Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are rapidly approaching the end of the liturgical year. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, looking forward to His second coming. And then, neither stumbling nor tripping we will pass into Advent; and our scripture readings will again urge us to be ready.

So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

Like the cycle of the seasons, the shift from this year to next is not sudden or dramatic. It is like a wheel’s spinning or the earth’s turning. Or it is like breathing: you inhale, pause, exhale, pause and inhale again. It is cyclic, even, undisturbed and reassuring.

In today’s gospel Jesus demonstrates the prophet’s “long view” of history. He sees clearly what others fail to notice. While his country bumpkin disciples are gawking at the massive, indestructible buildings in Jerusalem, he sees the city leveled by God’s judgment.

In fact, in 70 A.D the Romans besieged, invaded and destroyed the city. After years of unrest and urban guerrilla warfare the Romans executed their own version of a final solution.

Suddenly both Judaism and Christianity were homeless, cast adrift on the turbulent seas of history. Their anchor could not be a city or a country. It is the word of God which endures long after stones have crumbled into sand and grand canyons have been filled with debris.

Such a long view may be fine for a prophet, but how do the rest of us face the infinity of time? How do we cope, knowing that today’s security will disintegrate?

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." 

The turmoil will not catch us off guard because the Holy Spirit is preparing us for that day even now. As we pray daily, hearing and pondering the Word of God, the Spirit is sowing seeds that will suddenly, unexpectedly blossom:

…for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 

Those words, calm and dignified and beautiful, will flow just as easily as our prayers flow today, through the endless cycles of our sleeping and waking, working and resting, inhaling and exhaling.