Preparing for the Second Coming

Good News Reflection
Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 26, 2009

Today's Saint: John Berchmans
Pray for altar servers
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/JohnBerchmans.htm

Today's Readings:
Daniel 6:12-28
Daniel 3:68-74 (with 59b)
Luke 21:20-28
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112609.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_26.mp3

Preparing for the Second Coming

The first part of Jesus' prophecy in today's Gospel reading has already come true. Jerusalem was surrounded by soldiers in the year 70 A.D. The Romans attacked the Holy City when it was crowded with Jews who had come to celebrate the Passover. A few weeks later, the Roman general Titus encircled the city with his entire army and cut off all communication and food supplies. The Jews were trapped.

The resulting famine was disastrous. On July 23rd, a Roman soldier flung a blazing torch into the Temple, striking close to the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary, the most sacred place of the whole world. The fire consumed everything and spread to other buildings. Soon, the whole Temple Mount was nothing but corpses and smoldering ruins. Few people survived. All that remained were the three towers of Herod's palace and the western wall of the mount (now known as the "Wailing Wall").

Jesus had said, "Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Since the fall of Jerusalem under the Romans, we've been living in the "times of the Gentiles," the completion of which will take place when, as Jesus described next, the Son of Man will come on a cloud with great power and glory (his Second Coming).

Throughout the two millennia (so far) of this age of the Gentiles (and only God knows how much longer this will last; whenever we guess, we're wrong), there have been "signs in the sun, the moon and the stars." We've had devastating natural disasters, and nations have been in anguish and dismay as they always have been since the beginning of humankind. People have been dying from fright since the first disaster, and this will not end until Christ resurrects the whole world from the death and destruction of sin and the contamination of demons.

At the end of the times of the Gentiles, Christ will transform the earthly world into Paradise, evil will be destroyed, and all suffering will end.

The question is: What will we do today about the sufferings and the presence of evil that's on earth now? Are we going to just sit and wait for our divine rescuer? Or are we going to get out of our computer chairs and go into the world bringing Christ to the people who need a rescuer here and now?

For anyone to experience the Second Coming of Christ they must first experience the First. Jesus will be born within them when conversion begins in their hearts. His conception begins when we reveal Jesus to them by giving them his love and by letting them know that Jesus is the source of that love.

Rather than focus on what the Second Coming will be like, we're called to conquer the power of death by sharing Christ with others today.

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
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