THE END IS NEAR

 

Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke (Schoenstatt Fathers)

Scriptural Texts: Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32 

 

We are gradually coming to the end of both the calendar year and the Church’s liturgical year. Today is the thirty-third Sunday of the year and with the Solemnity of Christ the King coming up next Sunday, the current liturgical year ends and another year begins with the season of Advent. As we are approaching the end of the season, the Church in her wisdom fittingly invites us through the gospel reading to meditate on the words of Christ concerning the end of the world. For every beginning, there is an end. The seasons come and go, and one day, the life of each one of us must also come to an end.

Apocalyptic predictions are nothing new; they have been around for ages. Predicting the end of the world is an old story as the statement that “the end is near” has always been very recurring over the years. Many prophets from different religious beliefs and scientists alike have made predictions about the end of the world and painted many doomsday scenarios. But those predictions have always turned out to be false apocalypses. Today, Jesus responds to all those seeking to know when the world will end. He says, “Regarding that day and hour, no one knows when it will come, not even the angels, not even the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). It is true that we do not know when the world will end, but we can be certain that the world and our lives will end someday (Mark 13:31). The unpredictable nature of the time of the Lord’s second coming (parousia) and the end of the world should make us to be always prepared so that these occurrences may not take us by surprise.

We are good at making plans but more often than not, the plans we make are all about earthly realities. We make plans about our life, vocation, career and even the kind of life we will live after our retirement. But rarely do we plan for the life beyond this earthly life. We live our life as if the end does not matter; as if there will always be tomorrow. The end will come. It is my conviction that the end of the world refers to the end of a particular mode of existence. As such, our death will be the end of our world. And as the prophet Daniel mentioned in the first reading, after death comes judgment and retribution; while some will awake to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting disgrace (Daniel 12:1-3). Let us therefore be ready and the best way to prepare for dying is by living- living according to the instructions of St. Peter in his letter (1 Peter 4:7-11).

Dear friend, since we know that the end will surely come and at a time we do not know, we should then be prepared for it now and always. We should live each day as if it is our last. To do this, a life of daily sanctity should be the key. Finally, as both the liturgical year and the calendar year are also coming to an end, now is a good time for us to evaluate how we have lived the year and make plans for the coming new seasons. In whatever we do, let us always keep the end in view and may God grant us the grace to be ready when the end comes. Amen.