Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
This Sunday's Gospel reading focuses on Jesus' eschatological speech in Mark 13. Specifically, we are hearing the third section of Jesus’ speech on the “signs in heaven.” In this section, Jesus gives a warning that the sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will be falling (24-25), followed by the coming of the son of man (26-27) and finished by the parable of the fig tree (28-29). Finally, we also hear the conclusion of Jesus’s eschatological speech, in which Jesus confirms that no one knows when the end of time will happen (30-32).
In his book Jesus of Nazareth, especially in the chapter on “Jesus’ Eschatological Discourse,” the late Pope Benedict XVI referred to the historical background surrounding the Jewish war in the first century Palestine. In the year of 69, the Emperor Vespasian assigned his son Titus to re-conquer Jerusalem, which ended up with the bloody massacre and the destruction of the Temple. The destruction of the Temple was decisive and definitive; the question is how we as Christian understand this historical phenomenon in light of our way of reading biblical text. Pope Benedict XVI argued that we should ask a question “how did Jesus himself see this (phenomena)?” And "how did Christians understand Jesus."
Let us now turn to Jesus' speech in Mark 13. Pope Benedict XVI argued that Jesus was placing himself within the process of relecture. In other words, Jesus was trying to re-read the Old Testament images in the light of their new circumstances. So, in Mark 13, Jesus speaks about the future, not in his words, but rather by proclaiming the ancient prophecy found in the Old Testament. Apart from re-reading the Old Testament, the late Pope argued that Jesus' speech is a personalistic dimension of the old apocalyptic text, in which Jesus gives a personalistic touch to the ancient prophecy. Daniel had spoken about the coming Son of Man (7: 13-14) without being able to give the Son of Man a personal feature. But Jesus, as the Son of Man, is now addressing the disciples, and he combines the old prophecy, the present event, and a mysterious future in his speech. The bottom line is that Jesus' speech does not offer us future predictions, but rather, it shows us the right path for now and tomorrow. So, Jesus' speech aims to lead us toward a life built upon the word of God and an encounter with Him as the living word.
The key passage to understand the dynamic in Mark 13 is the fig tree parable. The old Temple is like the fruitless tree, which was condemned to destruction for failing to attain its purpose to be a house of prayer for all people. The image of the fig tree is evocative to serve as an exhortation for the new temple community that will supersede the old Temple. So, the fig tree is a reminder that the Jerusalem temple must anticipate the judgment of the Son of Man. The lesson of the fig tree is meant to encourage the disciples to develop their identity as belonging to Christ, their work will be confirmed, and their suffering will end. Moreover, Jesus also wants to remind his disciples that the fate of the fig tree will become theirs if they fail to watch and produce the kind of fruits God expects.
In the end, Mark 13 is Jesus’ valedictory address to his disciples, in which he encourages them to hold fast to their expectation of his imminent return, but at the same time, they should proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Mark 13 confirms that Jesus is not a complete failure, with his apparent death on the cross, and that His disciples will not be a failure either. In His speech, Jesus wants to assure his disciples that they will succeed in spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom of God before the end will come, with the Son of Man appearing in the clouds.