Homily Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time (Lk. 17:20-25) “Tempus Fugit”
Homily Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time (Lk. 17:20-25) “Tempus Fugit”
During the last few days of the Church year we hear about the end times repeatedly. We then move into Advent and we hear more about it. I often want to say, “Enough already.” But this was an important Theological consideration for the early Christians.
They believed that Jesus was going to return in glory, and he was going to do so very soon. For that reason, they felt an urgency to spread the Gospel as fast as they could to as many people as they could. The early disciples were trying to help people make their way into eternal life with Jesus.
We can look at this and say they were trying to save people from judgement day, or we could look at it and say the early Christians were trying to share the greatest gift imaginable. They did not want people to miss out.
The question that the early Christians had was, when will this happen. And that has been the question for 2,000 years. The earliest believers thought Jesus would return this week or this year. Time was fleeting. The first believers also thought that there would be signs that people could read. Jesus spoke of tribulations that people would go through.
We will have some Christians who will say that the present pandemic is a sign of the end times. Things are very tumultuous right now. We are struggling to get our footing. We don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. All this leads to a lot of frustration. Also, it leads to a lot of fear.
The truth is that we have had difficult historical events for 2,000 years. We had wars, plagues, and civil unrest. The truth is we have been in the end times for two thousand years. We need not look for signs we need only be constantly prepared.
Reflection Questions:
- Does if feel like the end of the world right now? Why does it feel that way?
- What would be a hopeful sign that I see right now? Should I fear the second coming of Jesus or look forward to it?
Dear Parishioners,
Today we had some good news. The last protective window was put in place and the window project is now behind us. This has taken a year and a half.
Last week I went through correspondence from our archives concerning window repairs throughout the years. It was enlightening to see how much struggle there was to get the windows installed and then to try and protect them.
The windows took a lot longer to complete than I originally believed. The Great Depression really slowed down the purchase of the windows. Fr. Culemans continued to keep the faith and would not let the project die. Fortunately for him, he saw all the windows in place before he died. They are a testament to his unwavering effort to strengthen the faith life of Sacred Heart.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you this day.
Fr. Mark