Deacon James Kubina’s reflection at St. Joe’s: God alongside us

St. Joe's

From the very beginning of the month of November, when the weather is turning increasingly cold and bleak, we are invited to think and pray about all those who have departed before us throughout the ages (all Saints and all Souls Day). We also remembered this week those who have died to protect our freedom on Remembrance Day. We may also be reminded of our own mortality, that our own time is limited. And now, as the liturgical year comes to a close, the lectionary presents us (as it does every year at this time) with readings connected to end-times, sombre and stark apocalyptic narratives which can leave us very uncomfortable, perplexed or indifferent, since they seem to allude to or describe events which are far away in the future and far from our communal radar screens. On first glance, it seems that there isn’t any Good News in the Gospel today!

     I heard a story once that reminded me of today’s readings – especially our first reading.  A man was living in the Canadian prairie with his daughter, and one of the great problems about living on the prairie was the fear of prairie fires which rage through and destroy everything in their path. Well, their fears became real when a huge prairie fire broke out, and the father realized that there was nowhere that they could run because they were surrounded by fire.  So the father started his own fire with his frightened daughter, and watched as the area burned, and then he took his daughter into the centre of the area that had been burned already.  He knew that the approaching fire would not touch this area because there was nothing left to be burned. He spoke gently to his very frightened daughter and told her not to be frightened, that the flames could not get to them because everything combustible had already been burned.

     If we look at the first reading today, it is a lot like this story.

     “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up.” Malachi sees what the father had seen and warns the Jewish people about the impending fire. But then Malachi, like the father, tells the Hebrews that they have nothing to fear: “For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” By their faithfulness to the Lord God, the Hebrews would be protected from the fire.

     We, too, as followers of Jesus, are burning our field, protecting ourselves from the larger disaster which is to come. We will have nothing to fear.

     What we need to know about Luke’s Gospel, however, is that when Luke wrote, all of the predictions of Jesus had already come true. This passage was written after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD and Luke is trying to interpret the theological meaning of the terrible event. Luke’s descriptions of some of the end-time warning signs are not much help: famines, wars, earthquakes and so on have always been with us and will be with us for some time to come. Although persecution is not a reality for most of us, there are still times and places where one is called to truly suffer for faith. I think for example of the Christian communities in the Middle East which we heard two weeks ago were killed in Iraq because of their faith. Locally in Canada, I think of how our faith is under siege when new debates and rules emerge about outlawing crosses and prayer in classrooms, forcing us to speak up and protect our faith practices. But trying to figure out when the end of time really will happen is a useless and distracting enterprise; no one knows when that will occur anyway and so all that matters is that the Lord finds us doing what we are supposed to do.

     But these readings are not here to inspire fear. Like the father who calmed his daughter by saying the fire couldn’t touch her in the burned area, Jesus tells his disciples: “Not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your souls.” This is a positive reassuring message; this is a message to inspire us to stay steadfast, to stay constantly ready, eagerly waiting for His return; each day is part of our journey, our eyes fixed on the horizon, on our return to our origin, united with God in heaven. And no matter what our struggles and difficulties are, physical, emotional, job loss, family tensions, marital or relationship problems, maybe we are getting older and getting more aware of our own mortality, we can stand assured that God is walking alongside us and will give us the strength to get through the tough times. All we need to do is to trust in God.

     Here are some words found written in the prayer book of St Teresa of Avila:

     “Let nothing disturb you, nothing make you afraid. All things are passing. God is unchanging. Patience achieves all things. For the one who possesses God, nothing is lacking. God alone is enough.”