20161111 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST ANTICIPATED IN THE FIRST
COMING IS LIVED IN THE PRESENT
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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2 John 1:4-9 ©
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It has given me great
joy to find that your children have been living the life of truth as we were
commanded by the Father. I am writing now, dear lady, not to give you any new
commandment, but the one which we were given at the beginning, and to plead:
let us love one another.
To love
is to live according to his commandments: this is the commandment which you
have heard since the beginning, to live a life of love.
There are
many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admit that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh. They are the Deceiver; they are the Antichrist. Watch yourselves,
or all our work will be lost and not get the reward it deserves. If anybody
does not keep within the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he cannot have
God with him: only those who keep to what he taught can have the Father and the
Son with them.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
118(119):1-2,10-11,17-18 ©
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They are happy who
follow God’s law.
They are happy whose
life is blameless,
who
follow God’s law!
They are happy who do
his will,
seeking
him with all their hearts.
They are happy who
follow God’s law.
I have sought you
with all my heart;
let me
not stray from your commands.
I treasure your
promise in my heart
lest I
sin against you.
They are happy who
follow God’s law.
Bless your servant
and I shall live
and obey
your word.
Open my eyes that I
may see
the
wonders of your law.
They are happy who
follow God’s law.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is
something alive and active:
it can judge secret
emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk21:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold
your heads high,
because your
liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 17:26-37 ©
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Jesus said to the
disciples:
‘As it
was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People
were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah
went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the
same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and
selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and
brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the
day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed.
‘When
that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must
not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either.
Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and
anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in
one bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn
together: one will be taken, the other left.’ The disciples interrupted.
‘Where, Lord?’ they asked. He said, ‘Where the body is, there too will the
vultures gather.’
THE
SECOND COMING OF CHRIST ANTICIPATED IN THE FIRST COMING IS LIVED IN THE PRESENT
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 2 JN 4-9; LK 17:26-37 ]
Taken out of context, it
appears that the teaching of Jesus regarding the coming of God’s Kingdom is
rather intimidating. The impression we get is that the Kingdom of God
will come in a most unpredictable and sudden manner, leaving us no time for
preparation. We may suffer the same fate as those who get a fatal heart
attack or meet with a deadly accident. Such tragic and unprepared death
is something we hope will not happen to us. So the day of the second
coming of the Lord, when understood in this manner, will only instill fear,
instead of evoking joy.
However,
if we understand what Jesus is saying in the context of His answer to the
Pharisees’ question regarding the time of the coming of God’s Kingdom, then it
will be evident that today’s text is actually an elaboration of the answer that
“the coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will
be no one to say, ‘Look here! Look there!’ For, you must know, the kingdom of
God is among you.” In other words, instead of speculating on the
second coming of Christ as the end of time, it is important to look at the
present coming of the Lord.
Such a
perspective of the Lord’s constant coming into our lives can find support from
today’s first reading when St John gives us the guiding principle of faith in
the incarnation. Indeed, he says it is the refusal to accept the
incarnation, and therefore the first coming of Christ, the presence of the
Kingdom of God, that results in fear of His second coming. For in
“refusing to admit that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”, “they are the
Deceiver; they are the antichrist.” Why is it so important that St John
underscores the importance of having faith in the incarnation as a condition of
having “the Father and the Son” with us?
The
truth is that only faith in the Incarnation will enable us to recognize that
the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst. For with the
incarnation, the whole of history and the cosmos is suffused with the presence
of God. This explains why Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within your
midst.” If we are looking for the coming of God’s Kingdom, we need not
look too far; neither do we look here or there but within ourselves. The
Kingdom is already experienced in our lives. How?
Firstly, when we live from
moment to moment, in the now. This is implied when Jesus taught that the
Kingdom of God would come just like in the days of Noah, when the people were
“eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day when
Noah went into the ark and the Flood came.” It would also be the same as
in the days of Lot when again, “people were eating and drinking, buying and
selling, planting and building.” Clearly, it means that the Kingdom is
present in ordinary situations and daily events.
