The end of the world: Beyond fright to rejoicing

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 13, 2011
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: Matt. 25:14-30 The servants and the talents

Full homily text: When we hear the second reading from St. Paul to the Community of Thessalonica, we can be filled with fright. For St. Paul is talking about the “day of the Lord” or the Second Coming of Christ. Our fear is only intensified in our present day with all the talk about the end of the world. Just last spring a Protestant minister, Harold Camping, was predicting that the end of the world would come on May 21^st. He predicted that there would be an earthquake “so powerful that it would throw open all the graves.” Of course we all know that his prediction was wrong. The day came and went without even a tremor.

Fr. Joseph Eddy is the vocation director of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, founded to redeem Christians whose faith is in danger. The Order’s student house in the U.S. is in Philadelphia.

Is God calling you to become a Mercedarian friar? Visit Fr. Joseph’s Facebook page, or the website of the .

Yet, even a more ancient prophecy has caught the attention of many, the end of the Mayan Calendar. Some predict that this calendar would end on December 21, 2012. They say that it will bring the end of the world by catastrophic astronomical events such as: “killer solar flare” and “planets flying by.” Although many experts dispute this, Hollywood and others have raised the suspense as the year 2012 comes.

A thief in the night

But, what does Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition tells us about the end of the world? In fact, yes, we do believe as Catholics that the world as we know it will end at the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus himself says in John 14:3, “I am going to prepare a place for you…. I shall return to take you with me.” St. Paul exclaims in the second reading today that the “day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.” The early Church believed that the Second Coming was eminent and would come when we least expect it. We must believe then that Jesus impressed this on the Apostles and indeed we hear him talk about this several times in the Gospels. We as faithful Catholics say in the Creed, “He will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.”

So it is and has always been a part of our faith that Christ will come again in glory. But, we do not look at this with a worldly fear, instead as it says in the psalm a Fear of the Lord. The Fear of the Lord is more like a true love for God that keeps us from ever wanting to offend him.  We know that at Baptism we are given a lit candle, which symbolizes the life of grace that we have been given. We are told to keep this light burning brightly through all the ups and downs of our pilgrimage on earth. We are to use our talents and all that we have to glorify God in our lives.

Focus on our calling

How do we do this? Well, first, we must really focus on living well the particular state that we have been called to. For most this is marriage and family life. This is the field that we are called to grow and become holy in. It is in living well the ordinary events or life that we prepare for the Second Coming by being the light of Christ in our family. Second, we do this by showing mercy towards our neighbors and take Christ’s light out into the workplace, etc. We do not do this alone, but only with the grace of God and the support of our parish community. Prayer and frequenting the Sacraments are essential ways of staying “sober and alert.”

So, while others may fear the Second Coming, we do not. Rather, as faithful Catholics, we have a great hope and expectation of the coming of our Savior.  Again we say in the Creed that we “look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” For heaven is that which we all long for not by coincidence, but because God has created us in his Image to be united with him forever. This union begins at our Baptism and is prefigured with each faithful Communion that we partake in.

More than we can imagine

Each time we feel frustrated with the limits of the world, others, and/or ourselves there is a longing, a hope for a time when we are purified and in union with our Savior for all eternity. Heaven will not disappoint us. In fact, it will be much more than we could want or imagine.

So let others predict all they want! Our union has already begun and, if we continue to be faithful, it will be fulfilled at the Second Coming when Jesus will come to bring us home. This will not be a time to dread, but to rejoice with all the Saints and Angels forever!