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[Daniel 12 : 1-3 ; 

Psalm 16 (15) : 1,5,8-11 ; 

Hebrews 10 : 11-14, 18 ;

Mark 13 : 24-32]

Today’s gospel is clear: there is going to be an end – the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from heaven and the heavenly powers will be shaken (1) – there is going to be an end but through that end, the Son of man is coming with great power and great glory. So what we call the end of the world is only going to be the end of a certain world and the beginning of another. The end of times leads us to a happy conclusion. 

A question arises all the same: if there is going to be an end, can the faithful God who cares for his believers, allow them to die? The Book of Daniel, the first reading today, provides an answer: Michael, the leader of the heavenly hosts and protector of God's people, will rise and preside over their final deliverance.

Therefore, the first Christians were not afraid of the last times. They rather lived intensely their desire for the return of the Lord. And they prayed: “Maranatha!”, “Come, Lord Jesus!” “We await your return in glory!” (I Corinthians 16 : 22, Apocalypse 22 : 20). The book of Hebrews speaks of Christ as the “high priest of the good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11). Isaiah and Mark speak of the sky that is torn in the middle like a curtain for all to see the salvation of God (Isaiah 64:1; Marc 1:10). In Hebrews 1:10-12 the sky is compared to a tent that has been put up over the earth, and Christ comes and rolls its old veil and unfolds new skies (See also Revelation 6:12-13). “What we wait for”, says Saint Peter, “according to the promise of the Lord, is new heavens and a new earth.” (II Peter 3 : 13). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away… the new has come”, writes Saint Paul to the Corinthians (II Corinthians 5 : 17). 

There are days when we too feel like the stars are falling from the heavens. Our dreams crumble apart, and that happens at any age, isn’t it? There is always a world that has to pass away. And the hope for a new world is always at hand. That is the message we receive today. Humanity as a whole has also gone through days of misfortune like the great wars when the powers were shaken. But like the rosebud of the spring time (Mark 13 : 28) a new world was always emerging on the horizon. 

God himself knew a day when the sun was darkened and the powers of heaven were shaken. That was a Friday (Matthew 27 : 45). We call it Good Friday. God is not a dreamer. Evil with its wickedness God has experienced in person. He entered into our history and seized evil round the waist. While we were dreaming of better days, God was nailed to the cross. And ever since God has gone on board with us, we know that no bloody follies, or hatred, or jealousy, or even death can have the last say over us (See Matthew 24 : 6, 10, 13). And so we Christians are entrusted with a word of hope to address to the world. “When these events take place, get up; raise your heads, for your redemption is close at hand!” (Luke 21 : 28). Amen.

(1) In the Bible this type of writing about the sky being shaken and the combats in the heavens etc. is called “apocalyptic” because it carries a revelation to us from the part of God. The word “apocalyptein” in Greek means “to uncover” or “to unveil”, and it is the unveiling of a mystery that surrounds a truth. The English word “Revelation” comes from the Latin root “revelare” which also contains the word “veil” (“velum” in Latin). But then if God wants to reveal himself to man, it can only be out of love, and so any revelation must ultimately be the announcement of a good news.

This is coded language. Thus, for example, the number 666 that denotes what is called “the Beast” is perhaps a number puzzle and refers to the emperor Nero (Apocalypse 13 : 18). In the Bible perfection is symbolised by the number 7 (Apocalypse 15 :1-4). Was not Rome built on seven hills? Speaking of divine anger, the author tries to express with the help of inadequate human vocabulary the fact that God cannot take the side of evil, for evil takes the forms of violence, divisions and oppression that disfigure humanity. The number denoting the Beast, 666 (Apocalypse 13:18), indicates to us that evil has its own limits, it keeps skidding on its own and does not succeed in attaining the fulness symbolized by the number 7. 

The Roman persecution under Nero menaces the survival of the small of group of Christians. Deprived of legal protection, denounced by the Jews, accused of atheism by the pagans, the Christians can only wait for the return of the Lord. All hope for security and freedom is placed on His return. And so the Book of Revelation would be at the same time a camouflage political document with the names of those being criticized changed to numbers or epithets in order to protect the authors and ward off acts of retaliation against Christians. It is a criticism of the society and of the policies of those times, but written in hidden language whose confidentiality is reinforced by means of enigmatic expressions understood only by the initiated. 

Today for the first time Saint Mark uses this type of language in his gospel. The context is this: Jesus leaves the temple of Jerusalem for the last time to go to the Mount of Olives. His passion is at hand. One of the disciples points out to him the beauty of the temple building: “Look, Master, what wonderful stones and what wonderful constructions!” (Mark 13 : 1). And Jesus answers, “You see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another, everything will be destroyed.” (Mark 13 : 2). Jesus seems to hint here at the massive irrelevance of the system of his time.

And Peter, James, John and Andrew, all ask him, “Lord, when is this going to happen? And what will be the signs that this is going to take place?” (Mark 13 : 4). Jesus’ answer to his apostles is today’s gospel passage: “The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from heaven and the heavenly powers will be shaken.” (Mark 13 : 24-25) “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13 : 26). 

Tiburtius Fernandez SMA, © Treasures of The Word, Homilies for Year B, St. Paul's, Bandra, Bombay, India, 2023, pp. 275-279.