TIME.
November 17, 2024.
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – B.
“…It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations
began until that time.” Daniel 12:1
A Scottish proverb says: “Take time while time is, for time
will go away.” A Kurdish proverb adds: “Time is like a dagger; if you don’t cut
with it, it cuts you. Go ahead and cut. Be quick before it cuts you.”
We live in time. We die in time. Time is our greatest asset.
Time is also our best enemy. In the Scriptures, the most beautiful writing
about time could be found in Qoheleth. The wise man provides us with the poetry
of time. We read: "There is a season for everything, a time for every
occupation under heaven: A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for
planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted..." Eccl 3:1ss
Time and season, that is what the liturgy of this 33rd
Sunday is all about. It is a reminder that we are nearing the end of the
liturgical year. Moreover, it is a warning that life has an end. What then
should we do to welcome or face the end? One truth, the end is unavoidable.
Time runs its course. We cannot stop it. We are people of time and seasons.
And the time will come for each of us to face our destiny.
We read it right away from Prophet Daniel in today's first reading. He saw the
great sign of the final hour, the hour of the final judgment. “At that time
there shall arise, Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall
be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time..."
Michael, the prince of Angels will come for the final battle. Those who belong
to God will be taken to him. Those who belong to the world and evil will face
eternal damnation. Brothers and sisters, there is a time for judgment. There is
a time to give an account of our life and choices.
The Lord Jesus, in the Gospel, speaks of the day of the Son
of Man, his second and final coming. He uses frightening images and language to
warn us to prepare for that day. “In those days after that tribulation the sun
will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be
falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken..."
We should not feel scared by this language, but rather see
it as a warning to get always ready. For, the time will come. The thing is, “of
that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father.” None of us knows the time. Our science, technology, and progress
of today are not able to predict when will be the end. Hardly, even, can
science and medicine predict right the death of a terminal stage patient. No
one knows, except the Father, says the Lord. We can read the signs of time. We
can predict the seasons, winter, autumn, summer, spring, rain, heat, typhoons,
tropical storms, and other things. But we cannot say when will we live or die.
Only God knows. That is the mystery of life. That is the mystery of time.
The Lord Jesus offered a sacrifice on time, and it was for
all times. And it is his self-sacrifice that took place on the Altar of the
Cross where he stands as the eternal High Priest that will save us from the
effects of time.
Next Sunday, with the feast of the Kingship of Christ, the
eternal High Priest, we will close the liturgical year B and get ready for
another year. Season of life, the routine of time. May our life, however not be
carried by this routine. Let's make of everyday a special occasion and an
opportunity for conversion. The final day will surely come. Of it, no one
knows. We should live every day of our life as if it were the last day, and do
all the needed things to meet the Lord when he comes.
May we not forget the warning of the Ecclesiast: "There
is a time for everything under the sun... A time to be born and a time to
die..."
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