One page synopsis of Christ the King Homily on Luke 23: 35-43 Introduction: It was Pope Pius XI who introduced this feast in the liturgy in 1925 to bring back Christ, his rule and Christian values into lives of Christians, into society and politics. It was also a reminder to the totalitarian governments of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin that Jesus Christ is the only sovereign king. Although emperors and kings now exist mostly in history books, we still honor Christ as the King of the Universe by enthroning him in our hearts and allowing him to take control of our lives. This feast challenges us to see Christ the King in every one and treat him or her with love, mercy and compassion as Jesus did, especially those whom our society considers the least important.
Scriptural basis: Since the New Testament identifies Christ the King as the Son of David, the first reading recalls the story of David's anointing as king of Israel. In the second reading, St. Paul asserts that, as the image of the invisible God, Christ the King is superior to the prominent groups of angels like "thrones, dominations, principalities or powers.” Describing the crucifixion scene, today’s gospel teaches that Christ became the king of our hearts and lives by his suffering, death and resurrection. In most of the messianic prophecies given in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Christ the Messiah is represented as a king. The New Testament tells us that Jesus is the long awaited king of the Jews. In the Annunciation, recorded in Lk.1: 32-33, we read: “The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever and his kingdom will never end.” When Pilate asked the question: (Jn.18: 33) “Are you the king of the Jews”? Jesus made this answer, “You say I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice” (Jn 18: 37)
Life messages: 1) We need to surrender our lives to Christ’s rule: Since Christ our king lives as His Holy Spirit in our hearts, as his grace in our souls, we have to learn to live in his holy presence, doing his will by sharing his forgiving love with others around us. Being aware of his presence in the Bible, in the sacraments and in the worshipping community we have to listen and talk to him.
2) Be servers: Since Christ was a serving king we are invited to be his loyal citizens by rendering humble service to others by sharing Christ’s mercy and forgiveness with others.
3) We need to use our authority to support the rule of Jesus. This feast is an invitation to all those who have power or authority in the government, public offices, educational institutions and the family to use it for Jesus by witnessing to him. We must use our authority to witness to Christ in our business and professional life by following his teachings in our social and political life. Parents are expected to use their God-given authority to train their children in Christian ideals and in the ways of committed Christian living.
OT 34 (Nov 21) CHRIST THE KING: II Sam 5: 1-3; Col 1: 12-20; Lk 23: 35-43
Anecdote: 1) Long live Christ the King! In the 1920s a totalitarian regime gained control of Mexico and it tried to suppress the Church. To resist the regime, many Christians took up the cry, "Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King!" They called themselves "Cristeros." The most famous Cristero was a young Jesuit priest named Padre Miguel Pro. Using various disguises, Padre Pro ministered to the people of Mexico City. Finally the government arrested him and sentenced him to public execution on November 23, 1927. The president of Mexico (Plutarco Calles) thought that Padre Pro would beg for mercy, so he invited the press to the execution. Padre Pro did not plead for his life, but instead knelt holding a crucifix. When he finished his prayer, he kissed the crucifix and stood up. Holding the crucifix in his right hand, he extended his arms and shouted, "Viva Cristo Rey" “Long live Christ the King!” At that moment the soldiers fired. The journalists took pictures; if you look up "Padre Pro" or "Saint Miguel Pro" on the Internet, you can see that picture. (Fr. Phil Bloom)
2) On His Majesty’s Service: Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, was arrested and brought before the Roman authorities. He was told if he cursed Christ, he would be released. He replied, "Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my king Jesus Christ who saved me?" The Roman officer replied, "Unless you change your mind, I will have you burnt." But Polycarp said, "You threaten a fire that burns for an hour, and after a while is quenched; for you are ignorant of the judgment to come and of everlasting punishment reserved for the ungodly. Do what you wish."
3) Desperate deaths of autocratic kings & dictators: The death of Josef Stalin (1879-1953), the Communist dictator was described by his daughter as difficult and terrible. Silenced by a stroke shortly before he died, Stalin’s “last words” were more visual than audible. Newsweek magazine quoted Svetlana Stalin who said, “At what seemed the very last moment, he cast a glance over everyone in the room. It was a terrible glance, insane, angry and full of fear of death. With one final menacing gesture, he lifted his left hand as if he were bringing down a curse on us all.” Philip III of Spain (1578-1621), who proved an unfit king, indifferent to the plight of his people, breathed his last, wishing, “Would to God that I had never reigned. What does all my glory profit, but that I have so much the more torment in my death?” Charles IX, who in 1572 had ordered the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of the Huguenots throughout France met death with despair, “What blood! What murders! I am lost forever. I know it.” When she lay dying, Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603) was said to have offered, “All my possessions for a moment of time.” Today’s gospel challenges us to compare to these deaths Christ the King’s death on the cross, offering his life to God his Father in all serenity and elegance. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez)
4) “Honey, take a long, long look”: As the body of Abraham Lincoln’s body lay in state for a few hours in Cleveland, Ohio for mourners to pay their tribute, a black woman in the long queue lifted up her little son and said in a hushed voice: “Honey, take a long, long look. He died for us, to give us freedom from slavery.” Today’s gospel gives us the same advice, presenting the crucifixion scene of Christ our king who redeemed us from Satan’s slavery by his death on the cross.
Introduction: The Franciscan Order was instrumental in establishing this feast and extending its celebration to the universal Church, following the lead of its great thirteenth century theologians, St. Bonaventure and Blessed Duns Scotus. It was Pope Pius XI who introduced this feast into the liturgy in 1925 because the people of the day had “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives” and “these had no place in public affairs or in politics.” Although emperors and kings now exist mostly in history books, we still honor Christ as the King of the Universe by enthroning him in our hearts and allowing him to take control of our lives. When we accept Jesus as the king of our lives, then everyone else takes on proper proportion. We are also challenged to find Christ the King in every one around us. As loyal subjects of Christ the King, we are invited to treat others with justice and compassion as Jesus did, especially those whom we consider the least important.
