Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

This Sunday we are presented with the apocalyptic vision of Daniel - of great and unparalleled distress. A vision that Jesus then draws upon in Mark's Gospel, with stars falling from a sky darkened when both the sun and moon lose their brightness.

It is difficult not to see the parallels between these images and the political rhetoric of the last days of America's general election, and the distressed reaction of some media commentators to the president elect's announcements of cabinet appointments in his upcoming administration. Some are saying that it is in fact the end of the world as we know it. (Ironically, the Trump campaign themselves used R.E.M.'s song of this name in many of their earlier rallies before the band issued them with a cease and desist).

My point here is not to pass judgement on U.S. politics, but to note that there have been many times in my lifetime that I have heard the same lament. The ARL/Superleague war, World Series Cricket, AIDS, the Y2K bug, the Mayan calendar, COVID. And in a sense, all of them were right. Not that the world itself came to an end, but that the world was irrevocably changed by each and every one of them.

So what do the prophet Daniel and Jesus' apocalyptic language really open up to us? In both, we see that, whatever befalls the world, good remains undefeated. At least, it will if we are true to our essential orientation. If we continue to see and promote good, and to do good in the face of what sometimes seems to be overwhelming indifference and a nihilism that denies the image and likeness of God. In other words, if we continue to be people of hope in an ever changing world.

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