Homily: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Brothers
and sisters, as we approach the end of Ordinary Time and the beginning of
Advent, we begin to receive messages about Jesus’ second coming. We know that Jesus’ second coming will mark
the “end of time” when there will be a final judgement of both the living and
the dead and every human soul will either be welcomed into heaven or left to
languish in hell. Each year the Church
reminds us of this as we approach the end of Ordinary Time in order to remind
us to stay vigilant and watchful for Jesus’ coming. It is as if she is saying, “Just as this
liturgical year will come to an end, so will our lives and the world as we know
it come to an end. Therefore, be prepared!”
Let’s take a closer look at these readings, therefore, to see how today we
are being called to be prepared.
Although
it may not be apparent from the reading, there is one important practice of
ancient cultures that we will have to understand before we can make sense of
these readings for us. This practice is
something called the “Parousia”.
“Parousia” is an ancient Greek word for the triumphant entrance of a
king into the city in which he will ascend to his throne and rule over the
land. In ancient cultures, when it was
announced that the king was approaching, the people would all rise up and go
out to meet him along the way. Then they
would accompany the king as he enters the city, singing songs of honor and
praise the whole way. The city, of
course, would be properly adorned to receive the king and all the people would
put on their best garments to go out to meet him.
This
is the image of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. His disciples in Jerusalem went out to meet
him on the hillside outside of the city walls and then processed into Jerusalem
with him, singing songs of honor and praise: “Hosana to the Son of David!
Hosana in the highest!” This was a
Parousia: the coming of Jesus Christ the King into Jerusalem to ascend to his
throne.
On the
surface, it may not seem like it, but the reading from the letter to the
Thessalonians describes the final Parousia of Jesus. Let’s
look at the reading again. It
says, “For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an
archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead
in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The sound of the trumpets and the voice of
the archangel announce the coming of the King and he will begin his descent into
the city. Then those who are his
faithful subjects—both those who have already died and those who are still
alive—will go up to him in the clouds to meet him and accompany him in his
procession into the city.
Now,
what Saint Paul does not say, but rather leaves ambiguous, is what will happen
at that point. In the letter he simply
says, “Thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
What many Scripture scholars believe is that this procession will return
to earth, but it won’t be the same earth.
Rather it will be the earth renewed by the second coming, the image of
which the Apostle John saw and which is recorded for us in the book of
Revelation. There it says:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no
more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them
and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them [as their
God].
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old
order has passed away.”
The one who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Putting
these two readings together, we can see that what Saint Paul is describing is
the Parousia of Jesus at the end of time.
He does this, as the reading says, to remind us of the hope that we have
in Jesus: that even if we die before Jesus’ coming, we who have remained
faithful to him will be raised up so as to enter “the new Jerusalem” with him.
Ah,
how good it is that the reading from the book of Revelation points to how “the
new Jerusalem” was “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” This image points us to the parable Jesus
uses in our Gospel reading and helps us to make more sense of its lesson.
In the
culture of the ancient near east, weddings were celebrated differently than
they are today. Then, weddings were
mostly arranged (though this doesn’t mean that they were cold, business
affairs; rather, they were highly personal involving both the bride and groom’s
whole families). The bride was usually an
adolescent who, once the arrangement was made, didn’t immediately leave to
enter her to-be-husband’s house (although, being “betrothed”, she was
considered to be wed to her husband already).
After some time and after all of the final preparations were made, the
groom would then leave his house to go to the house of his bride to officially
take her as his wife and bring her into his home.
On
this day, the bride’s family would make special preparations to receive the groom
and to celebrate the joyous occasion.
The bride would have attendants who were young, unmarried women (“virgins”
in biblical speak). These would stand
outside the gates of the house to await the coming of the groom and then to accompany
him (and his attendants) into the house singing songs of joy. This was a “mini-Parousia”, of sorts: the
coming of the groom being like the coming of a most highly-anticipated and
honored guest.
Customarily,
the groom would arrive in late afternoon or dusk and so the attendants would
bring lamps to light the way into the house.