First reading: II Sam 5: 1-13: recalls the story of David's anointing as king of Israel. David was seen in the Old Testament as a type, a representation, of the future messianic king (2 Sm. 7: 16, Is. 9: 6-7, Jer. 23: 5), and Jesus is often identified as the Son of David, the Messiah and the Shepherd of God’s people. David’s successful 40-year reign became the model for the hoped-for Messiah (that is, anointed one), in later Judaism. Saul, the first king of Israel, was told by the prophet Samuel that the kingship would not remain in his family because he had disobeyed the laws of God. David was chosen by God to replace him and was anointed secretly by Samuel in Bethlehem. Having had to flee from Saul, David settled in Hebron. Accepted by the tribe of Judah, he reigned there as king of Judah for seven years. The first reading tells us how, on the death of Saul, the northern tribes came to David in Hebron and anointed him king over all of Israel. David's reign lasted a mere forty years, but Christ's reign is eternal. David was a mere man, sinful but repentant. Christ was the God-Man, sinless and all-perfect, who died on the cross to free all from their sins.
Second reading: Col 1: 12-20: Among the early Christians at Colossae, there were people promoting a detailed belief in angels and their mediating role in our relationship with God. Paul, neither affirming nor denying the existence of these "thrones, dominations, principalities or powers," simply states that Christ is superior to the whole lot. St. Paul tells the Colossians how grateful they should be to God for having made them Christians and citizens of Christ’s kingdom. The Apostle then describes who and what their new sovereign is: true God and true man, the true image of the invisible God and at the same time the perfect exemplar of true humanity. As God’s beloved son, our king has direct and immediate access to God. As image of the invisible God, Jesus, our king, is the symbol of divine sovereignty. As the firstborn of creation, he is the promise of all the good things that will follow. As risen Lord, he is the head of the church and the promise of our own resurrection. This portion of St. Paul's epistle is aptly chosen for this great feast of the Kingship of Christ to remind us how blessed, how fortunate, we are to be Christians, citizens of his kingdom on earth with a promise of perpetual citizenship in his heavenly kingdom if we remain faithful to Him, because “in him all things hold together.”
Gospel: Today’s gospel presents Christ the King as reigning, not from a throne, but from the gibbet of the cross. Like the “suffering servant,” of Isaiah (53:3), he is despised and rejected, as the bystanders ridicule the crucified king, challenging him to prove his kingship by coming down from the cross. The Gospel also tells of the criminal crucified beside Jesus who recognized Him as savior king and asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus entered his kingdom. Jesus promised the “good thief” that he would be with Him that day in Paradise. Tradition acknowledges the criminal on Jesus’ right side as “the good thief” who repented of his sins at the last moment, although Matthew calls him a “revolutionary.” Although the Romans intended the inscription on the cross, “This is the King of the Jews” to be ironic, it reflected the popular Jewish speculations about Jesus’ possible identity as the Messiah of Israel. For Luke and other early Christians, that title was correct, since the kingship of Jesus was made manifest most perfectly in his suffering and death on the cross.
Exegesis: Kingship of Jesus, the Messiah, in the Bible. In most of the messianic prophecies given in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Christ the Messiah is represented as a king. Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the Prophet Micah announced His coming as king. "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrata, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days" (5:1). Daniel presents "one coming like a human being ... to him was given dominion and glory and kingship that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed" (7: 14).

The New Testament tells us that Jesus is the long awaited king of the Jews. In the Annunciation, recorded in Lk.1: 32-33, we read: “The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever and his kingdom will never end.” The Magi from the Far East came to Jerusalem and asked the question: (Mt. 2:2) “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star… and we have come to worship him.” During the royal reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday, the Jews shouted: (Lk.19: 38) “God bless the king, who comes in the name of the Lord.” When Pilate asked the question: (Jn.18: 33) “Are you the king of the Jews”? Jesus responded “You say I am a King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice” (Jn 18: 37)
Today’s gospel tells us that the board Pilate had them hang over Jesus’ head on the cross read: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews,” and that Jesus promised paradise to the repentant thief on the cross who made the request: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Before his ascension in to heaven, Jesus declared: (Mt. 28:18) “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”

A unique king with a unique kingdom, Jesus Christ still lives as king, in thousands of human hearts all over the world. The cross is his throne and the Sermon on the Mount is his rule of law. His citizens need obey only one law: “Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13: 34). His love is selfless, sacrificial, kind, compassionate, forgiving and unconditional. That is why the preface in today’s Mass describes Jesus’ kingdom as a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace. He is a king with a saving and liberating mission: to free mankind from all types of bondage so that we may live peacefully and happily, though not without suffering, on earth and inherit eternal life in heaven. His rule consists in seeking the lost, offering salvation to those who call out to him and making friends of enemies.

The Kingdom of God is the central teaching of Jesus throughout the Gospels. The word kingdom appears more than any other word throughout the four Gospels. Jesus begins His public ministry by preaching the kingdom. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel (Mk 1:14). In Christ's kingdom, “we are all a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pt 2: 9). According to the teachings of the New Testament, the “kingdom of God” is a three-dimensional reality: the life of grace within every individual who does the will of God, the Church here on earth, and eternal life in Heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Church is the kingdom of Christ already present in mystery. It is the mission of the Church to proclaim and establish the kingdom of Christ in human souls. This mission takes place between the first coming and the second coming of Christ. The Church helps us to establish Christ’s kingdom in our hearts, thus allowing us to participate in God's inner life. We are elevated and transformed through sanctifying grace. This supernatural life of grace comes to fulfillment in the eternal life of Heaven.

Life messages: 1) We need to surrender our lives to Christ’s rule: Since Christ our king lives as His Holy Spirit in our hearts, as his grace in our souls, we have to learn to live in his holy presence, doing his will by sharing his forgiving love with others around us. We have to be constantly aware of his presence in the Bible, in the sacraments and in the worshipping community.

