Sunday Gospel Reflection
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 21:5-19 | November 13, 2022
Is the End Near?
Josie Gonzales
“Some of the disciples were talking about the Temple…Jesus said, ‘all this you see – the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one will be thrown down.’
‘Teacher…what will happen in order to show that the time has come for it to take place?’
Jesus said, ‘Watch out; do not be fooled. Many men, claiming to speak for me will come…But do not follow them. Don’t be afraid…wars and revolutions…must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near…you will be arrested and persecuted…and tried in synagogues and be put in prison. This will be your chance to tell the Good News. I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say. Everyone will hate you because of me. Stand firm, and you will save yourselves.’” (Luke 21:5-19)
Is the end near?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus clearly tells us that wars, famines, floods, plagues, earthquakes “must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near.” What then, does these events happening around us mean? Surely, all these catastrophic events are telling us something! So did the many apparitions of the Blessed Mother Mary. Mama Mary asks us to pray for peace to the world and an end to the war. She asks us for prayers and penance for the conversion of sinners. She pleads for repentance so that the world may be saved.
Only the Father knows when the end will come. But we have to realize that these are telltale signs of the ‘end times’ and that, therefore, we have to amend our lives full speed according to the Will of the Almighty in heaven.
The Bible is written in stories so man may understand the Word of the Lord. Stories of healing, of God ‘s wrath and anger, the world’s creation and our first parents Adam and Eve, Jesus’ life with His disciples, His prophecies about things to come: chaos, suffering, and nations fighting against nations. But the greatest story in the Bible is the Good News of Salvation—Jesus’ sacrifice to save us. But we seem to have forgotten God’s love for us. We haven’t changed our old ways or are back to the same sinful ways of arrogance, deceit, hatred, selfishness, and selling our soul to the ‘evil one’—never mind if the poor go hungry, the weak get sick, and the land becomes barren and wasted. These are the consequences of a world in turmoil: pestilence, pandemic, troubled hearts and minds. And no one is to blame but us.
Ang kaligtasan natin sa piling ng Panginoon ay pinagpalit natin sa panandaliang kaligayahan sa mundong ito. Bakit? Hindi ba ang regalo ng Diyos sa atin ay pagmamahal? Punung-puno ng awa at may pusong mahabagin? Pagnilayan natin kung gaano kabuti si Hesus. Let’s live life wholeheartedly for Him alone.
The world we live in right now is the exact scenario as described in the Gospel. Persecution of Afghan women and children as a result of political conflict, death of soldiers and civilians in warring countries, hatred manifesting in hate campaigns in America against Filipinos and other Asians. Some will be arrested and put in prison as in Myanmar. Some will be handed over by their parents and relatives like minors in our midst who are victims of child abuse and prostitution. No different from the time of Moses and the time of Jesus.
Again, we ask the question, “Why are all of these happening?”
Didn’t God give us a beautiful universe in all its splendor and magnificence? The Almighty is perfect in all His creation: He never makes a mistake; but we wasted the freedom He gave us by making the wrong turns in life.
Guess what? It is never too late to love our neighbor, never too late to share the Good News, never too late to do acts of mercy, never too late to ask for pardon and forgiveness.
Conflicts are for our physical eye to see, our mind to understand, and our heart to feel. The Lord allows us to internalize the pain, sorrow and emotions brought about by conflicts. It gives us the resolve and strength to look at its positive side. Look at Ukraine. The war is a dramatic turning point in the lives of the Ukrainians who used this to be there for one another.
God is on the side of those who love and share, for theirs is His Kingdom. Are we on the same side?
A blessed Sunday!
