The good things that come from the end of the world

Are you afraid of the apocalypse? Most people are not, but according to one recent survey, more and more people are taking an interest in “end times” prophecies, especially those that evoke a future of doom and gloom. Within the biblical tradition, however, discussion of future events and the “end of the world” have always been about the present fears of the people of God. This Sunday’s readings, which contain end-of-the-world imagery, encourage the faithful to leave fear behind and embrace something new. 

This Sunday’s first reading comes from the prophet Malachi, the last prophetic work of the Bible and the final book of the Old Testament. In liturgical time, the church reads Malachi near the very end of the lectionary cycle, in the weeks before the Solemnity of Christ the King and Advent. What does the last of the prophetic books warn us at the end of the liturgical year? “Lo, the day is coming” (Mal 3:19). Malachi understood the relationship of God and community to resemble a parent and children. The “day” that Malachi foretells is the day when God’s children will finally be prepared to respond to God’s love with a love of their own (Mal 3:1).

The book of the prophet Malachi takes the form of a series of exchanges between the prophet and the people. The prophet showed little hope, even near the end of his short book. All his exhortation was not enough for the people to turn towards the better, for priests to guide and teach, for leaders to offer proper tithes and trust in God to guarantee justice for those in need. Many remained skeptical that any advantage came from serving God. Better to go the way of the wicked, skeptics might say, and the path of those who do not worry about reverence for the divine. “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (Mal 1:2). In this context, the coming of the day of the Lord was tied to the hope that a curative grace would finally reach anyone still searching for a center and stronghold. Grace would come like “healing rays” from the sun. 

As in Malachi, this Sunday’s Gospel speaks of another turning point. “The days will come,” says Jesus (Lk 21:6). At first glance, the fear that colors the passage centers on Jerusalem and Herod’s great temple complex. Jesus and his disciples have been spending their time there, and his own passion and death await him in the coming chapters of Luke’s narrative. “All that you see here,” says Jesus, “the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down” (Lk 21:6). The Gospel narrative layers several images of destruction, including that of the Temple, the destruction of Jesus’ body and the dispersion of the apostles who flee in the aftermath of his death. 

Every one of these end-of-the-world passages contains the message that an old way of being is coming to an end and a new manner of life is beginning to form. The struggle to bring new things into being involves the destruction of old habits. The fear inherent in this passage represents the feelings of anyone unable to recognize the new things that were happening among the early followers of Jesus. Discipleship requires us to overcome our skepticism and fear. As we read in Malachi, “I have loved you, says the Lord; but you say, ‘How do you love us?’” (Mal 1:2). At the end of the liturgical year, may this be one of the first questions we pose to ourselves during Advent: How does God love us?