This
means that our happiness is found in ordinary events of life, not only in
extraordinary and sensational situations. We are called by Jesus to
discover the joy of living and the joy of finding God in mundane activities,
such as eating, working, studying, serving, praying, sleeping and spending time
with our loved ones and friends. Indeed, if we cannot find happiness in
such activities, we can never find happiness anywhere. Hence, if we are
not happy where we are now, it is unlikely that we can ever be happy in another
place or in another state of life. Indeed, the Kingdom of God is found in
such human activities since God, in the Incarnation, has chosen to experience
life through our human life.
With faith, we should not
be too worried about our future. All we need to do is to give ourselves
totally to whatever situation we find ourselves in. Indeed, the future is
but the confirmation of all that we have lived for and how we have lived.
So, instead of waiting for the future, we must live as if this is our only life
and find real happiness in it.
Secondly,
the Kingdom of God is experienced when we live a balanced life. When we
live our lives holistically, we will find life a joy, not a burden. This
means that there is a time to eat, work, sleep, pray and recreate. When
we are able to live a balanced life, we will find that the Kingdom is real in
our lives. It is an unbalanced lifestyle that makes our lives oppressive,
aimless and a drudge. Those who work and work only do not know what life
is all about. Similarly, those who only enjoy themselves are living an
animalistic life. Living a good life means to make time for everything.
Thirdly,
the kingdom of God is encountered when we realize that although we are in the
world, we do not belong to the world; or rather, the world does not belong to
us. In other words, we will experience God’s Kingdom when we live a life
of detachment. Hence, Jesus advised us that “when that day comes, anyone
on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to
collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either.” This is to
say that we must be fully absorbed in what we are doing and what we already
have, instead of clinging to our past. By clinging to our past and living
in nostalgic times, we are preventing ourselves from receiving the greater
things that God wants to give to us. By insisting on holding on to what
we have and in not wanting to let go, we are resisting the unimaginable future
that God has in store for us. Hence, because of our attachment, we live
in the past and cling to what is dead and static, since we are not open to
adventure, change and growth.
Therefore,
if we want to find happiness in life, we must learn to let go and be ready to
embrace the future and the unpredictable. When it is time for us to move
to another place, another kind of ministry, another job or position in life, we
must move on and not hang on to our old kingdom. Moving out to a new
situation, or ministry, or a new lifestyle is never easy, but when we are open
to change, we will find our lives enriched. Thus, we should be ready and
be open to what God wants for us instead of clinging to our dreams and our
preferences. By not looking back like Lot’s wife, we will find that God
has greater things in store for us. We must have the faith of Lot that
God is always leading us to greater heights and growth in life.
In the
same vein too, Jesus instructs us to take life in stride, to live from moment
to moment. We are called to act in such a manner so that we can remain
unshaken by what is happening in our midst, such as when “on that night two
will be in one bed; one will be taken, the other left; two women will be
grinding corn together; one will be taken, the other left.” Of course,
Jesus is not teaching us to be indifferent; rather He is teaching us to accept
life as it is and as it will be. Today, we see our friends and colleagues
with us; tomorrow we may not see them anymore. Today, you are here, one
day, you too will be taken away to be somewhere else.
Finally,
the Kingdom of God is present when we live a life of love and truth, as St John
exhorts us. In “living the life of truth” and loving one another, we are
obeying the commandments of the Father. Only a life of clear conscience
and charity can give us true interior peace and joy. By giving ourselves
to each other in love and walking in truth and justice, we will find the
Kingdom of God so real in our lives. Indeed, Jesus cautioned us,
“Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it;
and anyone who loses it will keep it safe.” When we live according to our
conscience, when we are clear that we have done our best in following God’s
laws of love and truth, as the Psalmist prayed in the responsorial psalm, we
will find life and joy.
These,
then, are the means by which the Kingdom of God is in our midst. When we
have experienced God’s Kingdom here and now, the second coming would be a
natural process. It would be a fulfillment and a perfection of what we
are experiencing in this world. Thus, it cannot be said that the second
coming of Christ would be a surprise to us. At any rate, we have nothing
to fear, since such a Kingdom life is already given to us as a foretaste.
Indeed, when Jesus said, “Where the body is, there the eagles (or vultures)
will be gathered together”, He is reminding us that like the eagles who are
present wherever there is a carcass, so too, the Kingdom of God will come if we
recognize its presence.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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