‘THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED …
… and the
moon will lose its brightness.’ These are hard-to-handle words of Jesus in Mark
chapter 13. What did he mean? Well, any of us can come with their suggestion. I
don’t think the words are to be taken literally. It seems to me he was
indicated great drama at the end of time. The ‘boundary’ between heaven and
earth, as we understand them, will disappear. What we take as ‘normal’ will
disappear. The kingdom of God will finally and completely ‘overtake’ us. The
Son of Man will appear in his power and glory and ‘gather’ his people.
As we
approach the end of another year, we are given readings that encourage us to be
steadfast and persevere, even if they are strange. After a long jail sentence,
we will finally be free. We are moving towards a fulfilment not only of what we
desire but – far more – what we cannot even dream about now. These are lofty
thoughts, drawn from the Book of Revelation and other texts especially the
Prophecy of Daniel about the ‘Son of Man’ (7:13). But, to come down to earth for a moment, we
can at least understand the word ‘gather’.
Quite a lot
of ‘scattering’ goes on in the scriptures and in our life. The Jews were exiled
and scattered among the nations and, at the Passion, all Jesus’ disciples were
scattered (Mk 14:27). Families scatter as children move away from home to look
for opportunities. The sick and aged move from their familiar surroundings and
often end up in a lonely corner where few visit them. We can be ‘far from home’
in so many ways. Even personally, we can be ‘scatter brained’, failing to
concentrate and we end up aimless and frustrated.
Jesus
gathers his people ‘from every tribe and tongue and people and nation’ (Rev
5:9) into the kingdom of his Father. He does it now when he finds a ‘lost
sheep’ far from home and yearning for belonging. He does it through us when we
reach out to the poor and lonely, the sick, the orphans and the disabled. And
there are the migrants, the displace and the abused. He will gather them.
The
apocalyptic (revelation) readings we hear as the year closes, alert us in
startling language, that ‘the time is near’. The twigs on the fig tree grow
supple and the leaves come out. It is a sign that he is near, ‘right at the
gates.’
It is
helpful and healthy to live in expectation, ready to be surprised, awake and
alert, like a bird pecking in the grass but with one eye out for the cat or the
hawk. ‘Stand ready’ is the constant message of this time of the year.
17 November
2024 Sunday 33B Dan 12:1-3 Heb 10:11-18 Mk 13:24-32