Friday in the 34th Week of Ordinary Time, December 1, 2023

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.”

The Lord Jesus, having entered Jerusalem in triumph a day or two before to expectations that he would now restore the kingdom to Israel, warns about the end of the world.

“When you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near.”  The chief signs of the imminent approach of the Kingdom of God are the appearance of false prophets, the defection and apostasy of bishops and other Church leaders,  and a fierce, world-wide persecutions.  We learn this from the words of Christ and the Book of Revelation.  Concerning the false prophets, the Lord says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7, 15).  These are not merely those who teach falsely concerning the revealed religion of Jesus Christ but who claim to speak for God and point to another figure as the Lord.  They shall persuade many: “There shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect” (Matthew 24, 24).  Concerning the defection and apostasy of bishops and other church leaders, perhaps including popes, the Lord’s words in Mark 13, 24–25 apply: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light.  And the stars of heaven shall be falling down and the powers that are in heaven shall be moved.”  The Fathers interpreted the “sun” in this verse as Christ himself, the “moon” as the Church, and the “stars” and “powers” in heaven as bishops.  Thus, the work of the false prophets will diminish belief in Christ in the world, and so “the charity of many shall grow cold” (Matthew 24, 12).  The Church will be so affected and so many of the faithful will depart from her that she will give forth very little light to the world.  And the bishops and church leaders who are like stars in the heavens through their positions in the Church as heirs of the Apostles, will defect and fall to the earth just as Satan did ages before: “I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven” (Luke 10, 18).  And regarding the worldwide persecution of the Church, the Lord said, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake” (Matthew 24, 9).  In addition, it is thought that at the end, the Jews will convert.  In Romans 11, 25–26, St. Paul explains to the Roman Christians, primarily Gentile converts, that the ongoing resistance to  Christ had led the Apostles to turn their effort to the Gentiles, but that when the Gentiles were converted, the Jews would convert too: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery (lest you should be wise in your own conceits) that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in. 

And so all Israel should be saved.”

Those who are alive at the time of these signs should know that the Kingdom of God is near, that is, that the world is coming to an end. The Lord warns that not many believers will remain that that time, but when he comes the angels will bring all those who ever lived to be judged.

“I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.”  This verse has been misinterpreted by those who do not understand what the Lord means by “generation”.  These assume that the Lord means the people alive during his lifetime.  The Greek word and the Hebrew word it translates means a definite period of indefinite length.  For this reason, the word might be better translated as “age” rather than “generation”.  The Greeks and Romans spoke of four of these ages in their history: the golden, silver, bronze, and iron.  The Jews spoke of seven ages of the world, with the first extending from Adam to Noah and the fifth from the fall of Jerusalem to the advent of the Messiah.  The Birth of Christ inaugurated the sixth age or “generation” which will last until he returns, at which time the seventh, final, one begins, the eternal Sabbath.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  Let us consider that not even the Prophets dared to speak like this.  Only God could.  We might wonder what the people thought who heard this carpenter from Galilee who raised the dead said this.

Though the signs the Lord spoke of have not occurred yet, at least not fully, the time since his Resurrection has seen many of them take place in part, almost as preludes of that which is to come.