The readings this Sunday invite us to consider the final outcome of history — both history in general and our own personal history. In the end, the unjust will be punished, and the just will be vindicated and rewarded for their faithfulness. Paul urges us not to waste time as we await the Great Day but, rather, to use the time we have in living out our Christian life and working for the Kingdom. Who or what helps you to persevere in your discipleship? Who relies on you to strengthen them in their perseverance? What is your response to hearing about the Second Coming of Jesus?

First Reading: Malachi 3: 19-20a

19 For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. 20 But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.

NOTES on First Reading:

* 3:19 Traditionally Catholic translations and traditionally Protestant ones usually differ in the numbering of the verses from here to the end of the Book of Malachi. The difference arose because of variations in the way the verses of the Septuagint (Greek) and those of the Hebrew texts were numbered. I have followed the Catholic numbering. This verse is numbered as verse 1 of Chapter 4 in translations following the Protestant system. Malachi prophesies a time of vindication and joy for the just and destruction and punishment for the wicked.

* 3:20 This prophecy is alluded to in the story of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25-34; Matthew 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48) as well as in Luke 1:78 and following verses. The word translated here as “rays” literally means “wings” as it is sometimes translated in some other translations such as the Revised Standard Version and the King James Version. The tassels on the cloaks worn by Jewish men of the time were attached at the corners which were called the “wings” of the cloak. The woman was reaching out for the healing in the wings of the “Sun of Justice” and thus expressed her faith in Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12

7 For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, 8 nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. 9 Not that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. 10 In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat. 11 We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others. 12 Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 3:7-12 This portion of the letter is probably in response to a situation in the Thessalonian Church involving people who believed that there was no point in working since they were already saved and that Jesus would return at any moment. By their refusal to contribute to the common good such people eventually became a serious drag on the local community. Their behavior became more and more disruptive and disorderly until a subsistence society such as the first century church of Thessalonika could no longer afford to support them. The writer holds himself and his apostolic companions up as examples of the way that the Thessalonians ought to live. He asks that they imitate their constant diligence in work rather than falling into idleness. They are told that the way in which one wait’s for the Lord’s return is important. The time of waiting must be spent in useful work and prayer and not in idleness and disruption of other’s lives. Apostolic practice and example was always seen as a practical norm of tradition within the church.

* 3:10 This rule was addressed to those who refused to work not to those who were unable to work. The early church was always careful to provide for the poor, the sick or injured, and, the elderly who could not work in a labor intensive subsistence system.

Gospel Reading: Luke 21: 5-19

5 While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, 6 “All that you see here–the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

7 Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” 8 He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! 9 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.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

12 “Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will lead to your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

NOTES on Gospel Reading:

* 21:5-36 Although Jesus’ eschatological (end-time) discourse in Luke is inspired by Mark 13, Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus as found there. Luke maintains, in a modified form, the early expectation of the end of the age (see Luke 21:27,28,31,32,36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of the end from Mark 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the parousia. For example, Mark described the desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mark 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Daniel 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke, in 21:20-24, however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24).

* 21:7 The Greek word, “tauta”, which is translated here as “these things” acts as a unifying phrase throughout ( verses 9,12,28,31,36) this complex passage. The antecedent of this generic phrase keeps changing, referring in turn to the destruction of the temple then the destruction of Jerusalem and finally to the destruction of the world.

* 21:8 By the time that Luke’s Gospel was written in the form that we finally have it, the proclamation of the imminent end of the age has itself become a false teaching. The disciples must not mistake the destruction of the temple as the time of Christ’s return.

* 21:12 For Luke and his community, some of the signs of the end just described (Luke 21:10-11) still lie in the future. But in dealing with the persecution of the disciples (Luke 21:12-19) and the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-24) Luke is pointing to events that they saw as eschatological signs that had already been fulfilled. “These things” or “all this” as translated here refers to the end of the world. The Jesus who had met controversy and opposition throughout His ministry now predicts the same treatment for his followers. But just as the rejected Jesus was vindicated by God the Father, so He would strengthen His disciples.

* 21:19 Jesus encourages them by telling them that by perseverance to the end they will gain that which they most fear losing, life itself.

Scripture text: New American Bible with revised New Testament copyright © 1986,1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Commentary Sources:
Vince Del Greco
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990) (Eds. Brown, Fitzmyer & Murphy)