Homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Nothing On Earth Lasts

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. John the Baptist Church, Jordan, MN

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee. On the hills of Galilee, he preached with unprecedented and alarming boldness. He performed great miracles of healing and demonstrated a mastery over the forces of nature. As a consequence, lots of people came to him. From among those he encountered, he chose as apostles and disciples. At a climatic moment of his public ministry, he sets his face to the holy city, Jerusalem, towards his passion. In today’s Gospel (Luke 21:5-19), Luke tells us that Jesus has just arrived at Jerusalem with his followers. More to it, they are now right in the temple. For the Jews of Jesus’ time, the temple was the very center of life. The temple was the economic, cultural, political and religious center for the nation. And it was unquestionably the most beautiful building any Jew at that time could see, especially for country folks Jews from Galilee. Coming to Jerusalem was a big deal for the disciples of Jesus, however being in the temple, the most elegant building in the entire nation in the company of Jesus who proclaimed himself to be the Messiah was a bigger deal. As the disciples were looking, adoring and praising the most beautiful building they have ever seen, which is the temple, Jesus drops a bomb on them: “All that you see here— the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Could you imagine the impact of such words on the disciples? They must be scratching their heads and wondering what sort of comment is that. They must have thought: this man claims to be the long awaited Messiah. And he is doing what the Messiah was expected to do. At the culmination of his work, he is now in the holy city and in the temple. Why can’t he move in, take over, and rule from this holy place? Why did he look at this stunningly beautiful building, which is the symbol of everything that is good, beautiful and right, and then predict that it will be turned down? Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. Imagine you are one of his followers. You have walked with him through Galilee, you have journeyed with him and you have seen the enthusiasm of the crowd. You have seen him do the things that the Messiah is expected to do. Now you are with him in the temple, the most beautiful building and the center of the nation. And right before you he predicts the destruction of the temple.

What is the Lord talking about? As he has said in other passages, Jesus is once again declaring the stubborn truth that nothing in this world lasts. Yes, everything in the world is good. The Book of Genesis tells us that after God created everything, he looked at them and saw they were good (Genesis 1:31). Everything in this world is good, but nothing in this world lasts. Everything in the world reflects God but nothing in the world is God. The temple here stands for all those beautiful, delightful, beguiling, wonderful things that attract our attention; those things that we look at with rapt attention. The temple stands for things and people we are attracted to and captivated by. It stands for that pop star, that cultural icon, that political figure. It stands for your idea of the good life, the fat bank account, the impressive stock portfolio, that job, that building, that position, that office that you aspire to occupy one day. The temple stands for that house you dream of purchasing and living in etc. All those things we long for are represented by the temple. Like Jesus’ disciples, you are looking at them in wonder. But the Lord’s message for us today is this: that which you gaze upon with rapt attention, which you chase with everything you have, which you are giving up so much to attain, procure and acquire, will not last. Days are coming when all those things will be destroyed. 

Is this pessimism? Some people might say it is pessimism, but it is not. It is the deepest truth. Is it not true that nothing on earth lasts? Is it not true that buildings, offices, jobs, bank account, stock-portfolio will one day mean nothing? The point is— do not rest your life on any worldly goods. Reorient your life in such a way that the ultimate good is God alone. When you do this, then you will relate properly to all those earthly things. But when they become your God, when you stand bedazzled by them, then your life is disordered. This is the reason why Jesus at the climax of his life, deliberately undermines this worldly attitude and calls us to begin to live properly. 

But I have a warning for you. When you reorder your life around the love of God, expect storms and troubles. How come? Jesus says, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” In relation to what we have said already, read these symbols interiorly. When you are convinced that nothing in this world finally lasts, and you place your hope in God, expect interior warfare. There are interests, desires and powers in you that are focused on the goods of the world. Think of your ambitions, aspirations and love for worldly goods. When you say in your soul, none of these things lasts, don’t expect them to go away quietly. Expect a fight! There will be an interior struggle. When a new way of life centered on God meets the old way of being centered on money, pleasure etc expect storms and earthquakes. Why? Because new life is coming and it is confronting the old. Jesus also says, “They seize you and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you before kings and governors because of my name.” Christians who center their lives around God will always be troublemakers. When we stand like the rest of the world, bewitched by the goods of this world, we cause no one any trouble. We simply fit right in. But when we say no to what others consider ultimate value, when we stand with our eyes fixed on God and not on the goods of the world, expect earthquakes and storms on the inside and opposition from the outside.