Gospel: Lk 21:5-11 -And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen.
REFLECTION:
W. Somerset Maugham once said that “Nothing in this world is permanent.“ Indeed, everything will pass away, as Jesus prophesied (Luke 21:33). Yes, even the most powerful kingdom, as we have heard in the first reading, will crumble into pieces. Even the most grandiose temple of Jerusalem, as the gospel has mentioned, will be torn down. And what remains is the Kingdom of God, a kingdom which was inaugurated by Jesus never to be destroyed.
In the first reading we see the destruction of the earthly kingdoms and the establishment of a new Kingdom by God as the prophecy concerning the coming of God‘s Kingdom to be established by Jesus.
The destruction of the temple described in the gospel reading marks the inauguration of God‘s kingdom and its sacrament which is the Church by Jesus.
The readings remind us that nothing is permanent in this world. Only God is permanent, and His kingdom. Let us thank God for establishing his Kingdom on earth and for inviting us to be part of this Kingdom. Let us then be active and faithful members of His kingdom.
