33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Mark 13:24-32
A. Text and Context
• We Have just heard from the gospel of St. Mark what will be the signs when the Lord will come again for the final judgment from the end of the earth to the end of the sky
• So we are now talking about the last things which we call in theology as the Parousia
• And the signs are terrifying: the sun will be darkened, and the moon will no longer have light and the stars will fall from the sky
• And the Lord will come from the clouds and he will send his angels to gather the people again from the end of the earth to the end of the sky
• Not only that. If we go to the 1st reading in Daniel it says: There will be St. Michael the guardian of the people. The famous archangel who defeated Satan will be there
• And those who are asleep on the dust of the earth or the dead shall wake up and when all the dead will resurrect, some will live forever and others will have an everlasting horror and disgrace
• But the wise or the righteous will shine brightly and shall be like the stars forever
• It’s a scary picture of the doom and gloom when the Lord will return the second time around for the last judgment
B. Human Situation
• Let us examine closely the readings today. Remember that the readings in the liturgy are so arranged according to the seasons in the liturgical calendar
• Next week will be the solemnity of Christ the King and it will be the last week before the season of advent comes
• So the readings are now preparing us for the coming of our Lord in the advent season
• Now going back to the last judgment and we ask the question how soon will the Lord comes again for the final judgment?
• The answer is nobody knows. The time is only known and it is found in the deepest secrets of the Father in heaven. Nobody knows
• But Jesus in the gospel gives us a hint when the time is near that he is coming back for the last judgment
• So we heard kanina that the sun will darken, no more moonlight, stars falling from the sky
• But also another subtle warning signs, the lesson from the fig tree, when new branches sprout summer is coming
• So Jesus is giving us the signs when will be the time that he will come again to judge the living and the dead found in the apostles’ creed which we will recite later
• The same thing that the readings today are telling us to read carefully the signs of the times so that we will not be lost scampering for answers when the time will come
• So you listen very carefully what are some of the signs that I have personally discerned and reflected over the course of time that I have reflected in doing my ministry as a priest
• I think you are already familiar with Quiboloi the senior pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Davao City… he has already proclaimed himself as the appointed son of god
• And so bingo! The lord has already arrived? He was temporarily detained in Hawaii last Feb 2018 after authorities found $350,000 in undeclared cash and rifle parts in a private plane he shared with several other people, according to Rappler.com media report said
• And so the appointed son of god could be smuggling guns and laundering money! What a god? Can you believe that?
• Anong klaseng Mesiyas ito? But how many are his followers 4M in the Philippines and2M abroad. So you can judge for yourself that many are fooled
• Scriptures have already told us that in those days maraming bulaang propeta ang darating at marami ang maniniwala
• It is very clear in the gospel that the Lord will come through the clouds and not riding on a private plane and land in Hawaii
• You know people are so amusing how they can easily be deceived because they have not reflected so much about the scriptures
• Another sign from the scriptures Jesus said: Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation
• The gospel must reach to all the ends of the earth. In the most remote regions of the world. In every nook and cranny of the earth dapat makarating ang mensahe ng ebanghelyo
• Do you think that every human being in this planet has already heard about the gospel?
• Hindi pa nangyari ito. In socialist China there are people who have never heard of the gospel at all because the expression of religious freedom is suppressed under the dictum of communism
• Christians are persecuted and you can see the Chinese Christians barricading their churches while the government bulldozers are destroying their churches
• In North Korea, the mere possession of the bible could land you to jail in your entire lifetime
• North Koreans would cry when somebody gives them a bible because they hunger so much for the word of God
• How can their children hear about the scriptures? Bata pa lang sila they would be separated from their parents and indoctrinated starting from kindergarten. They grow up knowing nothing about God
• And so the bibles are given in the most clandestine way like smuggling cocaine or heroin by wrapping them in plastic and transporting them under water in rivers and beaches
• You have to ride a banca or a motorboat and pretend that you are fishing in order to get it
• Even if the pages are torn or botches with water it is a treasure for the North Koreans
• The 3rd example is in the 2nd reading today in Hebrews: Si Jesus ang taas nga pari nagahulat nga himoon sa Dios nga tumbanan ang iyang mga kaaway. Wala pa kana mahitabo karon, gamhanan pa kaayo ang mga kaaway nato nga mga globalista
• Today we are still waging wars both physically and spiritually. We still have to face the final battle. And the fiercest battle that we have to fight will be the Battle of Armageddon in the Middle East in Israel
• It has not happened yet in fact, ISIS is already defeated during the 1st months of the presidency of Donald Trump. The region is getting peaceful
• Another sign that we need to carefully read the signs of the times prayerfully, reflectively, and meditatively
• So I have only given 3 examples that will make us understand how to read the signs of the times so we can prepare ourselves for the final days
C. Challenge
• So now, while we carefully and prayerfully read the signs of the times and we discern when will be the coming of our Lord we now have a background kung kailan babalik ang Panginoon para sa huling paghuhukom
• Certainly, not tomorrow, not next week nor even many years from now judging from the point of view that some things are yet to happen before Jesus comes again
• In the meantime what are we going to do? This is now the essence of repentance. If we are doing dirty things right now stop it
• If we are doing corrupt and nasty things in secret in a very discreet manner so that it is so clean nobody would notice that what you are doing is so bad again, stop it
• Because you know, committing a sin and without being caught and you do it for so many years is very vicious and addictive and you will continue to do it because you become numb because you have the full control. You must stop before it’s too late
• Ug kon unsa ang mga maayong butang nga atong gihimo karon, ato kanang ipadayon, kay magauban kanato ang bendisyon sa Ginoo
• So this is the challenge that the gospel brings us today. A very simple fact that the preparation for the final judgment is really in our hands and we do it by doing the daily duties of our work, obligations, responsibilities ordinarily but we do it with our clean hands
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Mark 13 verse 24-32 Year C