Scripture:
Malachi 3:19-20a
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19
Reflection:
As we near the end of the Church calendar, our Scripture readings deal more and more with the end times. In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Luke 21:5-19), Jesus uses the opportunity of people speaking about the Temple to speak about the end times. When people are admiring how the Temple was adorned, Jesus predicts that it will be destroyed. And so the people ask what are the signs that this will happen. The first thing that He says, is that there will be people claiming to be Him and that “the time has come.” But Jesus warns, “Do not follow them!”
And then Jesus speaks about wars and insurrections, but tells the people not to be terrified, for “it will not immediately be the end.” And then Jesus speaks about not only wars but natural disasters as well. And then Jesus speaks about the persecutions they will face. But He assures them that when it is time for them to give testimony that He will provide a defense for them “that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” Later on, He promises them that “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.”
Earlier, Jesus tells them that some of them will be put to death, so it doesn’t seem that Jesus is promising them some sort of physical invincibility. Rather, it seems that Jesus is telling them that no matter what happens, they will not lose the promise of eternal life. Similarly, in our first reading from Malachi (3:19-20a), God says through the prophet: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble…But for you who hear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.”
I think all this tells us not to lose hope, even in the midst of so many trials and tribulations. We are reminded that God still loves us and is with us, and that in Jesus Christ, we can persevere. We can persevere in following Jesus. We can persevere in love and service.
As I was reflecting on these readings, I was drawn to that last verse of our reading from Malachi: “there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” I don’t always associate justice with healing, but in places like South Africa, there was a connection made between justice and reconciliation. To work for justice often involves confrontation, and courage with a willingness to speak up. Working for justice doesn’t seem to be healing at all, but picking at the wounds that are there. But when we ignore justice in the hopes of avoiding pain, the wounds just fester. But to the degree that we can achieve real justice for everyone, the truth can be brought out into the open, and real healing can occur, as well as real peace.
It seems to me that we are called to work for justice and for the healing it can bring, out of the love God has for us and the world in Jesus Christ. And I wonder if that kind of love and service is the testimony Jesus has given us, against which our “adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.”
May we be open to the healing the Son of justice brings to us, and may a desire to bring healing and reconciliation inform how we work for justice and peace.
Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.