20181127
PERFECTION THROUGH
DESTRUCTION OR TRANSFORMATION
27 NOVEMBER,
2018, Tuesday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Apocalypse 14:14-19 ©
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The harvest and
the vintage of the earth are ripe
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In my
vision I, John, saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man
with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another
angel came out of the sanctuary, and shouted aloud to the one sitting on the
cloud, ‘Put your sickle in and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of
the earth is ripe.’ Then the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on
the earth, and the earth’s harvest was reaped.
Another angel, who also carried a sharp sickle, came
out of the temple in heaven, and the angel in charge of the fire left the altar
and shouted aloud to the one with the sharp sickle, ‘Put your sickle in and cut
all the bunches off the vine of the earth; all its grapes are ripe.’ So the
angel set his sickle to work on the earth and harvested the whole vintage of
the earth and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God’s anger.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):10-13 ©
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The
Lord comes to rule the earth.
Proclaim
to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The
world he made firm in its place;
he
will judge the peoples in fairness.
The
Lord comes to rule the earth.
Let
the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let
the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let
the land and all it bears rejoice,
all
the trees of the wood shout for joy
at
the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he
comes to rule the earth.
The
Lord comes to rule the earth.
With
justice he will rule the world,
he
will judge the peoples with his truth.
The
Lord comes to rule the earth.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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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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Or:
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Rv2:10
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Even
if you have to die, says the Lord,
keep
faithful, and I will give you
the
crown of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:5-11 ©
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The destruction
of the Temple foretold
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When
some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine
stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring
at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on
another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question:
‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be
that this is about to take place?’
‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many
will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.”
Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be
frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’
Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and
there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.’
PERFECTION THROUGH DESTRUCTION OR
TRANSFORMATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rev 14:14-19; LK 21:5-11 ]
At some point in our life,
we cannot but ask the question about the end of our life on earth and creation
as a whole. This is an
inevitable question. As we come to the end of the liturgical year, the
Church, in preparing us for the new liturgical year and new calendar year, journeys
with us by inviting us to reflect on the end of life and the end of time.
Unfortunately, there are
no clear answers with regard to the when and how of the end. Nevertheless, the what of the end
is certain. We know that the world would be transformed and renewed.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell
with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will
wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and
pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.'” (Rev 21:1, 3-4) What our faith holds is that God
will dwell in us, and there will be peace, joy, love and freedom from all pain.
In other words, the
final outcome of creation is that God will establish His kingdom on earth
forever. This is what the
responsorial psalm declars, “The Lord comes to rule the earth. Proclaim
to the nations: ‘God is king.’ The world he made firm in its place; he will
judge the peoples in fairness. Let the land and all it bears rejoice, all the
trees of the wood shout for joy at the presence of the Lord he comes, he comes
to rule the earth. With justice he will rule the world; he will judge the
peoples with his truth.” It will be a kingdom of justice, love and
compassion.
When will it come? The disciples asked the Lord, “Master,
when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to
take place?” At the harvest time when the grapes are ripe. “Put your
sickle in and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is
ripe.” In other words, when the Lord determines that it is the time for
Him to gather us all back into His kingdom. “Then the one sitting on the
cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the earth’s harvest was
reaped.” When is this time? No one knows. “But about that day
and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father” (Mt 24:36) God will determine when He will
bring creation to its completion.
Does it mean the world
would be transformed or destroyed when the time comes? There are two views with
respect to how the world would be renewed. The apocalyptic view of this earth is that this
age is so evil and rotten that what is needed is not just a renewal but a total
destruction so that a new earth and heaven could come. This is the
view of the prophet Joel. “Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near – a day of darkness and
gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! The earth quakes before them, the
heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars
withdraw their shining.” (Joel 2:2, 10) Jesus seems to hold this view as well.
“All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single
stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”
But this may not
necessarily be so. It is more probable that Jesus holds a stronger
inclination towards the prophetic view of the end of the world. When Jesus spoke of the destruction
of the Temple, it was in reference to the fact that the Temple would be
destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It was not a reference to the end
of the world.
