Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]

 
CCC 162-165: Perseverance in faith; faith as the beginning of eternal life
CCC 675-677: The final trial of the Church
CCC 307, 531, 2427-2429: Human labor as redemptive
CCC 673, 1001, 2730: The last day

“The Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem”
by Micolas Poussin, 1637

 
Readings for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Malachi 3:19-20a
 
Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,
when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble,
and the day that is coming will set them on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch,
says the Lord of hosts.
But for you who fear my name, there will arise
the sun of justice with its healing rays.
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Commentary on Mal 3:19-20a
 
Malachi, who writes his prophecy in post-exile Israel before the reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra, is sending a warning to those who have returned from exile. This pair of verses is responding to a statement posed by the Hebrews in verses 14-15: "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, and going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts? Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity." The prophet begins by saying that the punishment of the proud is inevitable. He tells those who complain that (if they do not reform their lives) the day is coming when they will be held accountable. This short passage appears to point at the Messiah (the “sun of justice”) as the one who can forgive them.
 
CCC: Mal 3:19 678
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9
 
R. (cf. 9) The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
 
Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
 
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
 
Before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth,
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.
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Commentary on Ps 98:5-6, 7-8, 9
 
Psalm 98 is a song of praise. The psalmist sees God’s presence in the law and word of God as he rules with justice. We see in this selection how God is praised for the strength he lends his people, and the salvation he brings to those who are faithful.
 
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Reading II: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
 
Brothers and sisters:
You know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day
we worked, so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you,
we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work,
neither should that one eat.
We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a
disorderly way,
by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.
Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly
and to eat their own food.
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Commentary on 2 Thes 3:7-12
 
St. Paul addresses a problem with some of the individuals in the church in Thessalonica, possibly because of St. Paul’s own teaching on the imminent second coming of Christ (the Parousia) (1 Thessalonians 2:16; 3:3-4; 5:4-5), but more likely because of a forged letter claiming to be from him (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Some members of the community had stopped working for a living, waiting for the end to come. St. Paul urges them to stop this behavior (and to stop involving themselves in other people’s business, a side effect of the lifestyle which left them with too much time on their hands), and get back to working for a living.
 
CCC: 2 Thes 3:1-13 1577; 2 Thes 3:9 1794
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Gospel: Luke 21:5-19
 
While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here--
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
 
Then they asked him,
"Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"
He answered,
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,’ and 'The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end."
Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
 
"Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
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Commentary on Lk 21:5-19
 
St. Luke’s Gospel, unlike St. Mark’s account of this eschatological discourse, does not place the end times as being “at hand.” Rather, he focuses on the Christian community living the faith from day to day. He tells the disciples of the coming persecutions, and bids them to trust in the Holy Spirit, who will keep their souls safe from harm.
 
“Jesus’ Olivet [eschatological] Discourse foretells the coming devastation of Jerusalem in language that makes use of several OT images and themes (121:6, 24).  His words are confirmed a generation later, when the Romans trampled the city and the temple to the ground in A.D. 70.  The catastrophe was a historical preview of the end of the world, showing how God’s judgment upon the one nation of Israel at the end of the Old Covenant era prefigures the judgment of all nations at the end of the New (CCC 585-86).” [5] 
 
CCC: Lk 21:4 2544; Lk 21:12 675
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Reflection:
 
If we take all of the passages from Holy Scripture that the Church presents to us today, and find a common thread running through them, it can be summarized: “The end is coming, and it will be very difficult for the faithful to endure, but in the end, God will save those who trust in him."
 
We get this feeling from the very beginning in the reading from the book of the prophet Malachi.  He is speaking to the Jews who have returned from the exile. Listening to the prophet criticizing them earlier in his book, we understand that they were not accepting God’s Law.  He warns them that God would call them to account for their actions and that justice would be served upon them.  The final strophe of Psalm 98 enhances this feeling (“He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity.”).
 
When we get to St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear him speaking to that church about people who have anticipated the end times and have stopped working.  He tells them that the time has not come, and they need to continue to work.  Ironically, it is probably from a forged letter, claiming to be from St. Paul, that they got this idea.
 
In St. Luke’s Gospel, the Lord warns about just that sort of thing.  He tells the disciples: “See that you are not deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,’ and 'The time has come.’Do not follow them!”  The Lord tells us that, as we wait for our own time to come, we must expect that there will be difficult times.  We will be persecuted for our belief in Christ, and we will be put to the test.  That feeling of the end times leads us to the point where we might become worried if it were not for the very last parts of the Gospel passage.  The calming voice of the Lord tells us that we do not need to worry about these times.  All we need to do is trust in the Holy Spirit and the right words will be given to us.  All we need to do is have faith and God will see that no harm will come to us.

 
The practical lesson for us today must be that we must remain steadfast in our faith.  The time when all must face justice will come.  We do not know when or where, but God has given us the great comfort of his Son who gave us words of peace and left us the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to guide us, to strengthen us, and to lead us safely to God’s loving arms.
 
Pax
 
In other years on November 13th: Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “The Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem” by Micolas Poussin, 1637.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 147.