am dying and we all will sooner or later, I can remember that my
redeemer lives. The exercise of this virtue makes it become second
nature, a habit of mind and heart. Hope springs from faith, which is
the knowledge of God, His will, and His plan for us; and Hope leads
to Charity, which grows out of the certainty that God will multiply
our efforts and see to their success in building up His kingdom.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, which
we just read, the author is encouraging those to whom he is writing
precisely to have this kind of hope. After reminding us that our
high priest has actually saved us from our sins by his own offering
of himself, the author will go on to say “Let us hold unswervingly
to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us
consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but encouraging one another.
One of the great sources of hope for a
Catholic Christian is when we gather together every week to celebrate
the Eucharist. We are reminded that we are not alone in our journey,
that we have brothers and sisters accompanying us, and that most
importantly Jesus himself comes to us week after week in Word and
Sacrament.
So today would be a good day to begin
let the Holy Spirit remind us of the reasons for our hope.
