Mal 3: 19-20
Ps 98: 5-9
2 Thes 3: 7-12
Lk 21: 5-19
“Lo, the day is coming,” says the prophet Malachi. Jesus too says, “The day will come…" Both Jesus and Malachi use the expression to refer to a time of upheaval, a time of judgment, an apocalyptic time. Although “the day” may sometimes refer to the end of the world, in both these readings it refers to the end of a world. It is a time of violent transition, a birth into new reality.
Malachi describes the twofold effect of “the day”. For the proud and the evildoers it will be like a blazing oven which consumes them. But for those who trust in the Lord, it will be a day of justice and healing.
In the Gospel Jesus uses “the day” to refer to the destruction of the temple. This destruction of the temple in 70 AD was indeed a time of upheaval and transition for both Christians and Jews. For the Jews it was a crushing defeat at the hand of the Romans and led to a transition of their focus away from the temple as their spiritual centre. For Christians, it marked the emergence of Christianity from Judaism and was followed by the persecutions Jesus goes on to describe in this Gospel.
Suffering and persecution were indeed the marks of the early Church and led to the deaths of many believers. Yet in the midst of the tumult, Jesus reminds his followers that they are not alone – theHoly Spirit will give them guidance and by patient endurance the Church will survive.
Ps 98: 5-9
2 Thes 3: 7-12
Lk 21: 5-19
“Lo, the day is coming,” says the prophet Malachi. Jesus too says, “The day will come…" Both Jesus and Malachi use the expression to refer to a time of upheaval, a time of judgment, an apocalyptic time. Although “the day” may sometimes refer to the end of the world, in both these readings it refers to the end of a world. It is a time of violent transition, a birth into new reality.
Malachi describes the twofold effect of “the day”. For the proud and the evildoers it will be like a blazing oven which consumes them. But for those who trust in the Lord, it will be a day of justice and healing.
In the Gospel Jesus uses “the day” to refer to the destruction of the temple. This destruction of the temple in 70 AD was indeed a time of upheaval and transition for both Christians and Jews. For the Jews it was a crushing defeat at the hand of the Romans and led to a transition of their focus away from the temple as their spiritual centre. For Christians, it marked the emergence of Christianity from Judaism and was followed by the persecutions Jesus goes on to describe in this Gospel.
Suffering and persecution were indeed the marks of the early Church and led to the deaths of many believers. Yet in the midst of the tumult, Jesus reminds his followers that they are not alone – the
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