XXXIII-Sunday in Ordinary Time

XXXIII Sunday: Malachi 3:19-20;: 2 Thess 3: 7-12;Gosple: Lk 21: 5-19

Next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King and the following Sunday is the first Sunday of advent. As the Church year comes to an end, the Sunday readings reflect on the final days of the world, our own death and the final judgment. Today’s gospel passage warns that the date of the end of the world is uncertain. Signs and portents will precede the end, and the faithful will be called upon to testify before kings and governors. The good news, however, is that those who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God's eternal kingdom.
Early Christian community had experienced much persecution. Jesus' words about people being "handed over by parents, brothers, relations and friends," were beginning to come true. Hence Luke encouraged them, in today’s gospel, to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God and to persevere in faith and its practice, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

The purpose of the apocalyptic literature was to encourage dispirited people by proclaiming that God is in control of history and that punishment of the wicked will come about by God’s doing. It was also intended to encourage the believers to remain faithful through the coming ordeals. Luke gives them Jesus’ assurance that they are to trust his words against their persecutors. They must make use of this opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. This test of faith was also an opportunity to bear witness before the court officials and the public at large. Thus, the persecution would become a massive evangelization campaign [21:12-13]. Jesus cautions against their despairing in the face of wide-ranging opposition and persecution.
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, Christians of all denominations were routinely persecuted for their faith by the Communist regime.
One small group of believers used to meet in a family home every Sunday. They would arrive at different times, to avoid suspicion. On one particular Sunday they were all safely inside the building, with curtains drawn and doors locked. They had been singing and praying for awhile when the door burst open and two armed soldiers crashed in.
One shouted, "Everybody up against the wall. If you wish to renounce your faith in Jesus Christ, you can leave now and no harm will come to you."
Two people left right away, then a third and fourth straggled out.
"This is your last chance!" the soldier warned. "Either turn your back on this Jesus of yours or stay and suffer the consequences!" Two more slipped outside, crying and ashamed. No one else moved. Parents with small children trembling beside them looked down reassuringly. They fully expected to be gunned down on the spot, or imprisoned. After a few moments of silence, the soldiers closed the door. One of them said, "Keep your hands up - but this time in praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. We, too, are Christians. We were sent to another house church like this several weeks ago, and we became believers."
The other soldier added, "We are sorry to have frightened those who left, but we have learned that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot be fully trusted." In times of trouble our faith is tested, and we have a chance to do for Christ what he did for us: love him to the end.
Instead of destroying us, persecution and martyrdom will gain us eternal life. At the end of the discourse, Jesus gave the assurance, “Not a hair from your head would perish" (21:18). God's saving purpose will certainly triumph, because, contrary to appearances, he remains firmly in control. Finally, the way to glory is traveled more often through day-by-day endurance, rather than through isolated acts of heroic virtue.
'Do not be terrified'. 'Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.' Why should we not be terrified? Because we have a sure hope that it won't be the end of the world. At least, it won't be the end of our world. For those who love God, who are secure in the love that God has for us, our world will never end. But our trials and sufferings will help us transform to a better stage of life. And so avoidance of suffering will not help us in transforming us to what God wants us to be.
A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth and took it home to watch the moth come out. One day a small opening appeared. The man sat and watched the moth for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
The man thought it was stuck, and decided to help. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the moth could get out. Soon the moth emerged, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch, expecting that in time the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would simultaneously contract to its proper size. Neither happened. In fact, that little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. The man in his haste didn't understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening had a purpose. They force fluid from the body into the beautiful wings so that the moth can be ready for flight once it emerges from the cocoon.
Just as the moth could only achieve freedom and flight as a result of struggling, we often need to struggle to fulfill our life's mission.

This life on earth, for us and for the Church as a whole, is like the moth's life in the cocoon. The struggles God permits us have a purpose - by facing them bravely, with faith, and with the help of his grace, we and the Church will become what he created us to be.
Jesus himself saved us through his suffering and death and set before us an example of how we should face the struggles in life. Some times people think their world is ending when someone very close to them leave this world. They find no meaning for living further. Their world seems falling apart. But our world does not end there, if we have faith in the Lord’s loving protection , to carry us through. Some times God uses our sufferings for the return of others to God and to salvation.

Do I recognize that my Christian response to the hardships of life in this fallen world will serve as advertisements for Christ and bring others to salvation ? Do I use the tough times in my life to give testimony to my faith in the savior who saved me through suffering ?
Let us conclude this Church year by praying for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of Jesus our Savior.