Fr. Roger J. Landry
Conversations with Consequences Podcast
Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, B, Vigil
November 16, 2024
To listen to an audio recording of this short Sunday homily, please click below:
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The following text guided the homily:
* This is Fr. Roger Landry and it’s a privilege for me to be with you as we enter into the consequential conversation the Risen Lord Jesus wants to have with each of us this Sunday. During the month of November, the Church always ponders what are called the “four last things,” death, judgment, heaven and hell. This Sunday Jesus speaks to us in apocalyptic language about the end of the world, when he says the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky and the heavens will be shaken. He declares that then everyone will see him coming with great power and glory as he sends out the angels to gather the elect from all corners of the earth. He tells us that when we see these things happening, we should know that he is near. He adds that we should similarly always be ready, for no one knows the time it will take place except God the Father.
* In graphic language, Jesus is describing the truth we proclaim every Sunday in our profession of faith: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” But many of us are afraid of this reality. If angels were to come in vast numbers right now to announce that the end of the world were coming today, most people, rather than rejoicing, would be screaming in fear. Most people would not be ready. That’s not, however, the reaction the Lord wants from us, for it shows a lack of faith and love. When the early Christians reflected on this reality of Jesus’ second coming, they used to cry out, “Marana tha,” “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20). They looked forward to this event with great expectation, because it would lead to their full unity in love with the Lord forever. Our attitude is supposed to be similar. We pray in every Mass, after the Our Father, “By the help of your mercy, may we be always free from sin … as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ!” The attitude we’re called to have versus Jesus’ second coming is a holy “hope.”
* I remember once when I was preaching a retreat in Los Angeles, an elderly woman came to me, asking, “Father, is it sinful for me to look forward to my death so that I can, God-willing, be with Jesus forever in heaven?” I replied tenderly, but emphatically, “No. It’s not a sin!” Then she said to me, “Then why doesn’t anyone else seem to have this longing?” It was a very sound observation. Few do seem to have this longing. One reason, I think, is because so many of us are focused the things of this world, obsessed about the imminent political changes taking place in Washington, various dramas in our workplaces or families, or the latest happenings in sports or entertainment. Our mind, heart, soul and strength are not focused on God and the things of God but what Jesus elsewhere in a parable would call “worldly cares and anxieties, the lure of riches and the craving for other things” (Mk 4:19).
* Another reason, I think, may have to do with the first part of that prayer I just cited from the Mass, and the link between our being “free from sin” and our ability to wait in “blessed hope” for the coming of the Lord. I’d like to illustrate this point with a story from my childhood. When I was a kid, most days I would wait with eager expectation for the return of my dad from work about 4:15 in the afternoon. At about 4:00, our black Labrador retriever would start pacing around the house with...
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