For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/111908.shtml
The way Luke frames tonight's Gospel, it seems that the Lord is instructing his disciples that things will be incomplete even after the fantastic events that will happen in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem Jesus would perform the most important signs He had performed to date, the sign of the Last Supper, and the signs of his suffering, death, resurrection and Ascension. It is in Jerusalem that the kingdom of God would be most fully revealed, as his disciples were expecting. Luke, however, points out in this Gospel that although God's revelation would be definitive in Jerusalem, the end of the world was not promised by Jesus. Quite the opposite, Jesus teaches his disciples that the road ahead may be a long one, like a king going away for a time until an indefinite return, but that the necessity to live fruitful lives in fidelity to the king would remain and would be the sure way to salvation.
We are in year 2000 or so since the Lord's Ascension. Those events in Jerusalem that established the everlasting covenant between God and man have indeed been remembered and celebrated for a long time, including our celebration of the Mass tonight. It should not be a surprise to us that the everlasting covenant has lasted for what seems like forever, nor should it surprise us if the Lord wishes it to continue for a great while longer until He comes in glory. The reading we have from the book of revelation helps us to keep the end in sight, the return of the King in all His glory. It is for this end that we prepare and for which we pray, that the Lord may come and complete the work of redemption initiated by the events in Jerusalem. We pray for Jesus to return sooner rather than later, for His coming brings good and not evil to us. We know that His presence brings eternal significance to the lives of those for whom He died. His coming raises our human dignity 5 times, 10 times, more times than any parable could signify. This is the expansion of life, human and divine, for one who has faith, for one who no longer wants to be merely a child of dust. So we so we await that coming of Jesus, experienced most intimately on this side of heaven in the Eucharist, with great joy and optimism, not with fear that He will get back while our lives are still buried in the ground. +m
The way Luke frames tonight's Gospel, it seems that the Lord is instructing his disciples that things will be incomplete even after the fantastic events that will happen in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem Jesus would perform the most important signs He had performed to date, the sign of the Last Supper, and the signs of his suffering, death, resurrection and Ascension. It is in Jerusalem that the kingdom of God would be most fully revealed, as his disciples were expecting. Luke, however, points out in this Gospel that although God's revelation would be definitive in Jerusalem, the end of the world was not promised by Jesus. Quite the opposite, Jesus teaches his disciples that the road ahead may be a long one, like a king going away for a time until an indefinite return, but that the necessity to live fruitful lives in fidelity to the king would remain and would be the sure way to salvation.
We are in year 2000 or so since the Lord's Ascension. Those events in Jerusalem that established the everlasting covenant between God and man have indeed been remembered and celebrated for a long time, including our celebration of the Mass tonight. It should not be a surprise to us that the everlasting covenant has lasted for what seems like forever, nor should it surprise us if the Lord wishes it to continue for a great while longer until He comes in glory. The reading we have from the book of revelation helps us to keep the end in sight, the return of the King in all His glory. It is for this end that we prepare and for which we pray, that the Lord may come and complete the work of redemption initiated by the events in Jerusalem. We pray for Jesus to return sooner rather than later, for His coming brings good and not evil to us. We know that His presence brings eternal significance to the lives of those for whom He died. His coming raises our human dignity 5 times, 10 times, more times than any parable could signify. This is the expansion of life, human and divine, for one who has faith, for one who no longer wants to be merely a child of dust. So we so we await that coming of Jesus, experienced most intimately on this side of heaven in the Eucharist, with great joy and optimism, not with fear that He will get back while our lives are still buried in the ground. +m
No comments:
Post a Comment