The signs of the end
It is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, but it isn’t ordinary at all as we learned that today is the last Sunday of our liturgical year as next Sunday we shall be celebrating Christ the King or Cristo Rey. Today’s gospel tells us about the coming of the End of Times, which you can read in Luke 21:5-19. With what has been happening in the past few weeks in the Philippines alone, you would truly say that the end has started to begin.
“5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” 7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
“8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
“12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me.
“14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish.19 Stand firm, and you will win life.”
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When I read that “there will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” This reminded me of what has been happening in the Philippines these past few weeks, when Central Mindanao suffered a 6.5-magnitude earthquake, not just once but thrice in the same place. Then we learned of earthquakes happening in Daet, Camarines Norte, and Guiuan, Samar, and in Maluku, Indonesia. This tells us we are witnessing the signs of the end of times.
It’s not just natural disasters, there’s political chaos in Hong Kong and Bolivia. There will always be false prophets like when pastor Quiboloy said that he could stop earthquakes and a few days later a bigger one hit Central Mindanao. In my column last week, I mentioned God harvested many of our friends. I’m referring to the death of Cebuano magnate John Gokongwei and PAL chairman Lucio “Bong” Tan who was only 53, and at least three of my friends died one after the other just a week ago.
But our Lord Jesus Christ hoped that his statements would be taken seriously when he said, “But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” Again I would like to repeat the words of St. Augustine who quipped, “The God who created you without you, cannot save you without you.”
If there is anything of great value that God gave the human race, it is free will that we totally take for granted. We are free to even not believe that God exists, which many atheists tell their friends. But as most writers say, in the end, God wins! So whether you are an atheist or not, a Christian or not, God will be awaiting your arrival in heaven and decide at that moment if you will spend your eternal life in heaven or hell!
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