HOMILY FOR 34TH FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY FOR 34TH FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: “When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near.”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Jesus taught His disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
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God alone is eternal and infinite. Everything else – the world, people, things and the entire creation – is passing away. There is an end to everything: “the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire” (2Pet 3:10). This is what many people are afraid of.
But Jesus is talking about an end which is not altogether negative. In fact, in the Gospel today, He uses the image of a fig tree and other trees, not about dying but new birth: “When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near.” It indicates the end of winter and of death, and signals the advent of summer and of new birth.
And Jesus says this is similar with the coming of God’s kingdom at the end of time. In His apocalyptic Discourse, He describes such distressful events and cataclysms that accompany the end, but it is, in fact, the end of the old order – that of sin, evil, injustice and disharmony – and the beginning of the new order – that of holiness, justice, truth and peace.
Understandably, the early Christians, and that includes even the apostles, thought that the end will occur during their lifetime. This is because Jesus said, “This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” But in the Gospels Jesus used the term “generation” several times not in reference to the people of His time, but to two respective timeless, spiritual generations quite similar to Genesis 3:15: the one that bears the right fruit and belongs to God’s kingdom, and the other one that bears the wrong fruit and belongs to the kingdom of the devil (the serpent). An example of this is when Jesus said: “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet” (Mt 12:39).
St. Jerome also said something about this: “The rule of the Scriptures is to know two generations, one of the good, the other of bad.” Along this line, St. John Chrysostom explains: “By ‘generation’, our Savior does not mean the people that were in existence at that time, but the faithful of his Church; thus says the Psalmist: this is the generation of them that seek the Lord.” (Ps 23: 6). (Hom. lxxvii).
What Jesus points out in this statement is that the events of the end times will happen quickly. The era of grace and mercy has continued for a very long time. But when the time for judgment finally comes, everything will come to its close swiftly. This is echoed in many other passages of Scripture (Mt 24:22; Mk 13:20; Rev 3:11, 22:7).
However, Jesus gives the assurance that even when heaven and earth eventually pass away, His words remain. This is a statement that is absolutely incontrovertible: the Word of God is eternal. It never loses its relevance throughout the ages. Christ’s teachings are always ‘up to date’. At the same time, it is also a call to hold on, not to the passing things of this imperfect world, but to the immutable words of everlasting life. As Simon Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).
Talks about the end should not, therefore, frighten us. Instead, it should fill us with hope and anticipation since “we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2Pet 3:13). This should be accompanied with a firm resolve to hold on to the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ Himself, Who is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb 13:8). When everything passes away, we will reign with Him for all eternity.
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