2) We need to fight against the enemies of Christ’s kingdom: Terrorism has affected the entire world including Christ’s kingdom on earth. These “terrorists” are people who slaughter the unborn; engage in a frontal attack on the modern family through provocative television shows, movies, music and pornography; eradicate any recognition of God from public display and public schools; and those priests and religious who abuse children. Hence Jesus the King needs convinced apostles, prepared and ready to fight against these enemies. The battlefield is the home, the school, the place of employment, the neighborhood, and the parish. These provide new and exciting challenges, new opportunities to stand up for what is right and to defend the truth of Jesus Christ our King. To ensure that Jesus is always the king of our hearts requires great commitment, sacrifice, conviction, hard work and a lot of prayer.

2) We need to use our authority to support Jesus’ message. This feast is an invitation to all those who have power or authority in the government, public office, educational institutions and family to use it for Jesus. Are we using our God-given authority so as to serve others? Are we using it to build a more just society, rather than to boost our own egos? Are we who are parents using our God-given authority to train our children in Christian ideals and the ways of committed Christian living?

The Solemnity of Christ the King is not just the conclusion of the Church year. It is also a summary of our lives as Christians. On this great feast day, let us resolve to give Christ the central place in our lives, and to obey his commandment of love by sharing our blessings with all his needy children. Let us conclude the Church year by asking the Lord to help us to serve the King of Kings as he presents himself in those reaching out to us. "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” Amen. Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! Christ conquers! Christ rules! Christ reigns!
JOKE OF THE WEEK
# 1: Christ is in charge: Susan C. Kimber, in a book called Christian Woman, shares a funny piece of advice she received from her little son: "Tired of struggling with my strong-willed little son, Thomas, I looked him in the eye and asked a question I felt sure would bring him in line: 'Thomas, who is in charge here?' Not missing a beat, he replied, ‘Jesus is, and not you mom.’ "
# 2: Sleep-inducing sermon on Christ the King: "I hope you didn't take it personally, Father," an embarrassed woman said to her pastor after the Holy Mass, "when my husband walked out during your sermon on Christ the King.""I did find it rather disconcerting," the pastor replied. "It's not a reflection on you, Father," she insisted. "Ralph has been walking in his sleep ever since he was a child."
# 2: Co-pilot Christ the king: Many people love bumper sticker theology. Bumper stickers may not always have the soundest theological statements, but they generally at least have the ability to make us think. One such, “God is my Co-pilot," has also been found on church signs, where the theology is just as much fun and sometimes sounder. In this case, the Church sign says, "If Christ the King is your Co-Pilot, change seats."


(“Scriptural Homilies” no 359 by Fr. Tony: akadavil@mobis.com (L/10)
Eleven additional homilies are appended to the attached homily
(Fr. Anthony Kadavil, St. Mary’s Church, 106 Providence Street, Mobile, AL 36604)
Additional anecdotes for OT 34 - Christ the King Sunday
1) "Regem habemus" About three centuries ago, Spaniards besieged a small French town, St. Quentin. The city walls were in ruins; fever and famine plagued the people. One day the Spaniards shot over the walls a shower of arrows to which were attached little slips of parchment promising that if they surrendered, their lives and property would be spared. The mayor of the town was a devout Huguenot. For answer, he tied a piece of parchment to a javelin and hurled it back to the Spaniards. On the parchment was the message: "Regem habemus" -- "We have a king!" Christians also can say, "We have a King." Jesus is our King. We belong to his Kingdom.
2) Mother Teresa & Leo Tolstoy who recognized the king in disguise: The story is told of Mother Teresa of Calcutta observing a novice using tweezers to pluck maggots from the leg of a dying leper. The young woman stood at arm's length to perform the odious task. Gently but firmly, Mother Teresa corrected her charge. Taking the tweezers and putting her face quite near the wound, she said, "You don't understand, my dear. This is the leg of Christ our Lord. For what you do to this man, you do to him." Or again, Leo Tolstoy's story "Martin the Cobbler" tells of a lonely shoemaker who is promised a visit by our Lord that very day. Eagerly all day, he awaits his arrival. But all that comes is a man in need of shoes, a young mother in need of food and shelter, a child in need of a friend. Martin the cobbler ends the day thinking "perhaps tomorrow he will come," only to hear a voice reply, "I did come to you today, Martin; not once, but three times." Christ is a king who goes about in disguise as the poor, the sick, the cripples, the tortured, the marginalized.
3) INRI: A Jewish boy was lazy in his studies and misbehaved in the public school. So his parents enrolled him in a Catholic school to see if he would improve. His parents were surprised to observe that the boy stopped his excessive watching of TV, limited his time on computer games and spent most of his time in studies. At the end of the year, he was the best student in class. His baffled parents asked him what had happened. "The first day I went to school," he explained, "and saw that man hanging on a plus sign at the main entrance of the school building, I knew you couldn't fool around here and get away with it.” Today’s gospel reminds us that the man on the cross is not an object to frighten naughty kids, but our king and savior who died for us promising us eternal life, and who will come in glory to judge the world on the day of the Last Judgment.
4) Jesse Owens challenging Adolf Hitler: The black man standing in the arena was an affront to Der Fuehrer's authority. The scene was the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, Germany. The black man was Jesse Owens of The Ohio State University representing the U.S.A. He was aptly called "the fastest human alive." Der Fuehrer was Chancellor Adolf Hitler who had recently risen to power championing an arrogant theory that his "Aryan race" of "supermen" would conquer the world. In implementing his theory he began systematically to stamp out the Jews in a bitter expression of prejudice and discrimination. Hitler also publicly denounced Blacks, Negroes as they were called then, as an inferior race. Jesse Owens, in his estimation, should not even be present at the Games. Jesse Owens was not only present, but he went on to win four gold medals in the 100-meter-dash, the 200-meter-dash, the broad jump and the 400-meter relay race. He demolished Hitler's claim that the Aryan race was superior to all others. Furthermore, this soft-spoken black athlete embarrassed Hitler and undermined his pompous authority in the heart of the Fatherland. We may not be in danger of being seduced by an evil power such as Hitler, but we may not be clear on the authority to whom we give allegiance. We owe our allegiance to Christ the King who redeemed us by shedding his blood.
