Thursday in the 34th Week of Ordinary Time, November, 24, 2022

Luke 21, 20-28

Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

In this reading from the Gospel of St. Luke, the Lord Jesus teaches about the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans and also of the end of the world.  For us, these are two separate events, one of which came to pass long ago.  For the Jews listening to Jesus and for the early Christians, this appears to have been one event: the fall of Jerusalem must mean the end of the world.  It seems to me, then, that this is the reason the Evangelists (Matthew and Mark do this too) put these teachings together the way they do, without any editorial remarks to show that Jesus was moving on to a new subject when he spoke of the end of the world.  The unwary reader would be confused by this and consider signs meant for the end of Jerusalem as signs for the second coming of Christ, as that there would be one great, final war.

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand.”  This may seem logical enough for us, but the Jews of the time believed that Jerusalem would be delivered from her enemies.  Indeed, at the beginning of the Roman siege of Jerusalem, the Christians still living there did get out in time, heeding our Lord’s warning.  “For these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.”  That is, God withholds his protection of the Jews from their enemies as a result of their faithlessness.  The destruction of the city should also have finished off their false idea of a military Messiah and caused them to reflect on their preconceptions, leading them to reconsider Jesus as their Savior.  It did not.  “Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days.”  These women and their babies suffered particularly during the siege when the food stores ran out.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.”  With this verse, the Lord begins to talk about the end of the world.  One line of interpretation  has the sun signifying the Church, and the moon signifying the earth (its changeability indicating our imperfect world).  The signs in the sun, according to this interpretation, meant scandals in the Church such that people would lose their faith.  The signs in the moon meant increased instability between nations.  The signs in the earth means the disruption of nature.  “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”  This, again, refers to scandals in the Church, heresies, schisms, and apostasy even by bishops and popes. 

“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”  The Lord’s words are quoted as immediately following his words about the great loss of faith that will occur towards the end, but some period of time may elapse between these two events.  What is clear is the suddenness with which the Lord will come, and this coming will be unmistakeable.  “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”  Those who remain faithful to the Lord should not fear but rather rejoice at the time of the turmoil and tribulation in the Church since the Lord’s coming will take place “soon” afterwards.

Every age since the Ascension of our Lord into heaven has seen the sorts of signs the Lord describes in these verses, but at the end it will be especially pronounced.  This will be part of the final terrible, worldwide persecution against the Church.  We ought to begin praying now for the perseverance we will undoubtedly need later.