I’m really glad that COP26, the climate change conference in Glasgow is over. Not that I consider myself religiously attached to either side of the argument; I’m neither a climate change denier nor a zealot. The only reason I’m happy to see the conference closed is that the mass media mercilessly exploited the topic to the point of oversaturation. Ironically, today’s gospel reading seems to continue in the same vein of the apocalyptic visions presented by some of the climate change enthusiasts: ‘In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’ Oh, dear…
Unfortunately, the gospel passage selected for this Mass is pretty much taken out of its context and consequently open to wild misinterpretations. Of course, we want to understand it properly and well so let’s re-establish the wider context. It all started with a remark made by one of Jesus’ disciples: ‘Teacher, look how big those stones are! What beautiful buildings!’ (Mark 13:1) The Temple in Jerusalem was at that time architecturally magnificent; renovated and expanded under King Herod the Great around 20 BC, it was a view to behold. But the Temple had a far greater meaning to the Israelites than on aesthetic grounds. It was essentially considered the centre of the universe and – trust me – that’s not an exaggeration! So, the disciple’s remark was full of admiration, awe and amazement. In response to it, Jesus said: ‘Do you see these great buildings? They will all be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.’ (Mark 13:2) Those who heard this must have been utterly stupefied and gobsmacked! A Jewish rabbi foretelling the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was unheard of since the prophet Jeremiah some 600 years earlier. So intrigued were Jesus’ disciples that later on – while sitting on the Mount of Olives with a panoramic view of the Temple – they asked for further explanation. In response, Jesus presented a rather disturbing vision of the future, foretelling societal troubles like wars and riots, individual persecution on account of faith and natural disasters; the latter formed part of today’s gospel reading. However, those horrible future events were not the main topic of Jesus’ presentation. The whole speech was peppered by an expression that can be translated as ‘beware of…’ or ‘be careful not to…’ The message Jesus conveyed can be expressed in these words: ‘Don’t be fooled by those who would like to use the turmoil to exploit you.’ As history teaches us, troubled times have always been a rich ground for charlatans, chancers and downright maniacs, exploiting the situation either to enrich themselves or gain power or both, to disastrous effects. The speech closed with a simple call: ‘Beware, keep alert.’ (Mark 13:33.37)
At first glance, it seems to be quite gloomy. However, we have to be reminded that the Christian faith isn’t a sort of daydreaming, out of touch with reality, soft and fluffy. Such a nausea-inducing, sweet perception of the faith has a detrimental effect. As Christians we are called to yearn for greater spiritual and moral standards, driven by charitable love. But it doesn’t mean that we should be naive, open to abuse or exploitation. We have to stand our ground and the Christian faith must be something that helps us to do so in the right manner. Such a firm resolve is built up when we listen to and follow the teaching of the gospel, as expressed by Jesus in today’s reading: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’ Jesus commissioned the Church with the mission of interpretation and applying the standards and values of the Christian faith to our modern challenges. We are never left to our own devices. ‘You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time.” (Matthew 28:20)
Image by Rondell Melling from Pixabay