Weekly HOMILY for November 19, 2006: End Times: Yours and Mine

33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
November 19 2006

End Times: Yours and Mine
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


An Experience of Dying

There is a woman named Jane who tells of her own personal experience of dying.

Jane had had a serious heart attack. She states that as it happened, she felt her spirit rise out of her very body, and pass upward, upward, and through what felt like a tunnel.

After some time, it seemed like only minutes, Jane found herself standing before a Being of Pure Light. The Being’s light poured out on her and through her, and told her that it was not yet her time.

She had to return to earth. Jane testifies that this experience has indeed transformed her life.

She now has no fear of death. Her faith in an Almighty God is now absolute and completely unshakeable.


The End Times

Jane’s experience leads us to ask a question that we may wish to avoid no matter what our age. Do you ever think about your death, think about what your end-time will be like?

The Scripture readings today portray the end times with graphic and even frightening imagery.

The prophet Daniel in the first reading says: “At that time, there shall arise Michael, the great prince; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress.” And in the Gospel Jesus says, “In those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky.”

These were standard images used thousands of years ago. To us today, to the ears of our modern, educated and somewhat skeptical generation, these vivid images may seem a bit unbelievable.

But, underneath them, I would suggest that there lies great truth and profound wisdom. I see three lessons about life that we can learn from these images.


Lesson 1: Mortality

First, we can grow more accepting of our own mortality.

Whether or not we think or speak about death, this life on earth will pass away; no is passing away and our everyday experience confirms this: we’re aging, slowing down, forgetting, getting sick, etc.

And there are seasons even in the Divine Plan for our human life.

Jesus today uses a seasonal image when he says, “When the branches of the fig tree become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things, know that [the Lord] is near.”

So, like it or not, this world is not our home. When we stand before the Lord, our credit cards, clothes and cars will not matter a wit.

What will matter are the eternal things we have accumulated – the faith at the core of our being and the love in depths of our hearts.

The scary images of these readings remind us then to be accepting of our mortality.


Lesson 2: Hope

The second lesson that we can learn from these images is hope.

Sometimes the tragedies of this world turn us away from God. Sometimes anxiety and fear grip and hold us fast.

In the face of this, Jesus’ words are unequivocal and leave us with no doubt. He says: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

This means that love – in the end – will conquer evil. God’s victory over death is assured for those who hold on.

And so, we are to live life with our eyes fixed on Jesus’ words and on this truth. We are to live actively – in the here-and-now – with this hope.


Lesson 3: Live

The final lesson flows from the second.

While we have it, we are to live life on this earth fully. This world has been created by God and it is good and it is beautiful.

And so, we are to utilize and develop our talents for our fulfillment as the persons God made us to be.

And we are to share our gifts unselfishly and joyfully for the well-being of our loved ones and for the common good of all.

But, as we do this and journey through this world, we are never to lose sight of the life beyond this life, where all fullness is to be found.

It was expressed well when someone said, “We should live this life with joyful abandon, while dreaming of the next with abundant expectation!”


Conclusion

(1) Aware of our own mortality, (2) Hoping in Jesus, and (3) Living life to the fullest are the keys that will make our passing to the other side of life fruitful.

Living that way each day, we are always ready for the coming of the Bridegroom though as Jesus says, “We do not know the day or the hour.”

And some day – and you can bet it will be sooner than you think – you will awake to find that our Savior is “near, even at the door.”

And when that moment comes, as right now, we will have what is needed for it will have been the way we’ve lived.