Second coming

We are now to the end of the liturgical year where we get these apocalyptic Gospels, which talk about the end of times. Apocalypse means unveiling, to lift the veil and to reveal what is going to happen, what is behind the curtain that separates us from eternity. We know that Jesus is going to come back one day, every day a bit closer, to end our time and to begin his everlasting Kingdom. Next Sunday we close the liturgical year with the feast of Christ the King. In the creed we say every Sunday: “He will come again in his glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” We use the word Epiphany, appearing, or Parusia, coming, the second Advent. It is a Christian and Muslim belief.

The early Christians thought it was going to happen during their life time. So much so that Saint Paul had to tell them to keep working and not become lazy, just waiting for everything to disappear. For us it is not as important as for them, because after two thousand years, we are still waiting. Personally I think that first we need to colonise the whole universe. A lot of people have predicted this event and have failed. In every generation we have prophets of doom. We have a desire to know the future, what is going to happen, but we Christians know that our future is in God’s hands, and he tells us what we need to know. Prior to his coming there will be amazing signs, the Antichrist and natural disasters. Everything will be destroyed; there will be a new heaven and a new earth. We shouldn’t be too concerned about our planet because one day it will disappear.

We talk about the three comings of Our Lord: the Incarnation, when the Word became flesh; our personal meeting with God, when we die; and the second coming of Jesus. The first one was hidden to the public eyes, our personal one is unexpected, and the third one will be amazing. November is a month when we bring to our consideration our departure, events that we don’t normally think about, the last things, eternal truths, the other life.

Jesus said that he had to go and prepare a place for us. He is coming back to pick us up, to take us to his place, to be with him and with the people we love for ever. We don’t normally think about the hour of our departure. It is the only thing that is going to happen to us for sure, every day a bit closer, and it is what gives meaning to our lives. We think that it is very far away from us. The thought of death brings to the fore what is really important in life, and makes all the artificial things disappear.

Jesus in the Gospel is constantly reminding us to be ready, to watch out, to be on guard. He says that he will come like a thief in the middle of the night, unexpectedly, for us to render an account of the talents he gave us. We are not ready because we are still here. This November we have another opportunity to prepare ourselves to face our personal encounter with Jesus Christ. For others it is the end; for us it is the beginning. Jesus dying for us has taken away the sting of death, and opened the gates of heaven. We can say with joy like the early Christians: Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.

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The widow’s mite

Today the readings of the Mass present to us two widows. In the first reading a widow from Elijah’s time and in the Gospel a widow going to the temple. Widows had a hard life, with no husband to look after them, and it was especially tough if they didn’t have grown up children. Both were generous, giving out of their poverty the last resources they had. And both got much more than what they expected. Elijah’s widow was going to die with her son and received food for the whole year. The widow in the temple was praised by Jesus for just two copper coins. Maybe she found a fortune when she went back home.

Jesus sat with his disciples in the temple opposite the treasury, looking at the people bringing their donations, some of them putting in a lot of money. It was a big show, watching the rich Jews carrying big bags of gold and silver coins, dropping them into the treasure, hearing the metal sound of the coins going down the hole. The temple treasury was situated in a highly visible location, to encourage people to be generous. We love showing off, drawing attention to our good deeds. But nobody noticed a poor widow dressed in black, who dropped in only two little copper coins, without making any sound. Only Jesus knew of her generosity, because he can look into the depths of our hearts. When she was leaving without drawing attention to herself, Jesus called his disciples and gave them a graphic lesson, pointing out to them her heroic deed.

The rich gave to God their left overs; the poor widow gave everything she had. Jesus was moved by her generosity, and told his disciples that she had put in more than all of them together. The rich had their reward on earth; the poor widow had her’s waiting in heaven. Saint Josemaria says: “Didn’t you see the light in Jesus’ eyes as the poor widow left her little alms in the temple? Give him what you can: the merit is not in whether it is big or small, but in the intention with which you give it.”

We win Jesus’ heart through our generosity. There is an old saying that God is won over by the last coin. The Kingdom of God is priceless but at the same time it costs whatever you have down to the last penny. If the bottle of wine is not full, the air turns the wine into vinegar. We came to this world naked, without anything, and we are going to leave in the same way. You cannot take anything with you unless you give it to God. What you give to God you’ll find it in the other life; if you keep it you lose it.

God always asks first. It puzzles us, thinking that he has everything and he should be the one offering his graces to us, instead of being the one always asking things from us. He wants to give himself to us, but first we need to make room for him. The more we give, the more we get. Mother Teresa used to say: “You have to give till it hurts. Then you’ll be happy.” We cannot outdo God in generosity. Once a beggar asked Alexander the Great for alms. He commanded to make him Lord of five cities. The beggar was dumbstruck: “I didn’t ask for so much.” Alexander answered: “You ask as you are; I give as I am.” He was great, great was his generosity. We are like little children who carry in their pockets their treasures: a piece of glass, a stone, a broken figurine. Even though we don’t have much in comparison with what God has to offer, we are attached to our little coins. Give them to Jesus as the poor widow did.

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Love of neighbour

We are travellers, pilgrims on this earth. We come from God and we are going back to him. Today Jesus in the Gospel tells us what are the two most important commandments for us to follow, to reach the kingdom of heaven: to love God above everything and others as we love ourselves. They are the summary of our Christian faith. Today we can check if we are following them. They are not easy to fulfill. We normally love ourselves first, then others, for what they can do for us, and then God, just in case he exists. We should try to turn things around. Once we have our priorities right, we know we are on the right path, going back to our Father’s house.

Can we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Is this possible? Of course it is possible. God doesn’t ask us to do anything that is impossible. It is a selfless love, the love everybody would like to experience. It is the love of a mother who loves her children more than herself. Because they were very close to her, part of her life. She carried them for nine months. There are other similar kinds of selfless love. A soldier who gives his life for his country, or a martyr who dies for Christ. We have the example of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who changed places with another man in a concentration camp to die instead of him. A little girl told her uncle, a priest just ordained, her hidden secret: I love you more than I love myself. People sometimes risk their lives to save their property, their pets, the things they love.

Both commandments are related. The more you love God, the more you love others. God pushes us towards our neighbour. We can even say that we love others with the love God gives us. Our love of God helps us to see others as parts of ourselves, as our brothers and sisters. It works both ways. The more you love your neighbour, the more you love God, and the other way round. They are two sides of the same coin. We have the example of the saints, who give us lessons in how to love others.

Nosce te ipsum, know thyself; it was a maxim inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi. There should have been another one: Ame te ipsum, love thyself. We see in our society nowadays many people who hate themselves. They don’t like what people see in them and would like to be different. Social media often fosters jealousy, when people show only an ideal image of themselves. If you hate yourself, you normally hate others. How can you love your neighbour as yourself, if you don’t like yourself? But what do we have to do to learn how to love ourselves? Look at God who is Love and loves us more than anybody else. God has created us the way we are and loves us from the beginning: he wants us to exist. Our self love comes from the love he has for us. A baby becomes conscious of himself when he is aware of the love his mother has for him and becomes his own person.

We need to discover the love God has for us. Once we are aware of God’s love, we can easily give ourselves to others. Bishop Barron often repeats the idea that love is to seek the best of the other. We forget that we have been created to love more than being loved. We are happy when we love others in the way they want to be loved. But how do we experience God’s love, if he is not doing what we ask of him, and makes us suffer? This week we read during Mass a famous saying from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans: everything works for the best for those who love God. We use a Latin expression: Omnia in bonum. When we love God above everything, we know that what happens to us is the best for us, that he is in control.

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