(DN 12:1-3; PS 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11; HEB 10:11-14, 18; MK 13:24-32)
He will come again. There will be a final judgment. The readings today say that this will happen. Daniel prophesized it. Jesus foretold it. His second coming. We say this in Mass when we recite the Nicene Creed, that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.
But what does that mean? Will Jesus physically come back from Heaven to judge us here on earth? Or is the final judgment our own death and Christ’s subsequent judgment of our soul? Or is Jesus’ second coming simply the Eucharist?
This is a very complex question. But yet the answer is so simple and something we shouldn’t get too caught up in trying to explain. There will be a final judgment. Whether it’s when we die and our soul is judged, or if we happen to be alive when Jesus physically comes back to earth from Heaven, we will be judged. And the result will be the same. We will either go into Heaven, after a time in Purgatory, or we will be condemned to Hell. So, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if it’s when we individually die or if He comes back to earth on the heels of some great tribulation. We don’t know the time of either – so we need to be ready.
This is so apparent to me today.
I write this as the attacks in Paris are currently underway. People who were enjoying a night on the town, at the theater or a soccer game were suddenly in terror. They are in the midst of a great tribulation. A senseless act of terror. They had no clue this was coming. It came out of the blue. Such evil. Such suffering. What good can come from this? What is the reason? They were just enjoying life.
27 years ago yesterday, I was 11 years old. My 22 year old brother had just died from an auto accident. I woke up that morning, just like any other morning. Wrapped in a blanket, I go to the kitchen where my family is assembled and they tell me the news. The shock on everyone’s faces says it all. We all went to bed that night before happy and content. The next morning, lives were changed forever. My brother lost his. We lost him. I never had a relationship with him as he left home after high school when I was 7. I was never able to get to know him. He was just driving down the highway.
In 2003, my boss at the time was traveling to South Carolina for business, by way of Charlotte. Shortly after takeoff in Charlotte, the plane stalled in the air and crashed into the ground. Everyone perished, including my boss. It was just a simple business trip.
I could go on. All of us have stories like this. Stories of people we know and love who die too soon, or die from some random or senseless act. We just don’t know when our judgment will come. It may come in a terrorist attack, a car accident, a plane crash, or even a battle with an illness. Or perhaps it’ll be Jesus’ physical, in-person return and judgment. The point is – we have to be ready.
We must have our souls prepared and ready, and we must be constantly striving to help others ready themselves. Because we just do not know when our time will come. Not ours. Not anyone.
How do we get ready? How do we prepare ourselves for those things that come out of the blue – whether it is our own life or someone we know? Again, the answer is simple. Jesus. He sacrificed Himself for us and He has come again. He is here every day, all over the world in the Eucharist. When we adore Him, when we consume Him, He is here around us and within us. If we let Him in be.
Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, and taking time to spend time with Him in Adoration, and seeking His forgiveness in Confession prepares us for that day of judgment, whenever that is.
Jesus says in the Gospel today:
“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.”
I think about these times in life when it all can be taken away from you in an instant. And so often though, it is not part of some big tribulation. Perhaps the tribulation is the result.
But these events always happen when we least expect it. When like with the fig tree, in those times of summer when the leaves are green, the weather’s good and we’re just cruising along, thinking nothing can touch us. I think it’s especially in these times where we let our guard down a little, because everything is going well. Maybe we get a little prideful. It’s often at these times when our relationship with God gets placed on the back burner. We may lose focus a bit and relax.
We don’t want to be caught with our spiritual guard down. We don’t want to be caught relaxing and being lazy in our faith. We don’t want to let others around us, those we love, be relaxed and lazy in their relationship with God. And we don’t want to be caught not helping others and striving to make others better.
You never know when that time will be. It can come in the blink of an eye, and worlds and lives changed forever. Be ready for Jesus’ coming and judgment by forming a relationship with Him while here on earth. That’s why He came to us. To help us get there.
