Luke 21:5-19

Malachi 3:19-20a

Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9

2 Thessalonians 3:7-12

Luke 21:5-19

While some people were speaking about

how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,

Jesus said, “All that you see here – 

the days will come when there will not be left

a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him,

“Teacher, when will this happen?

And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”

He answered,

“See that you not be deceived,

for many will come in my name, saying,

‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’

Do not follow them!

When you hear of wars and insurrections,

do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,

but it will not immediately be the end.”

Then he said to them,

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues

from place to place;

and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

“Before all this happens, however,

they will seize and persecute you,

they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,

and they will have you led before kings and governors

because of my name.

It will lead to your giving testimony.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,

for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking

that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,

and they will put some of you to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have come to rule the earth with justice. I sing your praises joyfully. I hear all creation proclaim your glory. The sea, the world, the rivers, the mountains all give witness to your reign. You truly rule the world with justice and all peoples with equity.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Great Tribulation: We are nearing the end of our semi-sequential reading of the Gospel of Luke on Sundays. Like the gospels of Mark and Matthew, Luke includes the teachings of Jesus about the end of Jerusalem and how this prefigures the end of the world. After a long journey (Luke 9:1-19:27), Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem for the Passover. He has cleansed the Temple and taught in it (Luke 19:28-20:47). When the people began to wax eloquently about the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus prophesied that the day would come when not one stone from the Temple would be left upon another stone. This came to pass in A.D. 70 when the Romans, led by Titus, laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. There were earthquakes, famines, plagues, and wars that all preceded this event. Jesus urges his followers not to be deceived by those who claim to be Jesus or by those who claim that “the time has come.” Rather, Jesus’ disciples are to be attentive to the signs of the times and, based on this discernment, know that the end is near. In fact, the Christians heeded Jesus’ words and fled the city of Jerusalem to Pella before the Roman legions arrived and were saved from the great tribulation and the destruction of Jerusalem.

2. The Sun of Righteousness: The First Reading, from the prophet Malachi, announces the coming Day of the Lord. It will be a day of judgment, a day when the wicked are destroyed, but also a day of consolation, a day when those who fear God’s name will be saved. Malachi proclaims that for the latter group, the faithful remnant, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.” The winged sun was a symbol of life in the ancient Near East, and Jesus brings this symbol to fulfillment: “Jesus Christ, in stretching out his hands on the holy tree, unfolded two wings, the right and the left, and called all who believed in him to come to him” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1633). “Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness who will rise with healing in his wings, and he longs to gather Jerusalem under those wings of healing. However, Jerusalem will refuse, and that is the point of our Gospel Reading …, which concerns the judgment that will fall on unrepentant Jerusalem in AD 70. However, since Jerusalem is the center of the earth, the destruction of that city portends the destruction of the world” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year C, 489).

3. Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians: One of the main topics in Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians is the Parousia (coming or advent) of Jesus Christ. Paul had to correct their misunderstanding of his First Letter, as well as a forged letter in Paul’s name (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The Thessalonians thought that the Second Coming of Jesus was near, and some in the Christian community stopped working. They reasoned that if Jesus was coming soon, then it was useless to toil away at work. In his Second Letter, Paul teaches that a whole series of events needs to take place before Jesus returns in glory. Only after a period of tribulation will Christ come again as the divine Warrior to slay the “man of lawlessness,” an agent of Satan who would be allowed to spread confusion throughout the world and impress the wicked with signs and wonders of his power (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9-10). The freeloaders who have stopped working need to get back to work, earn their living, and mind their own business (2 Thessalonians 3:12). The best way to prepare oneself for Christ’s glorious return is by working and not sitting around waiting (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 2119).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, Sun of Righteousness, come to my aid today. Do not let me succumb to temptation. Be my strength and my shield. Defend me in battle and heal me with your wings.

Living the Word of God: How can I put into practice Paul’s admonitions to the Thessalonians? How am I called to “get back to work”? How am I called to prepare for Christ’s glorious coming? How can I better “mind my own business”?