Today´s readings speak
about the time that the world has left as well as the time that we have left. The
prophet Malachi reminds us that the Day of the Lord is coming. In Sacred
Scripture, The Day of the Lord refers
to the last days of the world. In the Gospel Jesus speaks about the trials that
will come before the end of the world, so as the Church year comes to an end,
the readings speak about the end, the end of time[1]; a
good topic to go deeper in our personal prayer time.
When we hear
these readings we are tempted to dismiss them as something in the far future,
something we most probably will not experience. Often we forget that the end of
our own days will certainly come, and much sooner than any of us anticipates.
Besides
–Malachi and Jesus say- God will take
care of all those who put him first in their lives. This is not limited to
those who lay down their lives for God, the martyrs like Ignatius of Antioch
and Agnes, Sebastian and Agatha, Isaac Jogues and Cecilia, although it is
certainly referring to them. But the promise also is given to all who put the
way of the Lord before the way of the world. You see, the way of the world is
to seek vengeance on those who hurt us, to get them back in a manner they will
never forget. Our Italian ancestors call this a vendetta.
This is not the
way of the Christian. The way of the Lord is to forgive and move on. Love your enemies, we read Matthew 5,
the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; many wags have added, “it will drive
them crazy.” It will drive them crazy
because none of us expect to be loved by others as Jesus loves us. None of us
are prepared to handle people who love us for no apparent reason. But that is how Jesus loves us. It is how he expects us to treat others.
Malachi
concludes by saying, for you who fear my
name, there shall arise the sun of justice with its healing rays. Justice
belongs to the Lord. We will experience justice when He sees fit, not when we
feel it needs to be shown. We very well may experience the one who hurt us
doing well in the world and seeming to enjoy the blessings of God while living
in a way that destroys the presence of the Lord. But God sees, God knows, and God will deal with the situation in due
time, His time.
In fact, rather
than wait for them “to get theirs,” we have been given the mandate to pray for
those who persecute us. We are to pray for their conversion, their reform,
before their opportunity to seek forgiveness comes to an end. Whoa!
The Gospels tell us not just to love our enemies but to pray for them? Yes! That is all part of picking up our cross
and following the Lord. We are called to pray for that guy who mocks us and has
turned us into the butt of all jokes at work. We are called to pray for that
woman who made up a story about us, got us fired and took our job. The Gospels
are telling us not to hold vendettas. They are telling us to pray for those who
have hurt us. Our time on earth is limited. We have to make the best use of it.
Sure, we live in
the turmoil created by those elements of the world that have rejected, or
simply ignored the spiritual. The Day of the Lord will come for the world. We
have a role in this. We are told by the Lord to give testimony to God and His
way in our lives. Is this difficult? You
bet! Will those around us who love us, particularly our family and friends,
question our actions? Probably. But, as the Gospel concluded, when we are
questioned, we need to trust God to provide us with His answers.
And always,
always, no matter what the situation, no matter how intense the injury we
suffer, we need to stand for the Lord. That is the way of the Christian. Jesus
is our Savior. He saves us from the hatred that would destroy us.
Today we pray
for the courage to live our Christianity ■
[1] 33rd Sunday of
Ordinary Time cycle C, November 17, 2013. Readings: Malachi 3:19-20A;
Responsorial Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9; Reading II: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Gospel:
Luke 21:5-19.
