33RD SUNDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
YEAR B: HOMILY FOR THE 33RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
HOMILY THEME: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.’” (Mark 13:26-27)
BY: Fr. Robert deLeon, CSC
Mark 13:24-32
“In a Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007, the man with the violin played six Bach pieces for about forty-five minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After three minutes, a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
“Four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar from a woman who threw the bill in the hat and, without stopping, continued walking. Six minutes later, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looking at his watch, hurried away. Ten minutes later, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along impatiently. The child tried to resist her efforts as the violinist captured his attention, but the mother pulled hard, the child finally responding to her tugs even as he watched the violinist with his music fade into the distance.
“This action was repeated by several other children. Each parent without exception forced the child to move on quickly. Forty-five minutes later, with the musician having played continuously, only six people had stopped to listen for even a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. After he’d played for nearly an hour, he packed up his violin and walked away. No one noticed, no one applauded, nor was there any recognition. “No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He had played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days previous, Joshua Bell had sold out a theater in Boston where the seat prices averaged $100.
“This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by The Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities. One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, how many other things are we missing?” (Original source unknown)
Excellent question: how many other things are we missing? It’s what the gospel passage we hear today asks, suggesting that God’s powerful but often subtle entry into our lives can go as unperceived as Joshua Bell playing Bach in the metro station. But this day Jesus assures his disciples and us, their descendants, that we will one day wake up to what’s really happening. “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.’” (Mark 13:26-27)
Yes, “Then they will see,” Jesus promises. And he means us! We will one day see, perceiving clearly the power of God come upon us and into our lives. We will one day see, perceiving clearly his ministering angels watching over us, protecting us, nudging us along the right road. Yes, one day we will see!
For now, though, Jesus pronounces a sober truth: mostly we’re fumbling about in darkness, though we don’t even realize it. Indeed, while our culture insists that we be ever young, healthy, beautiful and powerful, the dark truth eats at our gut as we witness widespread unhappiness among a whole generation of our young. “But you have everything,” we tell them. And yet these young people are searching for something more. For them, the darkness is far more real than for us who, sadly, have grown accustomed to it.
Today’s gospel validates the experience of the young when Jesus says, “In those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:24, 26) Truly, for many, today is the day of the darkened sun and moonless night. But, as Jesus promises, it’s also the eve of the dawn when the bright power and glory of God will be manifest.
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