There was no way to know when the groom would arrive, however, so the young
attendants would have to be prepared to wait.
The “wise” ones (other translations call them “farsighted”) would bring
extra oil for their lamps to keep them burning if the wait was longer than
expected. The “foolish” ones (other
translations call them “those who don’t take care”) wouldn’t. As we see in the parable, when the “Parousia”
happens, there’s no time to get more supplies.
One simply has to be ready.
In
this parable, Jesus is giving his disciples an image of his second coming and
he is warning them to prepare now so that they don’t find themselves on the wrong
side of judgment when he comes. Although
this seems like threat, it is actually a loving warning. Jesus wants all of his followers to enter
with him into the eternal wedding feast!
Thus, he warns them and encourages them because he wants them to be
eternally happy! This is not a maleficent
God who delights in our suffering, but a loving Father who wants every good
thing for his children! Let me just say
this: If all you think of when you think of God is the threat of eternal
suffering, then you don’t really know God and I encourage you to spend time
considering this passage and all of the goodness that God wants us to receive.
Brothers
and sisters, the second coming of Jesus, or our own going to the Lord, may come
very unexpectedly. Thus, we need to
remain focused on living our lives as disciples of Jesus each day so that we do
not get caught unprepared. But there are
so many things in this world to distract us, right? The pandemic, the election, and the anxieties
of our daily lives all fight to distract us from staying prepared for the day
when Jesus comes. I can only imagine how
anxious our young people are about their future. “Will I be able to finish school? Will there be a job for me? Will I be safe?” I assure you, young people, we adults share
these anxieties with you.
How,
then, do we remain prepared? In other
words, what are the keys to remaining focused on living our lives as disciples
of Jesus each day? My suggestion is to
look to the time of Lent, in which we focus on the three pillars of the
spiritual life: prayer, fasting, and giving alms.
In
prayer, we stay connected to God, who is our hope. This includes our daily prayer time and our
communal prayer in the liturgy and the sacraments (DAILY PRAYER: HALLOW). By fasting we remain detached from the things
of this world and, thus, keep our eyes on the world to come. We fast, first and foremost, from those
things that cause us to sin: too much food (or certain types of food), too much
drink, too much television or time with technology, gossiping, selfishness, and
being judgmental. We fast also from things
that are good to increase our sense of detachment: things like, unnecessary
purchases, eating out excessively, etc.
By
giving alms, we remind ourselves that we do not wait for the second coming
alone, but rather with all of our brothers and sisters around us. Therefore, we strive to live in communion
with them, as if they are close relatives or neighbors to us. This means that, when we see one of our
brothers or sisters in need, we respond to the movement in our hearts to
help. That may be through prayer,
pleading to God and his angels to help them, or through providing more direct
help with their material and spiritual needs by giving of our time and
treasure. In this way, we overcome
selfishness and keep our minds and hearts prepared to go out to Jesus when he
comes. Can we do this? Of course we can (with God’s help)!
Brothers
and sisters, God’s help is readily available to us. In fact, the first reading from the book of
Wisdom shows us the truth of this as it describes how God’s wisdom (which is a
metaphor for God’s grace) “is readily perceived by those who love her, and
found by those who seek her.” In other
words, we don’t have to go looking for God’s grace, it is always right here,
waiting for us to receive it. It’s like
the air we breathe: always around us if we just open our mouths and
inhale. By prayer, fasting, and giving
alms we open our hearts to receive the grace of God that is always available to
us.
Brothers
and sisters, if we are focused on living our lives as disciples of Jesus each
day, we will be prepared to enter the eternal wedding feast of heaven when
Jesus comes. Let us not be fearful of
this coming, but rather be anxious to be prepared, trusting that our loving
Lord will not leave us alone on the day of his coming. This Eucharist that we celebrate is the
assurance of his promise. And so, let us
show him that we trust in his promise by uniting our thanksgiving to his sacrifice
that we will soon re-present on this altar, and by committing to live as his
disciples, vigilant for his coming.
Given at Saint Joan of Arc Parish: Kokomo, IN – November 8th,
2020
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