Corpus Christi Blog

What the apocalypse reveals

11-15-2015HomiliesFr. Chad King

Next week is the end of the liturgical year in which appropriately celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King; and ready or not in 2 weeks Advent and the start of the new liturgical year begins.  So today, as we approach the end, our readings talk about the end times.  Some priests don’t like to preach about the end times.  So Deacon, you’re in luck, I don’t mind it.  Many people don’t want to think about death or the end of their lives, let alone the end of the world as we know it.  We might think of the Apocalypse- and the scary meaning that word has portrayed in all the books and movies which deal with the apocalypse or the destruction of the world.  However, the word apocalypse, in Greek, literally means “a lifting of the veil or revelation.  Let’s be brave and look at these perhaps daunting but very informative readings to see what they reveal.

First of all, our 1st reading from the Prophet Daniel refers to a time which shall be “unsurpassed in distress”, and “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace”.  Obviously ultimately referring to the end of time and the final judgement of every person- because in the end- there is only everlasting life or everlasting death.  Scripture is clear- there is a Heaven and there is a Hell.  However, there are some people today who don’t believe in Heaven, and perhaps even more scary is that many more don’t believe in Hell.  At some point, and even though we don’t want to think about it, every one of us will take our last breathe and die.  Although some don’t believe there is in anything after the grave, the truth is there is everlasting life in Heaven or everlasting horror and disgrace in Hell. And ultimately, we choose where we want to end up.  And we are making that decision now with how we are currently living out our life.

Likewise our Gospel reading from Mark discusses the end of life. Jesus says to his disciples, in those days after that tribulation, the tribulation which is referring to the destruction of the temple and a time thereafter.  The passages continues, in that time of great tribulation there will be many false prophets who will perform signs and wonders in order to lead people astray.  OK, so I get why some people can be afraid about the end times, afraid that they’ll be misled by false prophets and afraid about the final judgement and ultimately being sent to everlasting life or everlasting ‘horror and disgrace’.  Are you following false prophets now?  Pray that you will know the voice of God and follow Him alone.

And if that wasn’t scary enough, our Gospel goes on to describe that after the time of tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken”.  We who live in Arizona in which it is almost always sunny, it is hard to imagine the sun being darkened.  Day after day people wake up with the sun shining, and go to sleep for the night when the sun goes down.  After all, just about the one thing that is consistent in life seems to be the sun and the moon giving light.  And so it is hard to imagine the cold blackness of living with the darkened sun and moon. 

We recently had a small glimpse of darkness here at Corpus Christi.  On Tuesday, about 10:45am throughout the parish office and campus, all the lights went out.  Don’t worry we did pay the electricity bill, it was actually a broken power line right near our campus.  Even in the middle of the morning it was a little overcast that day so with the blinds open it still fairly dark, we had to light a candle at the front desk to see things more clearly.  But let me tell you what that darkness did- that darkness caused us to stop what we were doing.  We had to stop what we were working on and go out of our offices and get together to investigate and talk about what was happening.  Everything else was put on hold, and getting through that darkness became the priority on all of our minds. 

Similarly, isn’t that the purpose of these readings, the purpose of the sign of the times and warnings, isn’t that the purpose of the tribulation and darkness?  Don’t they cause us to stop what we are doing, stop being preoccupied about ourselves, and focus on what is happening in the world around us.  Don’t they cause us to get together and talk about what is happening and how we can help each other get through the darkness- just like we are doing right now in this homily, and hopefully after this Mass?

Although not many of us don’t like to think about death, doing so causes us to reflect on how we are living.  Thinking about the final judgement- thinking about Heaven- perhaps through Purgatory, and Hell- causes us to judge for ourselves what we are living for and where our hearts are focused right now.  Even though we don’t want to think about the end of the world or when we’ll die, we should face this reality because as our Gospel concludes- when that day and time will come, no one but the Father knows, and He just tells us to be ready.

The one certainty in life is that each of us will die at some point!  If you had a choice, how would you want to die?  What would you want to be doing, right before?  Some say they want to die in their sleep.  Personally I would like to die in the confessional having just been given absolution, or celebrating Mass and just receiving Holy Communion on my tongue.

Do you recognize that every Confession and every Mass, including daily Mass, which you and I go to- or do not go to- is preparing us for life after death?  We are preparing ourselves now every day of our lives.  Every day, in every choice, in every action we do or fail to do, we are growing closer either to Heaven or to Hell.  The way we are living our lives today is preparing us for how we will live our lives after death.  The more we acknowledge our human weaknesses and seek the mercy of God in confession, the more we are asking God to transform our hearts at every Mass, the more we pray every day from our hearts and surrender our human weaknesses and darkness and desire the grace to live in the light of Christ, the closer to Heaven we grow. 

Our readings talk about a time of tribulation, if you knew the tribulations and sufferings you endure in this life was to help you and your loved ones be ready for Heaven, would you be more conscious and purposeful in offering them up every day to Christ on the Cross?  If you knew the value the tribulations and sufferings had in purifying your heart to receive the fullness of life in Heaven, would you be more willing to accept them?

The more we grow closer and closer to Christ and know His Cross and Resurrection in this life, the less we will be afraid of death.  My brothers and sisters, we should grow to be able to say with joy and confidence, like St. Paul, “Yea, my life is hidden in Christ” and “I myself no longer live but it is Christ who lives within me”.  If we were living our lives on this earth to their fullness in and for God, we would not be afraid to think about what will happen after death, for we will be doing now what we will be doing in Heaven.  People of true faith aren’t afraid to think about the end or what happens after death. They actually welcome death as they know they will be united with God.

So perhaps that is what these readings could do, and what the thought of the apocalypse does- it reveals where our faith is at- but may it also focus and convict us to be united with Christ now and for eternity.

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