THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
16 NOVEMBER 2025
Herod the Great had led a massive
decades-long rebuilding and beautification project of the temple in
Jerusalem. Its white marble foundation
and gold-plated walls looked like snow-covered mountains lit by the sun,
blinding viewers who gawked at its beauty.
It was the center of Jewish worship, where God dwelled and revealed
himself. In that magnificent structure,
God’s ways were taught, and God received people’s worship. However, in the year 70 AD, some twenty-five
years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, this prophecy of Jesus
about the temple was fulfilled. Roman
armies completely destroyed the magnificent Temple and changed the course of
Judaism forever. Faithful Jews were
driven from their homeland. With their
identity threatened, they had to explore other ways to worship God and keep
their faith alive, as they were dispersed around the known world.
The destruction of the temple served
as a warning for disciples of Jesus Christ that he would come again and with
him bring the Parousia, the end of the world as we know it. Like those original hearers in today’s
Gospel, we want to know when that will happen.
However, he says the same thing to us that he said to them. We do not know the time of the end – either
the end of our individual lives or the end of the world. Over the centuries, many people have tried to
predict that time, but were fooled by wars, natural disasters, and false
prophets. Jesus even warns that
disciples will be persecuted. The Greek
word meaning “persecute” carries with it the idea of chasing someone. Persecuted people have been detained,
incarcerated, deported or receive death sentences. We can be persecuted when we are harassed,
falsely accused, betrayed by relatives and dear friends, lose jobs, friends,
and security. In the face of all of
this, Jesus tells us to preserver and not lose hope.
We hear this same message every year
at this time, as the current liturgical year comes to an end with the Solemnity
of Christ the King next Sunday. Jesus
does not remind us of the end to frighten us or make us completely
paranoid. He is telling us that we need
to be mindful and remember that our ultimate destiny depends on our
relationship with Jesus Christ. Reflecting
on the end encourages us to reflect on the strength of that relationship now,
and to change whatever we need to improve it.
In writing to the Thessalonians,
Saint Paul addresses some members of the community who thought that the end
would be very near. So, they quit their
jobs and sat around waiting for the end.
Paul chastises them and tells them to get back to work. He argues that sitting around and doing
nothing leads them to being busybodies and minding the business of everyone
else. He tells them to do what he had
done – to be active in proclaiming the Gospel in action and serving the needs
of those most vulnerable in their community.
He gives the same message to
us. Instead of sitting around worrying
about the end of our lives or the end of the world, we need to be very active
in working on our relationship with Jesus Christ and evangelize those around us
by being humble servants. Even if we
suffer any kind of persecution for our active living out of the Gospel, Jesus
Christ is with us and we have the support of this parish community. Living our lives with an awareness that there
will someday be an end encourages us to accept each day as a gift from God and
make the most of it. We know that the
opposite of love is fear, and not hate.
We can love God, one another, and even our enemies without fear, because
we trust in the love of God and the presence of Jesus Christ, who faced his own
death with complete trust in the Father’s love for him.
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