Sunday 17th
November 2019. Bible Study: Malachi 4:1-2, Psalm 98, 2nd Thessalonians
3:7-12 & Luke 21:5-19)
_“For
behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all
evildoers will be stubble … But for you who fear my name the sun of
righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings” *(Malachi 4:1-2)
Last
Sunday, we learnt that death is not the end of our lives but the beginning of
another life, where there would be no need for marriage since we shall be like
the angels. We saw how the seven brothers willingly gave up their lives rather
than commit sin because they were absolutely convinced of the resurrection of
the dead and the reward of the just in the life to come. Today, we hear Jesus in
our Gospel passage saying that we too shall face persecution and some put to
death for His sake.
Everything
that has a beginning must have an end. Whether we are persecuted or not, we
cannot escape death and God’s judgement. Malachi tells us that while the evildoers
will stumble, those who fear God shall rise to eternal life. Our Psalmist says:
God judges in fairness. Surely, God cannot be bribed or threatened to deliver a
false judgement like human judges do in court. There are so many lessons for us
to take home today:
*1. This
World is Passing Away: Nothing in this World Lasts Forever.*
In our Gospel
passage, Jesus saw how people were admiring the beauty Temple in all its glory and
shocked them by saying: “The days will come when there shall not be left here
one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” To really grasp what
Jesus is saying, apply this statement of Jesus to all the things you cherish
right now. St. John drives home the point when he says: “Do not love the world
or the things in the world… For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh
and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of
the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the
will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17).
The biggest
mistake we can ever make is to sell our souls to the devil for the sake of the
material riches of this world. As Jesus once asked: “For what does it profit a
man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life.” (Mark 8:36) No wonder when
the devil sought to tempt Jesus with the riches of this world, Jesus did not
even give it a second thought. (Matthew 4:8-10).
*2. Though
We Live in the World, We Do not Belong to this World.*
In John’s
Gospel, Jesus clearly told us: “If the world hates you, know that it The hated
me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own;
but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19). In fact, in today’s Gospel
passage, we hear Jesus saying to us: “they will lay their hands on you and
persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons… you will be
delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of
you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name's sake.” (Luke
21:12-17)
You may
wonder, if the world hates us so much, how are we to respond? First, bear in
mind that “though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war,
for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly.” (2 Corinthians 10:3). Therefore,
Jesus told us “not to meditate beforehand how we are to answer.” The battle
does not belong to us; our quarrel is not with human beings. “For we are not
contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the
powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).
Secondly,
Jesus tells us: “By your endurance, you will gain your lives.” Never give up on
doing what is right even when it becomes painful. To endure is to remain
steadfast no matter what. To endure is to continue serving God even when you cannot
find role models around you anymore. Are you currently thinking of giving up on
your goodness? Are you sick and tired of being laughed at, insulted and called
names by your peers for being such a God-fearing person? Jesus says to us
today: “Do not Give Up.” Continue carrying that cross, it will save your life
in the end.
*3. Take Heed
that You are Not Led Astray by False Prophets.*
True to
Jesus’ prediction, we live in an era of false prophets. Christianity in this
country suffers from a very bad reputation due to the avalanche of false
prophets who have risen from every quarter. Many persons believe that the
coming of the Antichrist would signal the end of the world but as St. John would
say: “Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is
coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the
last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been
of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be
plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:18-19)
Honestly, it
is not everyone who calls himself or herself a pastor or priest that is worthy
of that title. A lot of people running churches today are antichrists. Jesus
told us “many will come in my name… do not go after them.” Come to think of it,
if you claim to be a Christian, a pastor, an evangelist or whatever, and your way
of life (or your actions) is making people turn away from Jesus Christ, or
develop hatred for anything church, aren’t you simply an antichrist? If you
open church just to enrich yourself, aren’t you an antichrist? If you begin to
tell people lies in the name of vision, aren’t you an antichrist?
*4. Get
Busy; Use Your Talents, Work for your Daily Bread.*
There were
some people who heard sermons about the end of the world and decided they would
do nothing else but just wait for that day. St. Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians
seriously rebuked such persons saying that no one should be given anything to eat
if he or she does not work. St. Paul reminded the people who he worked with his
own hands (as a tentmaker) to provide his daily bread. The world would surely
end but that should not be an excuse for laziness. Let us face the fact. The
current wave of prosperity preaching in our land has produced a generation of very
lazy Christians who have decided they wouldn’t make use of the great gifts,
talents and ability to reason that God has freely deposited in them.
You find
many Christians today who prefer to shout “I receive it” in church than to handle
a hoe and cutlass in the farm. You find Christians who believe that all their problems
are a result of demonic activities; Christians who fear the devil more than they
fear to disobey God; Christians who believe that no matter what they do, they
are destined to fail because some man or woman of God has seen a vision for
them; Christians who beat their own mother in public because the so-called
pastor said she is the one responsible for stagnation in their life.
You find
Christians who believe that by sowing a seed in the church, they can just go
home and do nothing while money begins to shower on their bodies like rain. I can
go on and on. Dear friends, use your head! Even Jesus Christ himself worked as
a carpenter. He made furniture for a living to provide his needs before he decided
to begin his public ministry. He was well known in his village so much so that
the people looked down on him when he visited and could not imagine where and
how he got the wisdom to speak such gracious words. (Cf. Matthew 13:55-58).
*Conclusion*
Today’s
readings were carefully selected by the Church because we are coming to the end
of a liturgical year. The simple truth is that the day you die, this world
would end for you. Jesus tells us that there would be wars, tumults, terrorism,
earthquakes, famines, pestilences and so on, but despite all these things, “do
not be terrified.” Relax, and go about your daily activities, earn your daily
bread, but in all you do, make sure you “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”
(Matthew 6:33) so that when your death comes, you will be among those upon whom
“the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” as Malachi says.
Today is the world day of the poor. What have you done and what do you plan to do
for the poor?
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, take far from me anything that would keep me far from you. Amen.
Happy
Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless
you. (Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C. Bible Study: Malachi 4:1-2,
Psalm 98, 2nd Thessalonians 3:7-12 & Luke 21:5-19).
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