Mk.13: 24-32
We come across Christians who have imprinted their lives in golden letters with their heroic witness of Christ and his gospel. They did not consider the words of Jesus as merely a past descriptive accounts, but rather the words of life and the path that leads to life. The exemplary witness of Alfred Delp would testify to this truth and his deep trust in the words of Jesus. He was born in the German city of Mannheim. His mother was a Catholic and his father was a Lutheran. Though he was baptised in the church, he had a Lutheran upbringing. At the age of 14, he left the Lutheran church and received his first Holy Communion and confirmation in the Catholic Church. He joined the Jesuits in 1926. After 1933, his life was challenged by the advent of the Nazi regime. He was ordained in 1937.
He was gravely distressed by the barbaric rule of Hitler. He joined the Kreisau Circle, a group that worked zealously to create a new social order in Germany. He was arrested along with other members of the organisation after the murder attempt against Hitler in 1944. There wasn’t any evidence of his involvement in the assassination attempt. Even then, he was brutally tortured and condemned to hang to death for his high treason. Finally, there was a bargain by the Nazis that if he would denounce the Jesuits, he would be granted freedom. However, he denied it courageously. On February 2nd, 1945, the feast of Presentation, on which Jesuits normally make their final solemn vows, he was hanged. In fact, he could make his solemn vows before his execution. Yet their anger was not cooled off by his death. His executioners cremated his body as per Hitler’s order and spread it in the unknown field…
While his physical remains were lost, his writings were smuggled out of the prison and became a spiritual classic titled “Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings 1941–1944.” It reveals a man of great faith and courage who told the prison chaplain who accompanied him to his death: “In half an hour, I’ll know more than you do.” Death was not a dead end for him but just a beginning because he was quite certain of a person who stands beyond the valley of death and the power of his words… “Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will not pass away.” (Mk. 13: 31)
We are approaching the closure of this liturgical year. We have been reflecting on the discipleship of Christ from the Markan perspective during this liturgical year. As we conclude our pilgrim journey along with the Markan account, we are assured by the words of Jesus that the radical discipleship of Jesus is not an easy task; all the same, it is not an impossible task because we are assured by the words of Jesus: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Mk. 13: 31) When our journey of discipleship is challenged by various factors such as persecutions, denials of religious freedom, etc. We should not lose our hope. Moreover, in all ages these tendencies will be present in the world. In fact, these challenges are also opportunities for us to become courageous witnesses of Christ and his gospel by carrying our cross faithfully and following Jesus.
In today’s gospel, we see that these challenges will continue until the end of time. The early Christians ardently believed in Parousia, the immediate second coming of Jesus in his heavenly glory. It is a definite reality, but no one except Abba Father knows it’s coming into existence. As I mentioned earlier, from the first century onwards, lots of assumptions and superstitions existed concerning the second coming of Jesus. Jesus made it clear that this moment is none of our business, all the same it is not an excuse for us to be lethargic and think that the second coming of Jesus is a mere fantasy.
In the first reading, the prophet Daniel leads us to the last judgement day, wherein he speaks about the book of life. Those righteous whose names are written in the book of life will be awakened into everlasting life, and those who cannot find a place in the book of life will be accountable for their choice of eternal separation from God. In the gospels, Jesus gives us further clarity concerning the end of time. The ultimate criteria is the love with which we live the gospel of Jesus. Our final destiny will be determined by our responses to these situations in which we are called to encounter Christ. In this parable, we see that both the groups did not recognise Jesus in these last, least, and lost; anyhow, their commitment to Christ and his gospel guided their response. Those who lived the gospel values chose eternal life, and those who failed to live, chose eternal separation.
We see this message in a tangible manner in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. After their death, Lazarus was rewarded with eternal life, and the rich man was condemned. The Gospel did not mention that this rich man was a sinner, but he failed to recognise Yahweh in the poor. It was the Lord himself who pleaded for the rich man’s mercy, but he could not recognise and he could not share the richness that he received out of the Lord’s mercy with his needy brethren. As we celebrate the world day of the poor today, let us spend some time reflecting on these end realities of our lives. It is true that for many of our brethren the reality after death is merely a fantasy, cooked up by the Church. For us, every Eucharistic celebration is a glimpse of eternity before us because Jesus, who conquered death and presented his eternity to us, is truly present here.
Dear Brethren, let the gospel does not remain as an ideology; let it become our way of life by orienting our lives by choosing Jesus as our ultimate goal. Let us continue our faith journey by encountering Christ in our needy brethren, thus, let us choose life and not death. May Christ keep us awake on our faith journey and guide our steps to choose him, who is the way, the truth, and the life…