Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Daily Missal November-December 2022

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
1st week, alternate cycle

FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Malachi (Mal 3:19-20a)
Behold, the day is coming, blazing like an oven. Then all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of hosts. But for you who fear my name, the sun of justice will rise, with its healing rays. - The word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

We are preparing to live the final days of the liturgical year; in a few weeks we will enter the season of Advent, and the language of the liturgy favors what is called the apocalyptic genre. There is nothing frightening in this term, nothing like what is portrayed in certain apocalyptic films, or what is preached by certain sects that see signs of the end of the world in everything. In the Bible, the word “apocalypse” simply means “revelation,” not catastrophe. Certainly, the images used by the prophet seem catastrophic, but perhaps there is nothing catastrophic about a mother saying to her little child, “If you touch it, I’ll break your hands,” thereby drawing attention to the danger of that action? Malachi, ultimately, behaves no differently from the mother mentioned above. The arrogant and all those who commit injustice will simply reap the fruit of what they have sown. The blazing day does not come to burn people, but to cleanse everything that is unworthy of being considered human. To uproot evil and make goodness sprout.

SECOND READING

From the second letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians (2 Thess 3:7-12)
Brothers and sisters, you know how you should imitate us: we were not idle among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; rather, we worked tirelessly, night and day, so as not to burden any of you. This was not because we did not have the right, but to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. In fact, when we were with you, we gave you this rule: whoever is unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some among you are living disorderly lives, not doing any work but acting as busybodies. Such people we exhort and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to earn the food they eat by working quietly. - The word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

When faith does not remain a discussion of the grandest systems, a mental abstraction, a gnosis that does not save. Here the apostle Paul brings faith into everyday life, into what at first glance may seem simply a banal circumstance. What does faith have to do with work? What does faith have to do with economics? What does faith have to do with family? For those who have it, faith is something to live in their innermost being; life is something else, something serious. Aren’t these the very arguments we hear repeated every day from every pulpit in our postmodern world? Faith is not a convenient alibi for ignoring the things of the world; rather, it suggests a different way of living them. Moreover, today’s passage from this letter suggests a further reflection to me. Some live disorderly lives, doing nothing and always being agitated. This disorder can also creep into ecclesial life, where the temptation to sit around chatting is always lurking, together with the temptation to remain constantly agitated in search of ever-new spiritual experiences to undertake.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 21:5-19)
At that time, while some people were speaking about the temple, adorned with beautiful stones and votive offerings, Jesus said: “The days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to take place?” He answered, “See that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time has come near.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and there will be frightening sights and great signs from the sky. But before all this happens, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

By nature, we tend to consider eternal the things that are instead destined to come to an end. Thus, these “some people” of whom the Gospel speaks to us today were fascinated by the beauty and majesty of the temple, forgetting that this beauty was not an end in itself. It was the result of the beauty of the Covenant lived out between God and his people and, at the same time, a reminder of that beauty which nothing and no one can destroy: life in the fullness of the Father’s love. Faced with this fascination, Jesus brings everything back to a healthy realism. A time will come when all this will no longer exist, but that does not mean that hope and wonder are destined to end. In response to this challenge from the Lord, his interlocutors ask, “When?” Jesus does not answer this question; instead, he lists a series of situations that those who await the fulfillment of history will experience. Jesus is not interested in demonstrating knowledge of the future; he cares about suggesting criteria for discernment. He warns against false prophets and urges us not to see signs of the imminent end in events. Everything helps the believer focus on the goal, not the end.