THE SECOND COMING
OF CHRIST
(Invitation to
become a Church of Expectancy & Hope)
(12/6/06 TOPIC OF
DISCUSSION)
PRESENTED BY FATHER
ED JOCSON
Opening Prayer
Each liturgical year begins on the 1st
Sunday of Advent not with looking back but with looking forward to our glorious
future. The theme of the 1st
Sunday of Advent is the coming of the Lord at the end of time.
The second coming of Christ is a future
event. Although the
In the first reading for the 1st
Sunday in Advent, Jeremiah Ch.33 Vs 14-16 he prophesies about God
fulfilling his promise to the house of Israel and Judah by raising up a “Just
Shoot” from the house of David This will ensure the safety and security of
Jerusalem which will be called “The Lord our Justice.” In the second reading
from 1 Thessalonians Ch.3 Vs 12 and Ch. 4 Vs 2 the
apostle Paul and his companions pray
that by their example and according to the teachings of Christ Jesus
“The Lord would make you abound in love for one another and for all.” These were instructions on how to live the
Gospel message. In the Gospel of St.
Luke (Ch.21 Vs25-28 and Vs 35-36) Jesus describes his
second coming in cosmic terms such as signs in the sun the moon and stars, the
roaring of the sea and waves. Although
these events will predictably terrify to death those who witness them as the
powers of the heavens are shaken, Jesus wants his followers to be assured that
not only will they endure these and many other disasters, but that in the very
midst of them believers will find their salvation revealed because “They will
see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” His followers are not to be afraid but rather
“When these signs begin to happen, STAND ERECT AND RAISE YOUR HEADS BECAUSE
YOUR REDEMPTION IS NEAR.”
Between the time of Christ’s first and
second comings the history of the world as we know it happens. At His second coming final judgment will
occur. This is what we pray in our
profession of faith “He will come again to judge the living and the dead,” (CCC 678 and 679). “Then will the conduct of each one and
secrets of hearts be brought to light.
Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as
nothing be condemned.” “Our attitude
about our neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine
love.” “On the last day Jesus will say”
‘Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren,
you did it to me.’” To paraphrase #679,
since Christ died on the cross for our sins he has the full right to pass
judgment. Although Jesus did not come to
judge but to save, the very act of rejecting his offer of salvation, his grace,
and Spirit of love, one already judges and condemns oneself. The gospel describes this final judgment as the separation of the sheep
(to eternal reward) from the goats (to eternal damnation). We are called to serve the least of our
brothers and sisters, and acceptance or rejection of this call will determine
where we spend eternity. In this manner
of servant-hood lies our true vocation.
The early catechism describes our purpose for existence as “To know,
love and serve God in this world and to be happy with Him forever in the
next.” The last four things in the life
of every human being are: Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell.
We are called daily to prepare for Christ’s
second coming in the way we conduct our lives; to “Be on watch; pray constantly
and stand secure before the Son of Man.”
1.
To
live lives that are blameless before God
2.
To
live in harmony with nature as wise stewards of God’s creation
3.
To
proclaim with our lives and voice the saving action of Christ
“Be on watch, Pray constantly…. To stand
secure before the Son of Man”
The liturgy invites us to become a
His first coming was the fulfillment of God’s
promise. His second coming is the full
consummation of the future promised by God, which has not yet happened.
One other source of confidence for us is that we become anchored by living lives
“Pleasing to God,” not allowing our spirits to become “Bloated with indulgence
and drunkenness and worldly cares,” but by using well the time we have to
become more loving “Blameless and holy before our God.”
“BE ON WATCH, PRAY CONSTANTLY, TO STAND
SECURE BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.”
In the Nicene Creed we pray “… He will come
again in glory.”
The
Far from promoting passivity, the
expectation of “A new heaven and a new earth” should galvanize us to action.
In one of the documents of the Second
Vatican Council we read: “The expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for
it is here that the body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some way
the age which is yet to come.. When we have spread on earth the fruits of our
nature and our enterprise, according to the command of the Lord and in His
Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin,
illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to His Father an eternal and
universal Kingdom (Gaudium et Spes
: Pastoral Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World, Dec. 7, 1965 #23-24)
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC Art. 7 – Profession
of Faith) we read:
“Catholics
do not believe that the fulfillment of the destiny of creation and human
beings will be brought about by material progress or human activity alone
(Secularism) but by God.” (CCC 675-676)
“Catholics reject any attempts to predict
the end of the world (Millennialism) or to lessen in any way our responsibility
for stewardship of this present world based on a future Second Coming of
Christ.” (CCC
673)
“Catholics believe that we meet the
Glorified Lord upon the event of our death, as well as when His full glory is
revealed to all the world at the end of time.”
(CCC
677)
We all wait for the world to be more just,
more living and more peaceful. The
anticipation of God’s restoration of the earth is a basic human drive. We are called to pray and be watchful, for
Christ comes into our lives everyday.
This daily VIGILANCE prepares us
for the moment of our death when we will see Christ face to face. It also energizes us to look forward to the
fulfillment of the
Ø Belief that the end
of this world is imminent
Ø Distrust in the
capacity of the human heart for transformation
Ø Desire for God’s immediate judgment and justice to purge the cosmos of evil
Ø Predict the end of the world and Christ’s Second Coming
Instead, our words should be “Maranatha –
Come Lord.” There is a time and a season
for everything and Jesus will return in the fullness of time. The time, however, is not for speculation but
is known to the Father alone. In the
meanwhile, the expectation of the Fullness of God should energize us as we
“Wait in Joyful Hope for the coming of Our Savior, Jesus Christ”. We are called to live lives that are
blameless before the Lord, live in harmony with nature as wise stewards of the
earth, and to proclaim with our lives and voices the saving action of Jesus who
died and rose for us.
We await the restoration of creation when
corruption will put on incorruption and death is swallowed up. Evil is what corrupts and deters the