{"id":950,"date":"2019-11-13T10:05:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T10:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=950"},"modified":"2019-11-13T10:05:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T10:05:14","slug":"17-november-2019-c-thirty-third-sunday-of-the-year-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=950","title":{"rendered":"17 November 2019 (C) Thirty-Third Sunday of the Year (c)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A. The bible<\/em> as Guide in Life and Liturgy (Sunday Readings)<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B. Reflection & Dialogue: <\/em><\/strong>Looking towards the\nEnd; persevering to the end.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Bible as Guide in Life and Liturgy (Sunday Readings)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Reading <\/em>(Malachi 3:19-20). For you the sun of righteousness will shine out. <\/em>This is the second\nlast Sunday of the liturgical year and the readings are intended to remind us\nof the end time. The message of this present reading is that in the end evil-doers\nwill be punished and the good rewarded. The reading may be understood all the\nbetter when placed within its original biblical context in the book of Malachi.\nThe name Malachi in Hebrew means \u201cmy messenger\u201d, and in 3:1 God says: \u201cI shall\nsend my messenger (malachi<\/em>) to clear\na way before me\u201d. It may be that the title of the work comes from here, so that\nwe do not know the name of its real author. The date of the work is also quite\nuncertain, possibly some time in the fifth century B.C. The work is composed of\nsix passages similar in construction, in each of which God, or his prophet,\nmakes a statement which is disputed by priests or people. After this a\ndiscourse follows in which threat and a promise of salvation are given side by\nside. The sixth and last of these passages is 2:17-3:21 in which the people are\nrepresented as wearying the Lord with the following complaint: \u201cAny evil-doer\nis good as far as the Lord is concerned; indeed he is\u201d, and their further\nstatement: \u201cWhere is the God of fair judgment now?\u201d Their complaint is not born\nof cynicism, but is the anguish cry of those who want to live in a world where\ngood and not evil is paramount. God replies that he will act. He will send a\nmessenger to purify the priesthood and the Temple. He takes note of their complaint and\nwrites the names of his faithful ones in a book of remembrance. The triumph of\nthe upright will come with the Day of the Lord, when the difference between the\ngood and the wicked will be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Today\u2019s\nshort reading tells of the coming of this day of the Lord, when the wicked will\nbe destroyed and those who fear the Lord\u2019s name rewarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This\nbrief reading, and the biblical background to it, treat of the age-old problem\nof the success of the wicked in human dealings. God is aware of it, and tells\nof the final triumph of uprightness. With regard to the success of God\u2019s plans\nin our world, in one sense God has no other hands but ours. It will be for\nevery society in every generation to work and pray for the triumph of the good\nover evil. Organized human society is attempting to do this. We should work and\npray for the success of such projects \u2013 over violence, organized crime, drug\nbarons and such like. Our vision of a new heaven and a new earth where justice\nwill dwell should inspire us to work towards a movement to that here on earth,\nas we await the final fulfilment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsorial Psalm <\/em>(Psalm 97[98[). The Lord comes to rule the people with\nfairness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second Reading <\/em>(2 Thessalonians 3:7-12).\nDo not let anyone have food if they\nrefuse to work. <\/em>This heading given to this reading in the lectionary can be\nextremely misleading unless the passage is read in its fuller biblical context.\nThis context is best expressed in the verse immediately preceding the present\npassage: \u201cIn the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we urge you, beloved, to keep\naway from believers who are living an undisciplined life, not in accord with\nthe tradition you received from us.\u201d Paul seems to have referred to such a\ngroup already in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, in which he urged the community to\nadmonish those who are undisciplined. In that letter he also told them to make\na point of living quietly, attending to their own business and earning their\nliving, not to be dependent on anyone (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). These may the\nsame as those (some, the few) mentioned in today\u2019s reading as living in\nidleness, doing no work themselves, not busy at work but busybodies. These\nwould be a few within the small Christian community, within the much larger pagan\ncity population. They may have been agitated by the belief that the Day of the\nLord was near, or had already arrived. This letter\u2019s statement must be read\nagainst that background, and is in no way an argument for neglect of those who\ndo not work, or cannot work, for a variety of reasons (no suitable work available,\nphysical or mental disabilities). