In one week's time we will end the Church year with the coronation of Christ the King. We will then begin a new Advent and a new year and celebrate the birth of Christ as we did last year and in years past. One year "of a day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father" - 'happy holiday' greetings and gifts from Santa Claus will end with Christ's second and the final coming for an accounting of mankind preceded by signs, unmistakably signs--of "days of tribulation", a "darkened" sun, a moon without light, "stars . . . falling from the sky" and "the powers of heaven . . . shaken" as he foretold.
Next week's gospel recounts Christ's "days of tribulation", alone, before the secular power of the world condemned to death by Pilate, the Roman governor of Israel, who before sentencing the Christ acknowledged, "Then you are a king" at which Jesus replied, "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." We may be surprised that this gospel reading ends abruptly without hearing Pilate's sarcastic reply, "What is truth?" A sign of "those days" and ours, What is truth?
Notice how Jesus would lead us into the truth with a non-threatening sign of a fig tree. "When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near." How acceptable and non-threatening. The other signs, the "signs of tribulation", which Jesus announced are troubling. Signs we would ordinarily shun unless they necessarily led to "the gates" of judgement at the end of the world.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
And we will all sooner or later be there either alive or rising from the dead. A suddenly darkened sun, moon and falling stars will leave us no opportunity to avoid our reparations before 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory . . . unless we had repented beforehand. The Apostle John anticipated the future Christ's coming in the Book of Revelations which he also spoke of in his gospel:
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light which enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, John 1, 4-13.
We live in a world of light and darkness, of truth and lies. The worst of which are the lies we tell ourselves, the denial of personal sin. The denial of sin courses through our world. How many public figures in our news lie almost daily and when caught lying only admit of 'mistakes' they made. Embarrassment replaces the confession of sin and contrition. Many have no need for God's forgiveness. They would rather buy into the lies of the world and escape responsibility. They may carry their burden of sin in emotional sufferance because we have not cared enough about our brothers and sisters to correct and encourage them to seek God's forgiveness and consolation in the Sacrament of Penance as Christ himself commanded, "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven." Is there some negotiating this command of our Savior out of existence? He said it and he did it. He called out to the hemorrhaging woman in the gospel who touched him. "Who touched me", he demanded, and she confessed and was cured. He asked the woman who was caught in adultery, "Where are your accusers?" She confessed and Jesus forgave her saying, "Sin no more." He called out to Zaccheus, the tax collector who confessed his sins of fraud, and Jesus absolved him, "salvation has come to [his] house",Luke 19: 7-9.
The Apostle John In his First Letter to his congregation pleaded, "I am writing to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ", 1 John 2, 16. John further wrote that "he who says I know him [Christ] but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Harsh words but less damning than losing one's soul. The Apostle then explained:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh [that would be gluttony, lust and sloth] and the lust of the eyes [that would be greed] and the pride of life [that would be pride, envy and anger] is not of the Father but of the world. . . . Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard the Antichrist is coming . . . , 1 John 15-18.
Do we recognize the signs of tribulation' in our time - rampant obesity, coronary angina, diabetes, sexually transmitted viruses and AIDS? We treat their symptoms - infection, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness and acid reflux - with drugs and medications rather than their possibly underlying vices, gluttony, lust and sloth? Greed, pride, envy and anger, what are their symptoms? Is anyone angry at me for mentioning this?
Now and then, hasn't Jesus startled us with his observations? Consider the rich young man who simply asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?", and Jesus answer, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone," Mark 10,17. Jesus was not speaking in riddles. How good do we think we are? I will not presume any goodness which is no consolation for me. I am responsible for your spiritual welfare. Good", who decides? Only the one who makes something or someone good knows. As the Apostle Paul I have had my "conflicts without and fears within", 2 Corinthians 7, 5.
So many believe they are "good Catholics" while dismissing Church teaching about marriage, child-bearing and forgiveness. The longer I am a priest the more my misgivings as the Apostle Paul had. To his congregation in Corinth the Apostle confessed, "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling", I Corinthians 2,3. To his congregation in Philipi, he pleaded that "they work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling",Philippians 2,12.
How will we work out our salvation before the approaching days of tribulation? How will I work out my salvation before those days of the tribulation" and take responsibility for you as well?
Summary: Do we recognize the signs of tribulation' in our time - rampant obesity, coronary angina, diabetes, sexually transmitted viruses and AIDS? We treat their symptoms - infection, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness and acid reflux - with drugs and medications rather than their possibly underlying vices, gluttony, lust and sloth? Greed, pride, envy and anger, what are their symptoms? Is anyone angry at me for mentioning this?