Friday of the
Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Daniel 7:2-14; Luke 21:29-33)
John Donne’s meditation “No Man is an Island” is
reminiscent of Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel. A bell tolls in Donne’s essay, and people ask,
“Who died?” The point is that a tolling
bell should remind everyone that she or he is going to die. Similarly Jesus uses the image of a fig tree to
tell his disciples to take notice to what is happening around them.
Just as the budding of the fig tree foretells the coming
of summer, the destruction of Jerusalem augers the return of Jesus in
glory. Although his return has not yet
taken place in a definitive way yet, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in
the year 70. Apparently the “times of
the Gentiles,” which Jesus refers to earlier in the long passage, is still in effect. Nevertheless, billions of people have come to
their individual end in death. Jesus’
words then should be taken as a warning of this eventuality.
We prepare for death by living as justly as
possible. First, we owe God constant and
fervent thanks. Then we must care for
ourselves and those closest to us – family, co-workers, and friends. Finally, we need to assist the poor. We have to use our resources to help them
live with dignity.
