Christ The Lord Comes to Rule the World

Thirty Third Sunday - Year C

Malachi 3:19-20a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19

The structure of Jerusalem's temple represented the universe (Ps. 78:69) and the entire universe is itself a temple (Is. 66:1). Thus, both were linked together. The Holy of Holies was a symbol of heaven, the Holy Place represented the land and the Outer Courtyard sea. What can the destruction of the temple that took place in 70 AD signify then (Luke 21:5-6)? It prefigures the destruction of the world marked by sin. {We read in 2nd Peter}"The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly" (2 Pet. 3:7).

{The Book of Malachi has this statement} "For, look, the day is coming, blazing like an oven" (Mal. 3:19). Such a day is coming upon "all evildoers", "leaving them neither root nor branch" (Mal. 3:19). It is not for the first time that the Word of God speaks about such judgment. During the time of Noah, the flood purified the old world from evil (Gen. 7:1-23) and during the time of Abraham, a fire out of heaven destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:23-29). That day of judgment caught them unawares (Matt. 24:37-39).

{The disciples are asking Jesus today} "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" (Luke 21:7). Jesus' answer contains three points. Do not be deceived by false messiahs who make false promises of liberation and predict the exact date of the Day of the Lord that is always wrong (Luke 21:8). Secondly, the history of humanity is marked by wars and natural disasters. They do not signify that the end is at hand (Luke 21:9-11) but that "the end is not yet" (Matt. 24:6). Finally, as followers of Christ, we have to be ready for persecution (Luke 21:12-15). Today Christians are the most persecuted religious group on this planet.

"But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of righteousness with its healing rays" (Mal. 3:20) {Malachi says today}. On Easter morning the Sun of righteousness arose from the grave and the Apostles of the Lamb saw the dawn of a new creation where there is no more sin and death. The Temple of Christ's body destroyed on Good Friday has been raised up (John 2:19) never to be destroyed. New heavens and the new earth shall last forever too. Moreover, "if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Cor. 5:1).

However, since "it will not immediately be the end" (Luke 21:9), we still have to "work quietly and eat our own food" (2 Thess. 3:12). Work has creative and redemptive aspects. By our labor we "prolong the work of creation" and through our toils, we collaborate "in a certain fashion" with Christ's redemptive work (CCC, 2427). Therefore idleness is unacceptable (2 Thess. 3:10). It poisons the community and it often leads to sin (1 Tim. 5:11-15; 2 Sam. 11:1-27). On the other hand, our work "in toil and drudgery, night and day" (2 Thess. 3:8) becomes a symbol of taking up our daily cross in following Christ (Luke 9:23).

"Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand" (Luke 21:28). But on the Lord's Day, we rest from our work and gather together to pray. It is the day of Christ's resurrection and the icon of the age to come. On this day we commemorate the victory of Christ over sin and death and rejoice at the fact that united with Christ through baptism, we are "a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17). By standing with our heads raised up we look forward to this final day when Jesus the Lord shall come to rule "the world with justice and the peoples with equity" (Ps. 98:9).