On the contrary, He made
it clear that the end is not so soon. “And
when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is
something that must happen but the end is not so soon. Nation will fight
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes
and plagues and famines here and there, there will be fearful sights and great
signs from heaven.” This is the prophetic understanding of the end of
time. This world would be gradually transformed through the inner
dynamics of the working of history, wars, revolutions, diseases, natural
disasters. Humanity through such struggles will be purified in love
and compassion eventually. This is the hope of Isaiah when he
prophesied a new heaven and a new earth. “For I am about to create new
heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to
mind.” (Isa 65:17) This
new heaven and earth is not another world but a world transformed when we will
live a long life, there will be plenty, and even animals will live in peace
together. (cf Isa 65:17-25)
Both views are
acceptable and can be accommodated. Yet which view we adopt will considerably
affect the way we look at life. Those who adopt the apocalyptic view will
see life on this earth with a pessimistic outlook because this world is such a
cruel, harsh and evil world that nothing can help to make it better. It
awaits total annihilation because of man’s selfishness and sins. This is
how some people view the world; that creation will destroy itself either
because of the destruction of ecology or the use of nuclear arms. Those
who hold such a view have a negative understanding of life. It leads to
resignation and hopelessness.
The prophetic view is
more hopeful; that in spite of the evils of this world, the grace of God is
working imperceptibly towards gradual transformation until the whole world is
established under His rule. Jesus
speaks of this grace of gradual transformation in the parable of the Sower (cf Mt 13:1-9), the parable of the Mustard Seed
(cf Mt 13:31-32), and the
parable of the Growing Seed (cf. Mk 4:26-29). So the kingdom of God
begins in small ways and through interaction with the world and society, the
kingdom will grow. Good and evil coexist as they help each other to be
purified and grow in grace. This is what the parable of the Weeds among
the wheat is about. (cf Mt 13:24-30)
This will continue
until, as St Paul wrote, when God establishes His kingdom over all “so that God
may be all in all.”
(1 Cor 15:28) “Then comes the end, when he
hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler
and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is
death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his
feet.'” (1 Cor 15:24-27)
The answer will lie in
between when we speak of the next life. There will be continuity within
discontinuity.
There is a link between this present life and the next. Yet it will be
something also very new and transformed. A good analogy is the
resurrected body. When Christ appeared after His resurrection, His body
was so transfigured that only those with faith could perceive and identify
Him. His body also transcended time and space. So the
resurrection gives us a clue to what and how the earth will also be
transformed. But just as we are not exactly clear what the resurrected body is,
so too we are not certain of the real nature of its transformation.
Mary’s assumption is also for us another clue to what the next life is
like. Like Mary, we will fall asleep and rise to a new life.
The Church holds both
views together.
“We do not know the time for the consummation of the earth and of humanity nor
do we know how all things will be transformed. As deformed by sin, the shape of
this world will pass away; but we are taught that God is preparing a new
dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and whose blessedness
will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human
heart. Then, with death overcome, the sons of God will be raised up in Christ,
and what was sown in weakness and corruption will be invested with
incorruptibility. Enduring with charity and its fruits, all that creation which
God made on man’s account will be unchained from the bondage of vanity.”
Gaudium et spes, 39.1) So what is more important is that we grow in virtue each
day. “For after we have obeyed the Lord, and in His Spirit nurtured on
earth the values of human dignity, brotherhood and freedom, and indeed all the
good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of
stain, burnished and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father.”
(GS 39.4)
So this earth is the
place of our transformation in grace and love. We are asking that God rules in our
hearts. As to the physical outcome of creation, it is beyond human
imagination. All we know is that there is a continuity and yet a
discontinuity. “Therefore, while we are warned that it profits a man
nothing if he gains the whole world and lose himself, the expectation of a new
earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this
one. For here grows the body of a new human family, a body which even now is
able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the new age.” (GS 39.2)
Consequently, “while earthly progress must be carefully distinguished from the
growth of Christ’s kingdom, to the extent that the former can contribute to the
better ordering of human society, it is of vital concern to the Kingdom of God”
(GS 38), we must therefore work towards the establishment of God’s kingdom, “‘a
kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and
grace, of justice, love and peace.’ On this earth that Kingdom is already
present in mystery. When the Lord returns it will be brought into full
flower.” (GS 39.4)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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