Gospel : Mark 13 : 24 – 32
Year B
Jesus spoke about His coming: “In those days”…..
It was the wording used by the Prophets to announce the coming of the Messiah. You take it up, Lord, to speak of Your return at the end of time. But why must we focus on images of catastrophe? You use them in the way of the Prophets of old to better draw our attention to what’s essential. But instead of going to the depth of Your message, we remain so impressed by the image that we do not discover the message which it conceals. And we do not hear the call to trust and to joy that You address to us:
You will send Your angels to assemble the chosen ones from the four corners of the world! You announce the success of Your Mission, the realisation of the plan of the Father: all His children will be gathered in joy and eternal love.
The sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will fall …. What do You want to say, Lord through these catastrophic images? The sun, the moon, the stars proclaim the beauty and grandeur of creation …. But God is greater than all … God alone is great! repeats the Bible. But this, too easily, too often, is forgotten only to attach instead to what glistens, to what can be seen and touched … When You come, Your resplendent beauty will eclipse all this. What attracts our attention now will no longer captivate us. Nothing will then be able to distance us from You, to draw us away from You. God will be all in all, concludes Paul.
So it’s not to astonish us that You announce Your coming, but to fill our hearts with joy and trust. Thank You, Lord!
But Your coming, is not only for the end of time …. it is now, and often, that You knock on my door, through events, through a neighbour …. Let me recognise You in faith and be open to You without delay, in joy and love.