5) "Super Savior"-- A church in Ohio did it with a large icon--a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus with upraised arms, installed in a cornfield just north of Monroe, Ohio on Interstate 75. The statue--dubbed "Super Savior"-- was erected by the Solid Rock Church, in Middletown. Here is what is interesting. Traffic fatalities on this notorious stretch of road have dropped dramatically since the Super Savior statue was raised. Is that pure coincidence or has the Styrofoam and fiberglass Christ really aided road safety? Nobody knows. (Dr. John Bardsley, National Catholic Reporter, 10-28-2005, p. 3). Certainly a giant statue of Christ does no harm, and if it improves traffic, that's fine. But do not be confused. This is not the best way to express our allegiance to Christ. The best way to express our allegiance to Christ is to make our lives worthy of the name Christian.
6) Feast of Christ the King: In 1925 Pope Pius XI wanted people to know that this is Christ's world, not the property of the emerging dictators of that day. Mussolini had been in power for three years. Adolf Hitler had been out of jail only a year, and was finding great popular support for his fledgling Nazi party. The pope had the courage of his convictions to declare, despite dictators, that Christ was King, reminding Christians where their ultimate loyalty lay! (From a sermon by Don Friesen, Ottawa Mennonite Church).
7) Unfinished work: A newspaper story, some time back, recorded the grim incident of a police officer shot and killed in the line of duty. His great desire before he was killed was to see his family's back yard completely landscaped, a desire he never saw fulfilled because of the bullet that ended his life. Some of his fellow officers, who had grown to love their fallen comrade, donated their time and money to complete the work. Because it was the policeman's desire to finish the project it became his friends' desire. (Allen Hadidian, Discipleship, Chicago: Moody Press, 1987). To those of us who love Jesus Christ and accept him as the king of our lives, the application is clear. What He loved and desired, we should love and desire and work to complete. His work is to see lost men saved and built up. His work is to see this world redeemed. His work is to see this unfinished world be brought to completion. We who love Him are called to complete the task.
8) King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Listed in any history book among the greatest leaders that the world has ever known would be the name, Augustus Caesar. It was Augustus Caesar who fixed the limits of the Roman Empire. It was during his reign that the PAX ROMANA, the peace of Rome that lasted for over 200 years was initiated. It was he who ordered the building of roads linking the great empire and allowing rapid access to subordinate governments. It was he who gave Rome its constitution, creating the office of emperor and investing in that office unlimited power, though he never used the title emperor himself. The age of Augustus was a bright spot in literature and the arts. It was the era that gave the world Virgil and the great historians. Augustus was truly a great ruler. Is it not ironic, then, that 2000 years after the reign of Augustus Caesar, he is mainly remembered because every year at Christmas time, we read these timeless words: "In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed." Among those to be taxed, of course, were Mary and Joseph of Nazareth. Augustus Caesar would truly be shocked to realize that during his reign was born the One who was far greater than he. He was the one who had been anointed King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It was a minor official in the Roman empire, Pontius Pilate, who first asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus obviously convinced him that he was. We often see engraved on crosses the letters INRI. They stand for IESUS NAZARENUS REX IUDAEORUM, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th century Carmelite reformer always referred to Jesus as "His Majesty," and so He is. After 2000 years, His stature has not diminished.
9) The forgiving King: Rev. Tony Campolo says that in his teenage years he was terrified by a visiting pastor's depiction of Judgment Day. This pastor claimed that one day God would show us a movie of every single sinful thought, word, or action we ever committed. And he ended his lurid description with the announcement, "And your mother will be there!" But Tony claims that Judgment Day will more closely mirror what happened during the trials over the Watergate scandal. The prosecutor brought in a tape of a conversation between Nixon and his aides. Just at the most crucial part of the tape, the section that revealed their crimes, there was an eighteen minute gap of silence. Nixon's faithful secretary, Rosemary Wood, had erased the incriminating evidence! In the same way, Campolo says, Jesus will erase all the incriminating evidence against us as he did to the repentant thief crucified at his right side.
10) You're with Him; go on in." A few years ago, Pastor Erwin Lutzer and his daughters were visiting Washington, D.C. While there, they met a man who had served on former President Bush's secret-service security team. The gentleman offered to give them a guided tour of the Oval Office. Pastor Lutzer and his daughters passed through many security checkpoints the next day on the way to the Oval Office. At each checkpoint, they expected to be searched and questioned. But instead, the guards took one glance at the secret-service man and announced, "You are with him; go on in." Pastor Lutzer wrote that he expects our entrance into heaven will be like that. We will have no credentials of our own that could possibly get us in. But Jesus will be walking along beside us. And at each gate, the angels will take one look at Jesus and announce, "You're with Him; go on in." (2. "Do Many Paths Lead into God's Presence?" By Erwin Lutzer, Preaching Magazine, Mar./Apr. 2001, p. 20).
11) King who conquered death: Worldly kings do not have this power. Their last enemy is death which ends their power, wealth, and prestige. In Vienna there is a crypt under a Capuchin church. In this crypt are buried 140 kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Each sarcophagus is sculptured in steel. The largest is a double tomb for Maria Theresa and her husband. On each sarcophagus is carved a cross and the king's or queen's crown. On each corner of one sarcophagus is a skull wearing a crown. The message is clear: Death is king! Even kings are conquered by death. But the kings of God's realm live in spite of death. As kings, we Christians need have no fear of death, for by the power of the cross, death was defeated. (L/10)
(Fr. Anthony Kadavil, St. Mary’s church, 106 Providence Street, Mobile, AL 36604)

O. T. XXXIII SUNDAY

1 page synopsis of O. T. XXXIII Sunday homily on LK 21: 5-19 (LP)
Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is “The Day of the Lord” or the “Second Coming” of Jesus in glory, as judge, at the end of the world. They warn us about the final days of the world, our own death and the final judgment. Malachi in the first reading foretells this Day, which will bring healing and reward for the just and punishment in fire, for the “proud and all evil doers.” Although St. Paul expected that Jesus would return during his life time, he cautions the Thessalonians in the second reading, against idleness, anticipating the end of the world. Paul advises the Thessalonians that the best preparation for welcoming Jesus in his “Second coming” is to keep working and doing one’s duties faithfully as he did. Today’s gospel passage clarifies that the date of the end of the world is uncertain. Signs and portents will precede the end, and the Christians will be called upon to testify before kings and governors. The good news is that those who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God's eternal kingdom. Christ’s Second Coming is something to celebrate because he is going to present all creation to his heavenly Father. That is why we proclaim it at every Mass: “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again. Since Luke's community had experienced much persecution, today’s gospel gives them the message: don't give up because God is always with us. Luke encourages them to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God, and to persevere in faith and its practice. Luke also reminds them of the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, given by Jesus.
