We have before us the problem of unfulfilled prophecy: the Son of Man didn’t return in the lifetimes of the first generation of Christians. But something rather important is going on here, precisely in the prophecies of Christ being partly fulfilled. And in the complete fulfilment we shall find ourselves drawn into the revelation of God’s majesty.
We know that the Lord’s prophecy is partly fulfilled. Our Gospel reading is the last section of the Lord’s long discourse in the Temple. This is the last time he will teach his disciples before the Last Supper. Earlier in Mark 13, he prophesied the destruction and desecration of the Temple, as well as the persecution of the disciples. These things certainly happened in the first generation.
Just forty years after the Lord’s Ascension into heaven, there was a siege of Jerusalem. Three Roman legions camped out around the city to subdue it, the last step in escalated tensions which arose over taxation. For seven months in AD 70, thousands of Jews found themselves caught inside the city. The Romans crucified anyone who tried to escape; they set up those crosses all around the city so that those inside could see them. When the Romans finally broke through, they also sacked the Temple, because it had been constructed as a city within a city. The Roman soldiers brought in their eagles, sculptured standards emblematic of their supposed divine power: in the Temple, sacrileges. This is the destruction and desecration of which the Lord spoke.
We know too that many Christians of the first generation suffered and died. Theirs are household names: Stephen was stoned to death; Peter and Andrew were crucified; Paul was put to the sword; many others were burned or fed to beasts.
The Lord has been proven right about all these things, even to this day. There is no Temple in the strict sense; there are martyrs being made every year. Just in the last month, dozens of Nigerian Christians have made their witness to Christ, the last so far in a long line of them.
Other things the Lord has prophesied are yet to transpire, but transpire they will. Some time between the first century and the end of time, the celestial bodies will stop shining and he will return. Then, he will take his faithful altogether into his eternal kingdom. We, therefore, are part of the fulfilment of these prophecies. We ourselves will be the sign that the prophecy is completely fulfilled, that is, when we are gathered up into his heaven. The Lord has told us what will happen, and he has told us as much as he himself knows about when they will happen. Thanks to him, we know that these things will happen, and like him we don’t know when they will: we only know that he will come.
So, why tell us? Why not let us carry on, blissfully ignorant of terrible things to come? The Lord in his mercy is meeting our needs: knowledge about when these things will happen isn’t one of them. But persevering with him is. Keeping up hope in him is. And here, even in the as-yet unfulfilled prophecies, the Lord is showing himself worthy of our trust. We can be led astray or panic or get bored or disillusioned or fall into disbelief. We can be so easily drawn away from what is important. There’s nothing like bad news or misadventure or tragedy to focus the mind.
We shall let our Saviour’s as-yet unfulfilled prophecy focus our minds on our destiny: we hope to live with God and our loved ones for ever. The Lord is going to allow the sun, moon, and stars he made to fall into darkness. The Lord has already allowed the Temple of his glorious presence on earth to fall into ruin.
These things must take place, because nothing may outshine, outdo, or outlast the Son of Man. All things pass away; only he endures for ever. And we entrust ourselves to him by repentance for our sins and receptivity to his grace, everyday faith and good action, so that we may see his day and ourselves join in the fulfilment of his every promise.
Fr Paul Rowse, OP
Parish Priest
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