HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS

In this condition the believer can therefore spiritually assume the dimension of the coming of the Lord in the space of waiting. It will not be distressing or a harbinger of anxiety, quite full of confidence, since it rests on the assurance of the Lord: "I'll come soon"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A certain event, but we don't know when it will happen, demands that we wait for it. This is what emerges from this Sunday's Gospel passage. Taken from Mark's eschatological discourse (Cap. 13), it announces the coming of the Lord as certain, but states that its date and time are uncertain. Let's read it:

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples: “In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers that are in the heavens will be upset. Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. He will send the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the ends of the sky. From the fig tree learn its lesson: When its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So do you: when you see these things, know that he is near, It is coming. Verily I say unto you: this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day or that hour, nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, except the Father”» (MC 13,24-32).

He Cap. 13 of the Gospel of Mark begins with two questions from the disciples addressed to Jesus upon leaving the Temple and on the Mount of Olives:

«As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples told him: “Maestro, Look at those stones and what buildings!”. Jesus answered him: “You see these great buildings? Not one stone upon another will be left here that will not be destroyed” (vv.1.2). «While he was on the Mount of Olives, sitting in front of the temple, Pietro, Giacomo, Giovanni and Andrea questioned him aside: “Tell us: when these things will happen and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled?”» (vv. 3.4).

Jesus does not immediately answer the question of the four disciples, but in the meantime he has the opportunity to talk about the latest things. The words of Jesus describing the arrival of these "last things", in "those days", they are a revival of prophetic texts of Isaiah, Joel and Daniel. Who heard them from the mouth of Jesus, he probably understood the meaning better than us, that after so many years away we struggle to orient ourselves. In reality, apocalyptic language is not far from our culture, indeed it is strongly permeated by it. It must be kept in mind, But, that said language is a "literary genre", therefore not a historical tale or a scientific treatise. Unfortunately, many believers interpret it exactly like this, reading present events as a realization of Jesus' words. Eschatological language has its own key and must be interpreted as such. It is a genre that arises from the confluence of the wisdom and prophetic current. Especially when the latter ends, a prophet will be expected in Israel who would put things right: «They placed the stones on the temple mount in a convenient place, until a prophet appeared to decide on them" (1Mac 4, 46). After all, we cannot think that Jesus meant that the end of the world will happen exactly as he described it. Then, we are sure that He was talking about the "end of the world", and not, instead, of a new beginning? Because he says that "this generation" will see what he announced.

The central figure of today's Gospel is that of the Son of Man. While previously the Lord had spoken of his suffering destiny, this time he agrees with what was thought about this character at the time and therefore among the disciples. The Son of Man is a powerful figure, almost a divine hypostasis as the prophet Daniel describes it (7, 13-14), whose main task seems to be that of the judge (Book of Jubilees). Jesus describes himself in this way, when he responds to the High Priest who asks him if he is the Messiah: «I am! And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." (MC 14,62); and these words will become one of the reasons for his condemnation. But today He speaks of the Son of Man, linking him to a theme dear to Judaism, or the gathering of the missing. Surprisingly, indeed, for the evangelical traditions it will not happen only at the "end of the world", but it was already realized in a particular moment, that is, at the death of the Messiah Jesus. This is particularly clear in the Fourth Gospel when Saint John reports the words of Jesus: "And I, when I am lifted up from the ground, I will attract everyone to me " (GV 12,32). The gathering of the people brought about by the Son of Man is preceded by celestial upheavals. So if we look at the way in which the Evangelist Mark describes the death of the Messiah, we find that some signs that were announced in today's Gospel passage are fulfilled. Jesus had said that the sun would darken (MC 13,24), and here it is after the crucifixion of Jesus, « come noon, it became dark over the whole earth, until three in the afternoon" (MC 15,33). Matteo, amplifying the Marcian story, he then adds that "the earth trembled and the rocks split" (Mt 27,51), a reference to Jesus' phrase that "the stars will begin to fall from the sky" (MC 13,25). We are therefore faced not only with an announcement of the end of the world and of time. which, moreover, had already been glimpsed in the opening words of the Gospel: «The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near; convert and believe in the Gospel" (MC 1,15). But with the coming of the Messiah and the death of the Lord Jesus the eschatological time begins, the time of the end, through which the scene of this world passes: «This I tell you, siblings: time has become short... in fact the figure of this world passes!» (1Color 7, 29-31).

In this condition the believer can therefore spiritually assume the dimension of the coming of the Lord in the space of waiting. It will not be distressing or a harbinger of anxiety, quite full of confidence, since it rests on the assurance of the Lord: "I'll come soon" (AP 22,7). The Christian expectation of the second coming of the Lord is an act of faith. It will branch out in the different directions of patience, of resistance, of perseverance and above all of hope. Says the Apostle Paul: «But if we hope for what we do not see, we await it with perseverance" (we wait patiently, cf.. RM 8,25). Patient waiting even becomes a reason for bliss according to the book of Daniel: «Blessed is he who waits patiently» (Dn 12,12).

It should be underlined that this Sunday's evangelical passage is framed between two almost identical warnings: blepete, «look», "be careful"; e agrupneite, «keep your eyes wide open and take care» (MC 13,23.33). The text is set within an exhortation to vigilance and discernment. The time of history is inhabited by tribulations of which Mark spoke in the previous verses (MC 13,19-20), tribulations that precede the central event of the eschatological announcement, which will put an end to the story by giving it an end: the coming of the Son of Man. The upheaval of celestial realities (MC 13,24-25) he says that a divine event is taking place, an event of which the creator God is the protagonist. But the sun and the moon, the stars and celestial powers were also part of the pantheon of the ancient Romans, deified entities and idols; and we know that Mark writes to Christians in Rome. Therefore not only the end of the world is announced here, but also the end of a world, the collapse of the world of pagan gods dethroned by the Son of Man. And if it is stated that the end of idolatry will be accomplished with the Kingdom of God established by the coming of the Lord, it is also insinuated that the practice of Christians in the world can represent a sign of the reign of God; thanks to your vigilance, so as not to let idols reign over him. Announcing his glorious coming, Jesus therefore asks Christians, as a prophetic gesture, conversion from idols and worldly powers. Living the wait for the Lord means living in a state of conversion. But conversion has vigilance as a necessary premise.

Here then is the very sweet image of the sprouting fig tree, in all directions, since it almost gives a foretaste of the final outcome when the ripe fruit appears. This is a parable of the Lord who teaches us how looking at celestial signs and observing terrestrial ones are not alternatives.. The future is being prepared in the present day, on the earth where we are planted and where we can see many signs of the glorious coming of the Lord. Only those who know how to observe well can also see them: «From the fig tree learn the parable: when its branch already becomes tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near" (MC 13,28).

From the Hermitage, 17 November 2024

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