Life messages: 1) we must be prepared daily for our death and private judgment. We make this preparation by trying to do God’s will every day, by leading holy lives of selfless love, mercy, compassion and unconditional forgiveness. In order to do this, we must recharge our spiritual batteries every day by personal prayer, that is, by talking to God, and listening to Him by reading the Bible. Daily examination of our conscience at bedtime, asking God’s pardon and forgiveness for the sins of the day, will also prepare us to face God any time and give an account of our lives.
2) We need to attain permanence in a passing word by exemplary lives. We must remember that our homes, our churches and even our own lives are temporary. Our greatness is judged by God, not by our worldly achievements, but by our fidelity to faith and its practice by loving others. How our faithfulness is expressed each day is the most important thing. We are to persevere in our faith, in spite of worldly temptations, attacks on religion and moral values, by the atheistic or agnostic media, threats of social isolation, and direct or indirect persecution because of our religious beliefs. Let us conclude this Church year by praying for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

O.T. 33 (Nov 14) MALACHI 3:19-20; II THESS 3: 7-12; LK 21: 5-19
Anecdote: # 1: The theater is on fire: The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each act is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager appears on the stage, apologizing for the interruption. He announces at the top of his voice that the theater is on fire, and begs his patrons to leave the theatre immediately without causing a commotion. The spectators think that it is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again feverishly implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire races through the whole building engulfing the fun-loving audience with it. "And so," concludes Kierkegaard, "will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators?" (Resource, July/August). Today’s readings warn us about a similar fate if we are not well prepared when the “Day of the Lord” dawns quite unexpectedly, marking the end of the world.
# 2: Be patient and be faithful waiting for Christ’s second coming. Remember Albert Einstein’s words after the Second World War: “As a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but no, the universities were immediately silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers, whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities were silenced in a few short weeks. Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration for it, because the Church alone has had the courage to stand for intellectual truth, and moral freedom. I am forced to confess that what I once despised, now I praise unreservedly.” The Church had the moral courage to resist a dictator and saves the lives of so many Jews because it believed in the assurance given by Jesus in today’s gospel.
# 3: Beware of false messiahs: In 1978, the whole world was shocked and dismayed by reports from Jonestown, Guyana where the Rev. Jim Jones had led hundreds of people into one of history’s darkest mass-suicides and mass-murders. These were not ignorant, primitive savages in a far-off land. They were American citizens who had fallen under the leadership of a madman. We don’t see many signs nowadays of the Moonies. Their founder Rev. Moon and his Unification Church have faded into the background. At one time he boasted considerable political support. He invested heavily in the elections of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Rev. Moon built an empire by putting young people out on the streets selling flowers. Moon preached that a new messiah was soon to come. He claimed that new messiah was a man born in Korea in the 20th century. False messiahs are forever with us. We need not even deal with such self-deluded creatures as mass-murderer Charles Manson who gathered a group of seemingly intelligent young adults as his followers. Manson once said, “My philosophy is: ‘Don’t think.’” That is the philosophy subtly expressed by all false messiahs. Don’t think. Reason is the enemy of all fanatics. But false messiahs do come along every once in a while. That is why Jesus warns his followers about false messiahs in today’s gospel.
Introduction: As the Church year comes to an end, the Sunday readings reflect on the final days of the world, our own death and the final judgment. Today's theme is “The Day of the Lord” or the “Second Coming” of Jesus in glory as judge at the end of the world. Malachi in the first reading foretells this Day, giving the warning that the future, known to God alone, will bring healing and reward for the just who forearm themselves with words and works (peace, justice, mercy and truth), and retribution for the “proud and all evildoers.” Today’s psalm refers to Jesus in his second coming: “The Lord...comes to rule the earth; he will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity.” Although Paul expected to be alive at the return of Jesus, he cautioned the Thessalonians, in the second reading, against the idleness with which some of them were anticipating the end, and encouraged them not to be weary of doing good. He suggested that the best preparation for the future was to devote the attention to present duties, to maintain a holy and wholesome balance between prayer and service, work and play, and to develop enduring family ties and values. Today’s gospel passage warns that the date of the end of the world is uncertain. Signs and portents will precede the end, and the faithful will be called upon to testify before kings and governors. The good news, however, is that those who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God's eternal kingdom. Christ’s Second Coming is something to celebrate, because he is going to present all creation to his heavenly Father. That is why we proclaim it at every Mass: Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again. Thus, the message of the day is: don't give up; God is always with us. Luke's community had experienced much persecution. Jesus' words about people being "handed over by parents, brothers, relations and friends," were beginning to come true. Hence Luke encouraged them, in today’s gospel, to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God and to persevere in faith and its practice, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives." Luke also reminded them of the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the end of the world, given by Jesus.
First reading: Malachi 3: 19-20: When Judah returned from its exile in Babylon, the people and their leaders showed a tendency, which they had absorbed from their long contact with the pagans, to lead loose moral lives. The priests were irresponsible, ignorant and indulgent leaders, failing to correct abuses (Collegeville Bible Commentary). Hence, in today’s first reading, the prophet Malachi, in the mid-fifth century (515 to 458) BC, chided them for their religious impiety, dishonesty, and marriage with pagans, with the foolish hope that they would be able to get away with everything. Malachi thought that the day of the Lord was coming shortly. So he warned that God takes note of the goodness of those who fear him and will punish the wicked and the proud on the “Day of the Lord by setting them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch.” The image here is that of a blazing oven. For the sinful, the Day will be a day of fiery purification; for the righteous, it will be the Day of healing. Malachi is the very last book of the Old Testament in many non-Catholic Bibles, and his announcement about the day of the Lord is fulfilled in Jesus.
