FR. LINO MOREIRA
Although the enemies of Christ have been defeated by the single sacrifice for sins that he offered for all time (cf. Heb 10:12), they have not yet been rendered powerless (cf. 1 Co 15:26), for God said to his only-begotten Son, after he raised him from the dead: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet (Ps 110:1). So we should not be surprised that, in the so-called eschatological, or end-time, discourse of Saint Mark’s gospel, Jesus speaks of a great tribulation that will precede his second coming (cf. Mk 13:24). At that last stage of human history – evil, suffering and death – will wage their final war against God and his Anointed (cf. Ps 2:2), in a vain attempt to perpetuate their grip over the whole of creation – and then, more than ever, those who follow Christ must be prepared to face all sorts of upheavals and persecutions. You will be universally hated on account of my name – Jesus warns –, but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved (Mk 13:13).
After insisting on the need for constancy and patient endurance, Jesus turns to the main focal point of his prophetic words: In those days – he says –, after the time of tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven (Mk 13:24-26).
After insisting on the need for constancy and patient endurance, Jesus turns to the main focal point of his prophetic words: In those days – he says –, after the time of tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven (Mk 13:24-26).
Here we have neither a scientific statement about the evolution of the universe nor the mythical portrayal of the Son of Man like a pagan god riding on the clouds. But rather we are told that, when the universe as we know it is about to give way to the new heavens and the new earth (cf. Rv 21:1), Jesus himself will appear in his divine glory to perform the ingathering of all those who have come to believe in God and in the name of his only-begotten Son. And this will be the fulfilment of the great promise once made to Daniel in a vision: your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Dn 12:2).
Indeed, this heart-warming prophecy is not only the biblical passage where the expression ‘eternal life’ or ‘everlasting life’ is used for the first time, but also the earliest clear enunciation of the belief in the resurrection to be found in the Old Testament – and that is precisely why it so neatly encapsulates the pledges made to all those who, by their faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel, deserve to be counted among Abraham’s spiritual descendants. For us Christians, therefore, the author of the Book of Daniel is not simply announcing God’s redemption to the people of the Old Covenant, but extending his gaze to encompass the whole of human history he is in fact acting as a herald of the universal vindication of all the righteous – that is to say, of a great multitude from every nation, race, tribe and language (Rv 7:9) who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rv 7:4).
We rejoice, then, with unspeakable joy that through the blood of his cross Christ has reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to God (cf. Ep 2:16). By this miracle of his loving mercy Jesus opened up the highway to divine wisdom for each and every one who repents and believes in the gospel (cf. Mk 1:15) – or, to put it another way, for each and every one who listens to his words and acts upon them (cf. Mt 7:24). So happy are they who have the courage to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow their Master (cf. Mt 16:24), for of them it stands written: Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever (Dn 12:3).