33rd Sunday of the Year
In a recent article, (‘Billionaires and lobbyists have seized control of our national narrative’, Sydney Morning Herald, October 30, 2024), author, Tim Winton wrote that people are fed up with the cosy paralysis of those in power in the face of the gravity of the climate emergency. They only get excuses and time wasting when we need action. The dominant narrative of our day is selfish and self-destructive as we are told stories urging us to pursue endless consumption and pitiless competition powered by the fuels that are killing the world. It is irrational, unscientific and immoral. We need a new and honest narrative about the fragility of our biosphere and our dependence on it to flourish and live decently and justly. It is a story that prioritises empathy and solidarity over individualism and ruthlessness. It is in our hands!
The destruction of Jerusalem in 70C.E. has been interpreted as punishment for rejection by the Jews of Jesus. Jesus’ criticism of the state was a criticism of a system that both created poverty and exploited people living in that poverty. The Temple was the heart of Judaism, but was also at the heart of the banking system, the food industry, and the seat of political power for Judea under Rome. The destruction began with an uprising by the poor against this system, which resulted in the Romans trying to restore some kind of order. It is more convenient to interpret Jesus’ criticism of the Temple as being about Judaism rather than being about addressing poverty, which is a matter of human responsibility. So too with violence and war! We create it. We can change it.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, many people longed for a return to normal even though going back disproportionately harmed many sectors of society while giving privilege, power, and property to others. Talk of ‘building back better’ did not ask ‘better for whom?’ The late Gustavo Gutierrez responds, ‘The poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalised by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labour and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.’ (The Power of the Poor in History, p. 44). His words resonate with Mark’s picture of Jesus. Gutierrez’ words resonate with Mark’s picture of Jesus. In Mark’s view, the overthrow of such an exploitative system was not seen as “the end,” but as the “beginnings of birth pains” for a new world. Remember, Jesus’ critique of the Temple and Jerusalem was not against Judaism, but opposition to an economic, political, and social system that created poverty. Jesus spoke of a God of life who loved all and desired “life to the full” for all creation.
Today’s texts are called ‘apocalyptic’ which means to ‘reveal’ or ‘uncover’ a reality. They describe not the actual end of the world but invite us to embrace the reality that the world is always ending in one way or another, and that God is present in it. It calls means staying awake and paying attention to the signs of new life. They point us toward healing as they cry out for our participation in restoring the broken and liberating the enslaved. Do we recognise this as millions of people protest to defend the freedom of others whether it from occupation (as in Palestine), genocide, environmental degradation, or exploring ways to dismantle racism or violence against women. These are expressions of love in public. We are profoundly interconnected and none of can be free or healthy alone. Many do not believe the empty promises and false consolation that has brought us to the brink of catastrophe. We need change, and the hard truth is that change requires breakage. Encrusted habits and networks of patronage must be shattered.
Australians are in desperate need of solidarity. Winton, like Pope Francis, is telling us that humanity is at a crossroads, but we can respond when we appreciate that everything is interconnected and seek ways to create a world that cherishes the dignity of Earth and her creatures. We need, as he says, to redefine our notion of progress and seek solutions that incorporate the riches of different peoples, particularly Indigenous peoples, their art and poetry, their interior life and spirituality.
Despite appearances of doom and gloom, with references to war, famines earthquake, families torn apart, persecution, and conflict, the gospel is hopeful flowing from action. Apocalyptic visions are about seeing reality as it is and finding a just and peaceful way to respond. We are assured that God’s transforming power is ready to move into action where the need is greatest. Pope Francis tells us the poor, always and everywhere, evangelise us; they enable us to discover in new ways the face of God. ‘..We are called to discover Christ in them, to lend them our voice in their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them…’ (EG 198-199). The Son of Man (‘the Human One’) cries out to us through the agony of creation and the cries of the poor to collaborate in the work of healing and liberation. That cry is coming through the voices of Indigenous people around the world with the climate emergency. That cry is coming through the voices people of Sudan, Gaza and Lebanon, where today’s reading easily applies. The coming of the ‘Son of Man’ or Son of Humanity indicates that we have the creative energy to making all things new, and there lies hope. As Tim Winton wrote, hope is something we make together as a bulwark against despair.
A few years ago, Pope Francis called for a society and a planet where people attend to the cries of others, change course if needed, and adapt to situations for a better world and the common good. He said. “We cannot resign ourselves and stand at the window and watch, we cannot remain indifferent or apathetic without assuming responsibility for others and for society. We are called to be the yeast that leavens the dough”. Whilst calling for the courage of ecological conversion, and being open to the Holy Spirit, Francis called us to listen to the sufferings of the poor, the last ones, the desperate, the families who are tired of living in polluted, exploited, burnt-out places, devastated by corruption and degradation. These are always living in apocalyptic times. This Sunday is the 8th World Day of the Poor under the theme, ‘The prayer of the poor rises up to God (cf. Sir 21:5)’ look for the poor among us. Do we hear their cries as God does? Do we hear the suffering by terror, harassment, arrests, extrajudicial killings of human rights defenders, of peace and environmental advocates and political dissenters in Latin America, the Philippines, Russia, Israel and many other places?
Our challenge is to look at life with new eyes ... not with self-centred concern but compassion and care. To serve each other does not just involve thinking differently but also taking the necessary steps to move outside ourselves. It is only in giving ourselves to each other that we gain a proper perspective on life and let Jesus Christ lead us so that we might, in the words of Daniel, ‘be wise and shine brightly...like the stars forever.’ The readings offer hope and encouragement for people who struggle for peace with justice because is always with us. Any tendency to exclude where some people are put beyond the bounds of God’s love and our love and humanitarian concern must be rejected. Anne Frank says, ‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.’
Today, Mark might be challenging us to consider the future of our planet – especially as we have witnessed positive and negative reports from the recent COP 16 on Biodiversity in Colombia and insipid responses from the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Samoa. They continue to treat the earth like a rubbish dump as Pope Francis suggested and as an endless source of resources. In the midst of this, there is not room for alarm, passivity, or scepticism but a call to be engaged because of God’s ongoing presence with us today. Jesus preached a coming reign characterized by gentleness, mercy, forgiving love not avenging justice. Jesus coming has not brought catastrophe upon the world except for himself - ‘……the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again’ (8:31).
So let us not look to the skies for signs of the ‘end of the world’ but concern ourselves with the present moment by engaging with the God of mercy and inclusion to build a community that embraces rather than rejects. Let us share the vision of Jesus and see each other as Jesus does as ‘beloved’, precious, dignified. Let us look upon the world at our doorstep, in our neighbourhood, community or family. Let us look to the teachers of the past and in our midst and engage with one another where just and peaceful living is possible.