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33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
11-17-2019 |
| One
night in 1983 over 100 million TV viewers saw the movie, “The Day
After.” It portrayed what a city would look like after a nuclear attack.
Just before the film began, a warning flashed on the screen saying,
“Because of the graphic portrayal of nuclear war, this film may be
unsuitable for children.” The warning was well-given. The movie showed
shocking scenes of death and destruction. The script also was
disturbing; it made us realize the horror of a nuclear attack. |
| The
words and images of today’s gospel are reminiscent of the words and
images of that film. Jesus portrays for us graphically the destruction
of Jerusalem and the temple. For Jews, the destruction of these two
things was equivalent to the end of the world. |
| Precisely
for this reason, the church uses this gospel for the end of the
liturgical year. It will soon be Advent. It wants us to reflect on that
moment when the world as we know it will end. It wants us to ask
ourselves, how prepared will we be for that moment when it comes? How
prepared will we be for our own end? |
| The
film, “Saving Private Ryan” is a powerful story of World War II. The
film opens with Private Ryan now an old man. He is paying his respects
at the grave of Captain Miller. Years before in battle, Miller had been
responsible for saving Ryan’s life. But, at the cost of his own, with
his dying breath. The Captain had challenged the Private to earn the
gift he had been given. This gift of continued life, the films poignant
opening scene shows the aging Ryan at the Captains grave, not just
saying thank you, but trying to say that he had done his best with the
life Miller had given him. Ask yourself, have you done the best with the
gifts you have been given? |
| Someday
the Lord will come in power and glory to place all creation at the feet
of God, the Father. But now, today, He comes quietly, subtly and
invisible. Look for Him not on a cloud with a jeweled crown. Look for
Him when you gather together, look for Him in the preached word, look
for Him in the host at Communion, look for Him inside of you, look for
Him at home on the faces of your dear ones, look for
Him-especially-where He told you to look. |
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In the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the
sick and the imprisoned, the helpless. Then when He comes, you can open
your arms and cry out, “Here I am Lord, do You like what You see? Do
You like what I have done with my life? Have we done our best with the
gifts we have been given? No? Then here is good news, the end is not
yet. This is no time for idleness; it is the time to do the work of
God’s kingdom. |
| The
purpose of living is to find faithful redemption and loving ways to
give what we have been given back to God. God will then make us adequate
for all that lies ahead until the end. This Advent might be a good time
for all of us to ask ourselves about ourselves. Do we like what we see?
Do you like what you have done with your life? |
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| Yours in Christ, |
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| Fr. Bob Warren, SA |
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