Friday in the 34th Week of Ordinary Time, November 25, 2022

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.”

When the Lord Jesus teaches his disciples about the coming of the Kingdom of God we should keep in mind that the disciples understood this very differently from how we do.  For them, the Kingdom of God meant the rule of the Messiah in Jerusalem.  This is what the Pharisees taught.  For us Christians it means the Kingdom in heaven to which the Lord will admit his faithful followers at the end of the world.  Now, the Lord often emphasized to his followers that the end would come soon, and in the Gospel Reading for today’s Mass he does this again.  He says to them that they will see signs that the end is near: “When you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near.”  He also says, “Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.”  And yet, we still await the end, two thousand years later.

The Lord says “soon”, using a relative term with no set limits.  He does this to prevent his followers from becoming complacent, but also because, when we consider the earth’s age or the age of the universe, two thousand years is a blink of the eye.  And he speaks of the end coming within the current generation because it will.  This generation will come to an end with the second coming.  Both the Hebrew and the Greek words for “generation” mean “age” as well as “generation”.  The Jews considered that creation existed within six generations, with the seventh as the great Sabbath in heaven.  This generation, then, has not yet passed.  What Jesus explains is that there will be no further age after this one, no other Messiah to expect.

People have found the words of the First Reading, Revelation 20, 1-4; 11—21, 2, confusing as well.  And they are a bit difficult if we are not careful when we consider them.  St. John tells us that in a vision he saw an angel who “seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is the Devil or Satan, and tied it up for a thousand years.”  He did this so that “it could no longer lead the nations astray until the thousand years are completed.”  The Book of Revelation is not only about the end of the world but is a history of the Church from its beginnings until it is safely in heaven as the New Jerusalem.  The thousand years is meant to indicate a certain time that has a certain beginning and end.  It is not to be taken literally.  In fact, this thousand year period in which the devil is restrained is the period in which we live now.  From the time of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord, the devil has been “bound” or restrained so that his influence is much less than before the Son of God came into the world.  These days, he has power only over those who allow him to have power over them.  John also tells us of another “thousand year” period, but it is the same as this one.  During the time in which the devil is restrained, the Lord reigns on the earth and his saints reign with him.  This is that time.  We may look about us st all the horror and violence of the last few centuries and wonder how we can believe the devil is restrained and that Christ reigns, but the violence is caused by those who give themselves to the devil.  Through their free will they can throw off the gentle yoke of Christ and wreak havoc in the world. Still, they have not destroyed the world or hindered the growth of the Faith for very long.

It is when the Lord comes and the dead rise that this age ends, and in order to emphasize that the second coming occurs only after the age closes, John says, “Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them.”  the “next” is critical.  The thousand year reign of Christ is through his Church here and now, not through his setting up a kingdom in the world in the future, as some Protestants think.  Then comes the judgment.  

We live in the final age.  While we ought not to panic, we ought to keep vigilant and to pray to be ready when our Lord returns.