Second reading: II Thess 3: 7-12: The earliest Christians expected Jesus to come again in glory soon (Parousia), bringing history to its climax in the final judgment of the living and the dead. Some among the Thessalonians responded to this prospect by abandoning their customary work and leading lives of idleness. They asked themselves, "Why should we spend the small amount of time before the Parousia in hard labor?" Some of them were more interested in minding other people's business. Hence, St. Paul corrects them by asking them to imitate his own example of manual work (as a tent-maker or leather-worker of some sort), and preaching, warning them, “if anyone is unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.” By his manual labor, Paul supported his ministry, preaching his beliefs in word and deed to his fellow workers. We, too, must keep ourselves busy by faithfully discharging our duties and actively bearing witness to Christ through our lives, as we wait hopefully for the second coming of Jesus.
Exegesis: The apocalyptic discourse. Luke 21:5-36 is Luke's version of what is frequently called "the apocalyptic discourse." The early Christian apocalyptic writing was symbolic in nature, giving more an interpretation of future events than an actual prediction. The purpose of the apocalyptic literature was to encourage dispirited people by proclaiming that God is in control of history and that punishment of the wicked will come about by God’s doing. It was also intended to encourage the believers to remain faithful through the coming ordeals. The works are meant to inspire believers to derive whatever good they can from life’s inevitable suffering. So the apocalyptic writers encouraged their readers to interpret their sufferings as a sharing in the birth pangs of the “end.” The believers were assured that if they remained constant in faith, they could welcome the end of all things and the beginning of eternity with confidence and joy rather than with fear and dread. Luke presents the material as Jesus’ words addressed to the people gathered in the Temple for the Passover feast. Jesus demands of His hearers tenacity of faith and hope in spite of their sufferings. In the liturgical context, the Church aptly places Jesus’ end-time predictions at the end of the Church year. Luke's text, as we have it, seems to confuse the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (A.D. 79) with Jesus’ predictions of the end of the world.
Fulfilment of Jesus’ prediction: To the proud people of Jerusalem, Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple was a great shock and blasphemy because those words sounded like massive distrust of God and an insult to God. Yahweh would not allow it! It is not surprising that these words of Jesus were used against him at his trial before the High Priest. Yet within forty years, the prediction of Jesus was largely fulfilled. The Temple, originally built by Solomon, demolished by the Babylonians and rebuilt by Herod, was destroyed. At the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army, 1.1 million people perished, 97,000 were carried away into captivity, the Temple was demolished by fire, and the priests were murdered.
Call for evangelization by heroic witnessing: The real question of the believers at the end of the first century was: "Now that many of these things have happened, and we are being persecuted, what should we do?" Luke gives them Jesus’ assurance that they are to trust his words against their persecutors. They must make use of this opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. This test of faith was also an opportunity to bear witness before the court officials and the public at large. Thus, the persecution would become a massive evangelization campaign [21:12-13]. Jesus cautions against their despairing in the face of wide-ranging opposition and persecution. Arrests would be followed by trial and condemnation in religious (Jewish) and civil (Gentile) courts. Their faith would serve as a clear witness on the Day of Judgment. Not only would the individual martyrs see the Lord in heaven, but the Church would flourish in persecution [21:18-19].
Doomsday prophets miss the message: Jesus refused to predict details or provide clues for the coming calamity. “War, earthquake, pestilence and famine" were traditionally personified as the “Four Apocalyptic Horsemen” who would come to announce the end-time judgment. The late Raymond Brown, a renowned Scripture scholar, suggests that end-of-the-world people perform a valuable service for us. They keep the Second Coming before our eyes. Prophets of doom in every century point to historical calamities (wars and revolts) and cosmic disasters (great earthquakes, famines, pestilence) and "signs in heaven" (like solar eclipses and comets), as signs of the end. This is a direct contradiction of what Jesus said. He told us not to try to predict the end, but to live loyally and lovingly in situations which, in many cases, would be hostile to the Gospel. Instead of destroying us, persecution and martyrdom will gain us eternal life. At the end of the discourse, Jesus gave the assurance, “Not a hair from your head would perish" (21:18). God's saving purpose will certainly triumph, because, contrary to appearances, he remains firmly in control. Finally, the way to glory is traveled more often through day-by-day endurance, rather than through isolated acts of heroic virtue. Here is a practical spirituality each of us can live, whatever our current situation may be.
Life messages: 1) We need to be prepared daily for death and judgment. The ideal way to accept Jesus’ apocalyptic message is always to be ready to face our death. We must live holy lives of selfless love, mercy, compassion and unconditional forgiveness, remembering the demands of justice in our day-to-day lives. We must also take time to rest and to pray in order to keep our hearts alive to God’s presence with us and within us. Daily examination of our conscience at bedtime, asking God’s pardon and forgiveness for our sins of the day, also prepares us to face God at any time to give an account of our lives.
2) We need to attain permanence in a passing word by exemplary lives. Our homes, our churches and even our own lives are temporary. All our structures are provisional. Our influence has no more claims to permanence than our buildings. Hence, our task is not to build monuments of any kind, but to be faithful to Christ. How our faithfulness is expressed each day is the most important thing. We are to persevere in our faith, despite worldly temptations, attacks on religion and moral values by the atheistic or agnostic media, threats of social isolation, and direct or indirect persecution because of our religious beliefs. Let us conclude this Church year by praying for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of Jesus our Savior.
JOKE OF THE WEEK
1) Judgment Day, Second Coming, WHAT A PHONE BILL! After finishing his homily on the Judgment Day, the preacher started the prayer of mercy. "Oh Lord," he began. "One of these days we are going to wake up, and it's going to be DARK everywhere!” Deliver us, oh Lord." "Lord, have mercy on us!" responded the congregation. The preacher continued: "Then we are going to pick up the telephone and call Washington, and they are going to say, 'It's DARK over here too!'" "Lord, have mercy on us!" responded the congregation.” Then we’re going to pick up the phone and call London, and they are going to say, 'It's DARK over here!' "Lord, have mercy on us!" responded the congregation. “Again we're going to pick up the phone and call Moscow, and they are going to say, 'It's DARK over here too!" "Lord, have mercy on us!" responded the congregation.” "Then we're going to pick up the phone…. At this juncture, the church treasurer, who had also been caught up in the fervor of the preacher’s prayer, cried out uncontrollably: "Lord, Lord! What a PHONE BILL!"
