- Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 21:29-33
Revelation 20:1-4,11-21:2
Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
Luke 21:29-33
Jesus told his disciples a parable.
“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
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.”
Opening Prayer: Lord God, your word is eternal. Your word stands the test of time. Empires come and go. The world around me is passing, ephemeral, and temporal. But what you offer me is the promise of eternal life in your Kingdom. Help me to embrace this promise and center my life on you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Heaven and Earth will Pass Away: In the Gospel, Jesus invites his disciples to consider the fig tree and all the other trees and how their buds burst open and indicate that summer is near. In like manner, Jesus says that there are things that will happen that will indicate that the time of Jerusalem’s fall is near. When Jesus says that “heaven and earth will pass away,” this is not just a reference to the end of time. It is also a reference to the destruction of the Temple. This is because the Temple in Jerusalem was considered a microcosm of the universe. The sanctuary of the Temple represented heaven. In fact, the veil of the Temple had images of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The courts of the Temple represented the earth. When Jesus promises that heaven and earth will pass away, he is predicting the destruction of the Temple. Jesus not only predicts the destruction, but he also says exactly when it will happen: before “this generation” passes away. Now, a generation, in the bible, means forty years. Jesus was crucified in A.D. 30 on the 15th day of Nisan, which was after the evening Passover and was the day of preparation before the Sabbath. The Romans began to lay siege to Jerusalem in A.D. 70, three days before the Passover. In this way, the forty years were completed, the microcosm of the universe was destroyed, and yet Jesus’ words remain.
2. The Thousand Years: The Book of Revelation can be interpreted historically as a prophecy about salvation history and the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The First Reading refers to the binding of the ancient serpent, Satan, for a thousand years and throwing the serpent into the abyss. Historically, the thousand years mark the time from the establishment of David’s Kingdom in 1000 B.C. to the first advent of Jesus in the fullness of time. “The image of the devil being ‘bound’ for ‘a thousand years,’ therefore, is a depiction of the incredible power of God’s oath to establish the Davidic kingdom, through which the nations would be taught and the devil’s deceptions unmasked” (Barber, Coming Soon, 247). The images in the First Reading of a pit (abyss), the rock, the key, and the chain were all connected to the Temple built by David’s son, Solomon. Symbolically, however, the thousand years refers to the age of salvation and the age of the Church, from the time Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God and bound Satan to the consummation of the Kingdom at the end of time.
3. The Promise of a New Heavens and a New Earth: The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 is the initial fulfillment of the prophecy that the former heaven and former earth would pass away. “With the passing away of the old Jerusalem, the entire Old Economy – the temple, the Levitical priesthood, etc. – is replaced. A ‘new creation’ is inaugurated with the vision of the ‘New Jerusalem.’ In one sense, this explains the spiritual significance of Christ’s fulfilling all things in Himself and His Church, making the earthly Jerusalem obsolete. At the same time, it looks forward to the Last Day, in which the earth itself will pass away and the Church will receive her final heavenly glory” (Barber, Coming Soon, 257). The destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, which was understood as a microcosm of the universe, points forward to the end of the world, when all people, the righteous and unrighteous, will be judged. The unrighteous will be condemned and suffer the “second death,” torment in body and soul in the “lake of fire.” The righteous will be glorified and, in the “second resurrection,” experience the joy of heaven in both body and soul.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have inaugurated the new creation here on earth. You have made me a new creation through my Baptism. Help me to live and experience that newness to the full. I want to continue to shed the old self and fully embrace new life in and with you, my Savior and Redeemer.
Living the Word of God: In my daily prayer, do I trust that Jesus is the Lord of History? Do I have faith that all things are under the providence and governance of the Holy Trinity? How has God acted in my life and that of my family? When life is difficult, do I complain to God or try to discern in prayer and meditation how it fits in God’s eternal plan?
