DAILY GOSPEL REFLECTION. “MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY” (Lk 21:29–33).
Gospel of Friday, 34th week in Ordinary Time
Lk 21:29–33
Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Gospel Commentary from the Navarre Bible, Commentary to the Gospel of St. Luke (with permission)
- 31 The Kingdom of God, announced by John the Baptist (cf. Mt 3:2) and described by our Lord in so many parables (cf. Mt 13; Lk 13:18-20) is already present among the Apostles (Lk 17:20-21), but it is not yet fully manifest. Jesus here describes what it will be like when the Kingdom comes in all its fulness, and he invites us to pray for this very event in the Our Father: “Thy Kingdom come.”
- “The Kingdom of God, which had its beginnings here on earth in the Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing, and its authentic development cannot be measured by the progress of civilization, of science and of technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever deepening knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever more generous acceptance of grace and holiness by men” (Creed of the People of God, 27).
- At the end of the world everything will be subjected to Christ and God will reign for ever more (cf. 1 Cor 15:24, 28).
- 32 Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled some forty years after our Lord’s death — which meant that Jesus’ contemporaries would be able to verify the truth of this prophecy.
- But the destruction of Jerusalem is a symbol of the end of the world; therefore, it can be said that the generation to which our Lord refers did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way.
- This verse can also be taken to refer to the generation of believers, i.e. not just the particular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. note on Mt 24:32-35).
Dear brethren in Christ, each conversion of the heart, through which man opens himself more and more to the action of the Spirit of the Risen One, is a new manifestation of the coming of Christ. Each Eucharistic assembly, gathered precisely until the Son of Man returns in full power on the cloud, is the milestone par excellence of that event. We must know the signs of the times, as it is known from the buds of the fig tree and the trees that spring is near.
Let us then ask God’s grace to embark on the path of daily conversion sustained by the Eucharistic sacrament so that the words Thy Kingdom come would be a reality in our daily life.
A great day ahead and God bless! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo.
VIDEO COMMENTARY
TOPIC 1: CAN YOU COPE WITH ADVERSE CHANGE?
1st Reading Daniel 7:2-14
Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81
Alleluia Luke 21:28
Gospel Luke 21:29-33
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us how to cope with inhospitable change.
We want to hold on to people and things, possess them forever, but only memories may remain. They may be sweet memories that linger for a long time. But they may also be bitter memories that may leave us grieving, depressed and in pain for life.
Topic 2: WILL YOU FIND YOUR WAY TO YOUR DESTINATION?
In today’s gospel (Luke 21:29-33), Jesus continues to speak about being ready for the future. He uses the image of a fig tree to convey that we must be sensitive and discerning of the signs of the times. Fig trees bear fruit twice a year – in autumn and spring – and was one of the main sources of food of the Jews during Jesus’ time. It signaled a change in seasons. Are you reading the signs?
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