26 November 2012

Marana tha! or Dies Irae?


Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
            It’s clear that our readings today focus on the end times.  And perhaps this subject is already on our mind with the impending arrival of December 21, 2012 (though, we should pay close attention to our Lord’s words at the end of today’s Gospel: “‘But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’”).  But whether we have been thinking about it or not, the Word of God calls us to remember that this world is passing away, and a new world is coming where the Kingdom of God will be revealed in its fullness.
            Because the end of the world as we know it means the beginning of the world as God intends it, we should want the world to end.  In Sacred Scripture, the response of the Christians to the world ending is Marana tha!, an aramaic phrase that means, “Come, Lord Jesus!”  The Book that we associate with the Final Judgement, the Book of Revelation, is precisely a book of consolation.  St. John consoles the early Christians by assuring them that the persecutions and sufferings of this age will end, evil will be vanquished, and the reign of Christ, the Lamb who was slain but lives, will be ushered in.  It will be the time when “[Jesus’] enemies are made his footstool,” as our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews stated.
            But there is another response besides Marana tha! which is also associated with the end times: Dies irae in Latin, or “Day of wrath,” in English.  This is the response of those who have put themselves at enmity with God, and for whom the coming judgement is feared because the establishment of the fullness of the Kingdom of God means the destruction of their own kingdom.  As Dies Irae states, “Tearful will be that day/ on which from the ash arises/ the guilty man who is to be judged.”
            What is our response to the second coming of Christ?  For those who are following the will of God in their lives, it is likely, Marana tha!  For those who are following their own will, it will likely be a Dies irae.  Even our first reading sets up the dichotomy of two responses to the end.  The Lord tells Daniel that when St. Michael comes, the great angel (that is, messenger) of the judgment of God, for some “‘it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time.’”  And yet, the just “‘shall escape,’” and the wise, “‘shall shine brightly likely the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.’”
            Some of you may be thinking right now, “Why so morbid?  What exactly happened on that pilgrimage to the Holy Land?”  But reflecting on the end times is a perennial call of the Church, to remind us of the eternal consequences of our actions.  Let’s be honest, sometimes we need a little fear in our life to do the right thing, because we still labor under the effects of original sin.  Some people like to speed while driving, so I’m told.  But when they see a police car on the side of the road, they are reminded to slow down.  Some students would much rather take the short cut of copying off a neighbor’s test, but the watchful eye of the teacher or professor can help us to avoid that temptation.  Being reminded of the end times reminds us that, while we may get away with just about anything here on earth, we will be called to account for our actions before the judgment seat of God who is Truth itself, and no amount of sweet-talking or rationalizing will change the truth of what we have done.
            That is why the Church recommends a regular examination of conscience and frequent confession, to call us back to the Lord, and to have our sins forgiven while they still can be.  Because once we have died, there is no more time for conversion: we have either said yes to God and will be welcomed by the saints into heaven (even if we need a little purifying from our attachment to sin in Purgatory), or we have said no to God and will be welcomed by Satan and the fallen angels into Hell.  We either receive the reward of eternal happiness as the consequence of our good choices, or we receive the punishment of eternal damnation as the consequence of our unrepented sin. 
            So we can ask ourselves: do I enjoy spending time with God?  Do I attend Mass each Sunday and Holyday?  Do I take time each day to pray?  If so, Marana tha!; Come, Lord Jesus.  Or do I go throughout my day without giving God a thought, and make excuses why Mass is inconvenient for me or just plain, old boring?  If so, Dies irae; Day of Wrath.  Have I made a god out of power, prestige, sports, influence, money, or any other created good?  Dies irae.  Or do I seek to serve and to put all things in their proper order, so that God is first, others are second, and I am last?  Marana tha!  Am I greedy?  Do I keep things from the poor and those in need, and therefore keep them from Christ, especially clothes or other goods that I will never use?  Dies irae.  Or am I generous with what I have, especially my time and the gifts that God has given me to share with others?  Marana tha! 
            May the coming judgment, which will find us individually at our death, and universally at the second coming, be for us not a day of wrath, but an invitation for the Lord Jesus to come.  And as even Dies Irae states, “O you, God of majesty, gracious splendor of the Trinity, join us with the blessed.  Amen.”