Oliver James
Member
Hi Everyone,
This is my reflection on today's Gospel - according to the Roman lectionary and as we head towards Advent and Christmas.
My reflection is about Jesus' eschatological discourse in the Gospel of Sain Mark.
It's Mark 13: 24-32.
My audio of the KJV is on my site here: https://wordaloud.co.uk/audio/kjv/d...oming-of-the-son-of-man/gospel-of-saint-mark/
The KJV text and my reflection go like this:
24 ¶ But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 ¶ But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mark’s account of Christ’s eschatological discourse reaches its climax with an apocalyptic vision and Christ’s announcement of the imminence of the parousia, the second coming of Christ, who is now called, following Daniel, the Son of man.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7: 13-14)
What can this mean? What do we mean now by speaking of imminence? Clearly Jesus could not have meant that the world would end within the lifetime of some of those living in Jesus’ time. The world did not end – although to many Jews, including perhaps Jesus’ disciples, it would have been inconceivable that the destruction of Jerusalem could be an event apart from the end of the world. In AD 70, failure in war with Rome thus devastated Israel. Jewish worship, the Temple destroyed, would never be the same again.
Christ’s meaning when he speaks of the coming of the Kingdom must, then, be something different from – or additional to – global and cosmic destruction as a precursor to renewal and our entry into the new world. He has said as much when, for example, speaking of the mustard seed, which begins as the smallest of seeds and is set to grow as the Church grows to include the whole world; such growth and flourishing must imply a long history of human endeavour to follow.
Christ’s words in these verses of Mark lie somewhere between metaphor and reality. The apocalyptic vision proclaims an overhauling of old ways of being and the coming of new life, the Kingdom of God, of which we are called to be part through Jesus Christ. Our faith in Christ, our death and rebirth through baptism, our redemption in Christ, our adherence to Christ’s new Law, all this, our lived Christianity, can be understood as the Kingdom of God made manifest already in this world, while we anticipate eternal joy. It is because of Christ and through his words that our life has a heavenly dimension. Heaven and Earth will indeed pass away, while through Christ we have life eternal.
Jesus Christ is coming. He comes to us each and every moment through the whole of our lives, and through his coming we are transformed. We become more than worldly history; we are creatures of light. There will be a definitive end, a definitive judgement. We will share in the new world and life everlasting. When we ask Christ to come to us we pray for this heavenly end, and through prayer we open our hearts, our minds, our souls, to receive Christ’s coming today.
Thank you.
This is my reflection on today's Gospel - according to the Roman lectionary and as we head towards Advent and Christmas.
My reflection is about Jesus' eschatological discourse in the Gospel of Sain Mark.
It's Mark 13: 24-32.
My audio of the KJV is on my site here: https://wordaloud.co.uk/audio/kjv/d...oming-of-the-son-of-man/gospel-of-saint-mark/
The KJV text and my reflection go like this:
24 ¶ But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 ¶ But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mark’s account of Christ’s eschatological discourse reaches its climax with an apocalyptic vision and Christ’s announcement of the imminence of the parousia, the second coming of Christ, who is now called, following Daniel, the Son of man.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7: 13-14)
What can this mean? What do we mean now by speaking of imminence? Clearly Jesus could not have meant that the world would end within the lifetime of some of those living in Jesus’ time. The world did not end – although to many Jews, including perhaps Jesus’ disciples, it would have been inconceivable that the destruction of Jerusalem could be an event apart from the end of the world. In AD 70, failure in war with Rome thus devastated Israel. Jewish worship, the Temple destroyed, would never be the same again.
Christ’s meaning when he speaks of the coming of the Kingdom must, then, be something different from – or additional to – global and cosmic destruction as a precursor to renewal and our entry into the new world. He has said as much when, for example, speaking of the mustard seed, which begins as the smallest of seeds and is set to grow as the Church grows to include the whole world; such growth and flourishing must imply a long history of human endeavour to follow.
Christ’s words in these verses of Mark lie somewhere between metaphor and reality. The apocalyptic vision proclaims an overhauling of old ways of being and the coming of new life, the Kingdom of God, of which we are called to be part through Jesus Christ. Our faith in Christ, our death and rebirth through baptism, our redemption in Christ, our adherence to Christ’s new Law, all this, our lived Christianity, can be understood as the Kingdom of God made manifest already in this world, while we anticipate eternal joy. It is because of Christ and through his words that our life has a heavenly dimension. Heaven and Earth will indeed pass away, while through Christ we have life eternal.
Jesus Christ is coming. He comes to us each and every moment through the whole of our lives, and through his coming we are transformed. We become more than worldly history; we are creatures of light. There will be a definitive end, a definitive judgement. We will share in the new world and life everlasting. When we ask Christ to come to us we pray for this heavenly end, and through prayer we open our hearts, our minds, our souls, to receive Christ’s coming today.
Thank you.