November 13, 2009
Sunday Scripture
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
The end of the liturgical year corresponds to the approach of winter. It is again time for the Sunday readings to remind us of the end of time and the end of our own lives on this earth. The gospel for today is taken from a part of Mark called “The Little Apocalypse.” An apocalypse or apocalyptic writing was a popular form of mid-eastern literature from about 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. Much of this literature is unknown to most people. Some of it entered the later parts of the Old Testament, especially in the Books of Joel and Daniel. The New Testament also has its share. The major apocalypse of the New Testament is the Book of Revelation, but apocalyptic themes have also found a home in Paul’s letters, in the gospels, and most New Testament documents.
One major theme of an apocalypse is a prediction of cosmic disasters, such as we find in today’s reading from Mark 13, “The Little Apocalypse.” The darkening of the sun, a moon that gives no light, stars falling from the sky, major collisions of heavenly bodies - these are all standard expressions Mark borrows from Old Testament apocalyptic. In the Old Testament these disasters were envisioned as bringing in the “Day of the Lord Yahweh.” In the New Testament the same disasters are used to envision the “Day of the Lord Jesus.” Of this day Mark will say at the end of today’s gospel, “But of that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
This warning has gone unheeded throughout the history of Christianity. In every century, beginning with the earliest writings of the New Testament, the end of time and the return of Jesus as final judge have been predicted as “soon” or even with the audacity of setting exact dates. When Jesus did not show up according to schedule as predicted by either a sincere believer or an insincere deceiver, the usual defense has been that the date-setter miscalculated or God experienced a change of mind to give more time for repentance.
The excuses used by New Testament writers are still used today. For example, the author of Revelation repeatedly affirmed that Jesus would return “soon.” This was in 95 A.D. How does a preacher intent on trying to save the Holy Spirit “from having made some errors” explain the fact that Jesus did not return “soon?” It has been done in this way. John was a prophet, and could therefore see all the way down into the twentieth century when Jesus really would return. Now that we live in the twenty-first century, we know that Jesus missed an important appointment set up by some human agent.
We must face the fact that the human writers of the Scriptures did not take dictation from the Holy Spirit. True, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, but we do not know exactly how inspiration works. This much is a matter of faith, the inerrancy of Scripture is guaranteed for those matters necessary or important for our salvation. The date for the return of Jesus does not come under these categories. The various misguided human attempts to set a date for the return of Jesus are not a matter of faith even when they occur in Scripture and it should be clear after all these centuries that their exactness is not guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Common sense is a good beginning for understanding Scripture.
The return of Jesus and final judgment are matters of faith. The how and the when are known only to God. What should we do about these biblical warnings, such as we have in today’s gospel? The Church Father Origen, died 254, explains as follows. Those who live the gospel . . . care little about when the end of the world will come. Instead they keep in mind that each person’s end or death will arrive at a day or hour unknown. It is important therefore to live in such a way at any time of life that we will be prepared when God alone knows our time is up. Mark ends his “Little Apocalypse” with one word, “Watch!”
The Book of Daniel dates from 165 B.C. Like today’s gospel, it is an apocalypse. It deals with the final intervention of God against the enemies of the Jewish people. The authors set three dates for that intervention, none of which came about. Part of their fame should rest on the fact that they began the date-setting trend which endures to our time. This reading from Daniel dovetails with today’s gospel in these words, “It will be a time unsurpassed in distress, since nations began until that time.” The importance of this part of Daniel: it is the first clear revelation of a resurrection of the dead with final judgment.
This reading continues from last Sunday the theme of the priesthood of Jesus, who offered one sacrifice for sin. In the liturgy of the Mass we continue to make present to our own time that one sacrifice in obedience to the command of Jesus, “Do this in remembrance of me . . . For as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns.”