2) Teeth will be provided in hell: Grandma told her little grandson: “Be a good boy. At the end of the world all the disobedient and bad people will be cast into fiery hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The little boy raised an intelligent doubt. “Grandma, you don’t have any teeth and you always quarrel with others. How would you gnash your teeth when you are cast into hell?” Grandma replied: “You naughty boy, don’t you know that teeth will be provided in hell.”
3) Endtime humor: Humorist Lewis Grizzard writes about a man in his hometown named Luther Gilroy. Luther claimed he was out plowing his field and saw a sign in the sky that said THE END IS NEAR. So Luther let his mule and his cow out of their pens, gave all his chickens away, and climbed on top of his house to await the end. When it didn't come, he pouted and refused to come down from the roof. Finally, his wife called the deputy sheriff, who came over and said, "Luther, you idiot, I saw that same sign. It didn't say, 'The end is near.' It said, 'Go drink a beer.' Now come down off that roof before you fall off and break your neck."
USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK
1) New American Bible for your computer desk top for easy reference: http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/
2) Catholic Internet Sources: http://www.catholicsource.net/
3) My house: Practical information on protecting families and healing marriages from pornography: http://www.loveisfaithful.com/

“Scriptural Homilies” no 358 by Fr. Tony: akadavil@mobis.com (L/10)
10- Additional anecdotes for OT 32: # 1: The end time predictions of scientists: Christians are not the only ones to talk about coming disasters. A year earlier it was the New Age people who were sounding the alarms. Astrologers were talking about a harmonic convergence producing chaos all over the world when the planets aligned on August 16, 1987. Nothing happened. In 1979, the fear was of the space satellite, Skylab. It was falling from the sky, NASA warned, but they were unsure where. The Federal Aviation Administration closed airspace; state and local governments went on alert; companies sold helmets. Skylab burned up July 11, 1979, over the Indian Ocean and Australia. No one was hurt. In today’s gospel Jesus speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem and signs preceding the end of the world.
# 2: "Look Master, what large stones and what large buildings!" The Temple of Jerusalem of Jesus’ time was the third Temple. Solomon had built the first Temple in seven years. It stood for 370 years. It was first looted by an invading army. A decade later, in 586 B.C.E., it was sacked and burned by the Babylonians. After the exile, the Temple was rebuilt under the order and patronage of Cyrus, the king of Persia by Zerubbabel in 516 B.C.E. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple of Zerubbabel, taking a decade. Building upon and extending beyond the foundations of Solomon and Zerubbabel, he nearly doubled the area of the Temple Mount, enclosing within the retaining walls an area of 35 acres! But according to Josephus, Herod's 18,000 workmen continued work until 63 C.E. To enlarge the Temple Mount and to enclose 35 acres, strong retaining walls had to be extended down into the Tyropoean Valley to the west and down Ophel hill to the south. Ashlars, huge building blocks, were quarried, cut, faced and fitted without cement. All were proportionally large, but the largest measures 46 feet long by 10 feet high by 10 feet deep. Weighing 415 tons, it makes the stones of the Egyptian Pyramids - a mere 15 tons - to be as pebbles! ((Murray Stein, "How Herod Moved Gigantic Blocks to Construct the Temple Mount," Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. VIII, No. 3, Washington, D.C., May-June, 1981, p. 42.). It was this beautiful Temple which the Roman army burnt down on August 28 in C.E. 70, as Jesus had predicted, after first murdering all the Temple priests. For nearly a month, the people of the upper city held out against the siege and the power of Rome. But on September 20 the Romans overran the city, slaughtering the inhabitants and putting the entire city to the torch. Everything happened as Jesus had said. The 40-foot colonnades that surrounded the Temple Mount, the Temple itself, and Herod's huge portico were all gone. They had been pushed down and pulled over, rolling into the Tyropoean Valley to the west and the Kidron Valley to the east, significantly lifting the levels of both valleys. For the most part, the stones remain to this day right where the Romans left them. Except for the few stones of the Western Wall, often called the Wailing Wall, there was “not one stone left upon another” that was not thrown down. Titus and his legions swept through all of Palestine, razing hundreds of synagogues to ground.
# 3: “I never unpacked it in the first place.” You may know the story about the little boy who had returned from his first two weeks at summer camp. He showed his mother two badges that he had won: one for making improvements in swimming, the other for naming the most birds on a nature hike. There was a blue ribbon in his pocket signifying a third prize, and his mother asked him about that. “Aw,” he said, “I got that thing for having the neatest packed bag when we were ready to come home.” “I’m proud of you,” his mother said. “No big deal,” he said. “I never unpacked it in the first place.” If we are constantly looking for God to right the world’s wrongs some day in a great cataclysmic conclusion to life on this earth, we may never “unpack our bag” and realize that it is here and now where God has placed us to do our living.
# 4: Be careful when you try to predict the future. Today’s experts turn out sometimes to be tomorrow’s fools. I read recently that when the city fathers of the grand metropolis New York City planned for the future growth of their city, they laid out the streets and numbered them from the center outward. When they began, there were only six or seven streets. In their planning maps, they projected how large they thought the city might grow. Reaching beyond their wildest imagination, they drew streets on the map all the way out to 19th Street. They called it “Boundary Street” because they were sure that’s as large as New York City would become. At last count, the city had reached 284th Street far exceeding their expectations! (Rev. Adrian Dieleman, http://www.trinitycrc.org/sermons/eph3v20-21.html ). In 1881 the New York City YWCA announced typing lessons for women. Amazingly, angry protests greeted this announcement. Why? Many believed that the female constitution would break down under the strain. Some of you women can remember when girls were only allowed to play half court in basketball for the same reason. Nobody envisioned what today’s women athletes would be capable of.