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Having said all that, it still\nremains quite clear that in this passage Paul puts himself forward as an\nexample to be followed with regard to working for one\u2019s keep. We do not know\nwhat the particular situation was that Paul addressed in this passage, but it\nappears that the expectation of the end, of a better and glorious future, had\ncaused agitation and had some withdraw from work. Paul\u2019s clear message is that\nany such expectation does not justify withdrawal from society, or one\u2019s\ncommitment to it. This carries a clear message for our own day. While our faith\nbids us to look forward for a better society for humanity, one in which justice\nwill dwell, we must take our place within the human experiment, and work for\nthe betterment of this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gospel<\/em> (Luke 21:5-19). Your endurance will win you your lives. <\/em>Jesus is speaking in the Temple. Some of his\naudience are presented as admiring the magnificence of the building, its\nstonework and votive offerings. Well they might. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian armies\nin 587 or 586 B.C. A replacement\n Temple was completed in\n515, but was far removed from the beauty of the original one. King Herod, with\nno Jewish religious belief, would see to it that the Jerusalem Temple\nwould rival the best in the Roman world. He began his embellishment in 19 B.C.,\nand his work was renowned for it masonry. Jesus predicts its destruction, not a\nsingle stone being left on another. This was the year 30 or 33, and his words\nwere literally fulfilled by the destruction by the Romans in 70. The disciples\nthen ask him with regard to the date for this destruction and signs preceding\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Jesus\u2019 reply seems to refer to the\nend, the return of the Son of Man, rather than to the destruction of the Temple. But some of the\nsigns he mentions could refer to many times, such as false Messiahs proclaiming\nsalvation and the arrival of the end. Some of the signs and events occurred\nbefore the final destruction of Jerusalem.\nThe purpose of the section is to warn his followers not to be led astray by any\nsuch signs. This passage and its imagery are in the tradition of Jewish\napocalyptic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The next section, on persecution, is\nvery much about the church on earth, and not just before the end time. Jesus\u2019\nfollowers must be prepared for persecution for their belief in Christ. Their\nvery trial before judges and governors will be an opportunity of bearing\nwitness to what Jesus stands for (\u201cfor my name\u201d). Other New Testament texts say\nthat the Holy Spirit will be with them. Here Jesus says that he himself will\ngive them eloquence and wisdom. One recalls Stephen\u2019s vision of the Son of Man\nstanding at God\u2019s right hand (Acts 7:56) when he was about to be martyred. Like\nthe seed in fertile ground (Luke 8:15), their perseverance, their undying\nattachment to Jesus, will win the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B. Reflection &\nDialogue<\/em><\/strong>: Looking towards the End; persevering to the end.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the liturgical year the\nChurch in its liturgy invites us to reflect on end events and realities: the\nend of history and the coming of the Son of Man, the end of one\u2019s personal\nlife, the end of the triumph of evil over good and the coming of new heavens\nand a new earth, in which justice will prevail.\nThere are references to all these in today\u2019s readings. There is, however,\nanother truth we are invited to reflect on in conjunction with these truths — that\nis the need for perseverance if our religion, our attachment to the person and\nwork of Christ, is to survive the problems and boredoms of human and Christian\nexistence. Luke\u2019s presentation of Christ\u2019s teaching makes this point: \u201cYour\nendurance (through trials and persecutions) will win your lives\u201d, just as he\ndoes at the end of the explanation of the parable of the sower and the seed\n(Luke 8:15). The perseverance in question is not\nsomething passive, of the \u201cgrin and bear it\u201d type, but is part the faith that\nlinks us with God and with Christ. It is part of the mystery of salvation. God\nis saviour of all humanity and given free will there is no easy answer to many\nquestions. God was with the human race from the beginning, from the big bang\nmany trillions of years ago, if we so wish to put it. The Epistle to the\nHebrews (chapter 20 and others) lays stress on the need for this perseverance.\nChapters of this Epistle have been read on Sunday 19 to 22 this year. See these\nreadings and the notes on them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A. The bible as Guide in Life and Liturgy (Sunday Readings) B. Reflection & Dialogue: Looking towards the End; persevering to the end.  The Bible as Guide in Life and … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday-readings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=950"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950\/revisions\/951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}