# 5: An old Hungarian anecdote. A pious Hungarian king, finding himself on a certain day depressed and unhappy, sent for his brother, a good-natured, but rather indifferent prince. To him, the king said: "I am a great sinner and fear to meet God." But the prince only laughed at him, treated the matter as a joke and left the royal palace without making any comment. It was a custom in Hungary at that time, that if the executioner sounded a trumpet before a man's door, it was a signal that the man was to be led forth to execution. The king sent the executioner in the dead of night to sound the fatal blast before his brother's door. The prince, awaking from sleep, realized its awful import. Quickly dressing, he stepped to the door and was seized by the executioner, who dragged him, pale and trembling, into the king's presence. In an agony of terror, the prince fell upon his knees before his brother and begged to know in what way he had offended him. "My brother," answered the king, "if the sight of a human executioner is so terrible to you, shall not I, having grievously offended God, fear to be brought before the judgment seat of Christ? Do we not read in the Bible, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’?”
# 6: The great day in our lives: There is always a great deal of emotion in anticipation of “the day,” whether that be a First Communion day, graduation day, wedding day, the first day of a new job, opening day at the ballpark or our retirement day—to name but a few important days in the lives of many of us. In such cases, not only is the day enjoyed for itself, it also promises many more wonderful days in the future. On the other hand, there are some days that strike fear and dread in our hearts, such as the day we lose our job, the day of the death of a loved one, the day we are sent out to fight a war. These days thrust us into sadness and struggle with little or no light at the end of the tunnel. The Day of the Lord was always a day of anticipation for the people of ancient Israel. Originally it was perceived as a day of fulfillment. It was the moment in history when all of the promises made by God would come to completion, and the people of God would enjoy them forever, promises of peace and prosperity, of contentment and harmony. But some of the prophets warned that the Day of the Lord would first be a day of suffering or purging, referring to it as the “birth pangs of the Messiah.” Today’s readings focus on the painful aspects of “that day.”(Dianne Bergant).
# 7: Be faithful: Some of you know the story of writer Anne Lamott. When she was twenty-five, her father died after a long struggle with brain cancer. Over the next few years Anne herself began to suffer from an overwhelming sense of desperation and fear which she tried to suppress with alcohol and pills. Although she was managing to write and publish successful novels at the time, it was clear that her life was spinning out of control. In her memoir, Traveling Mercies, she writes about this dark period of her life. And most importantly she tells how a community of Christian faith, a neighborhood church called St. Andrew, came to her rescue. In her book she tells the time-honored story of a little girl who was lost. This girl ran up and down the streets of the big town where her family lived, but she couldn’t find a single landmark. She was frightened. Finally a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his car, and they drove around until she finally saw her church. She pointed it out to the policeman, and then she told him firmly, “You can let me out now. This is my church, and I can always find my way home from here.” Anne Lamott writes, “And that is why I have stayed so close to mine because no matter how bad I am feeling, how lost or lonely or frightened, when I see the faces of the people at my church, when I hear their tawny voices, I can always find my way home.” (Anchor, 2000)
# 8: Question to Buddha: Rev. Richard J. Fairchild tells the story of a monk who once approached the Buddha and asked: “Do the souls of the righteous survive death?” Characteristically, Buddha gave him no reply. But the monk persisted. Each day he would repeat the question, and each day he would get silence for an answer, until he could stand it no longer. He threatened to abandon the path to enlightenment unless this crucial question was answered. Why should he sacrifice everything to live a monastic life if the souls of the righteous perished with their bodies? Then Buddha in his compassion spoke. “You are like a man,” he said, “who was dying from a poisoned arrow. His relatives rushed a doctor to his side. But the man refused to have the arrow pulled out unless three of his questions were answered. First, about the man who shot him – was he a white man or black? Second, was he a tall man or a short man? And third, was he a Brahmin or an outcast?” Many of us are in the same position as that monk. How many of us question God and refuse to continue in our faith until all our questions about life after death are answered to our satisfaction? Jesus’ teaching about the end of the world, God’s judgment of the wicked and the reward of the faithful in today’s readings will avail us nothing, unless we are willing to allow Christ to enter our hearts and minister to us his life-giving word. We must be willing to allow God to pluck out the arrows that poison our lives before we have all the answers to our questions. The question we need to ask is not, ”Why do the wicked seem to prosper?" but rather, ”Will I be saved?"
# 9: It Happened Tomorrow, and Early Edition: Years ago, a film entitled, It Happened Tomorrow, featured an ambitious business executive who wished that he could buy tomorrow’s newspaper today so as to take financial advantage of his privileged glimpse into the future. Suddenly, an elderly gentleman appeared before him, holding the coveted newspaper. “I’ve decided to grant your wish,” he said. The remainder of the movie details what happened to the businessman as a result of his “future” knowledge. Later a television series, called Early Edition, reprised the premise of the film and featured a young man who received ‘tomorrow’s paper’ daily. As he read of accidents that were yet to happen and disasters that were yet to occur, he sensed a certain responsibility for preventing them by altering the circumstances and/or protecting the people involved. Though such stories are somewhat interesting and attention-grabbing, they are simply imaginative escapes into the world of fiction. We cannot know the future this way, but the future is known—by God to Whom it belongs. He alone is responsible for its unfolding day by day, year by year. We, for our part, are to be responsive to God by being responsible for God’s gifts of the present as detailed in today’s readings. (Patricia Sánchez)
# 10: A Church without persecution dies a natural death: The late William Barclay wrote: "The crisis of the present day is not theological: it is ethical. Christian theology is not really under attack, for there are few outside of the church sufficiently interested in it to assail it."(William Barclay, The Ten Commandments for Today, (New York, Harper and Row, Publishers). Gardner C. Taylor comments further: "It is astonishing how much an American family will spend on physical fitness and how little time or interest or money it will invest in spiritual fitness. It is amazing how much attention parents will give to a balanced diet for a child's physical growth and how little attention they will pay to the child's moral and spiritual growth. Bread for the body, but no food for the soul. Cultivation of the mind, none of the heart.” “Scriptural Homilies” no 358 LP/10