For the powers of the heavens will be shaken

29 NOVEMBER (Lk 21,20-28)

The Ancient Scripture always announces moments of upheaval, destruction, ruin, and general desolation. The Lord is the Judge of all the earth. He is Lord and Judge of his and of every other nation. He comes to claim his right on all flesh.

See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed. The Lord will restore the vine of Jacob, the pride of Israel, Though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined the tendrils. The hammer comes up against you; guard the rampart, Keep watch on the road, gird your loins, marshall all your strength! The shields of his warriors are crimsoned, the soldiers colored in scarlet; Fiery steel are the chariots on the day of his mustering. The horses are frenzied; the chariots dash madly through the streets And wheel in the squares, looking like firebrands, flashing like lightning bolts. His picked troops are called, ranks break at their charge; To the wall they rush, the mantelet is set up. The river gates are opened, the palace shudders, Its mistress is led forth captive, and her handmaids, under guard, Moaning like doves, beating their breasts. Nineveh is like a pool whose waters escape; “Stop! Stop!” but none turns back. “Plunder the silver, plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, to their wealth in precious things of every kind! Emptiness, desolation, waste; melting hearts and trembling knees, Writhing in every frame, every face blanched! Where is the lions’ cave, the young lions’ den, Where the lion went in and out, and the cub, with no one to disturb them? The lion snatched enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses; He filled his dens with prey, and his caves with plunder. I come against you, says the Lord of hosts; I will consume in smoke your chariots, and the sword shall devour your young lions; Your preying on the land I will bring to an end, the cry of your lionesses shall be heard no more”. (Na 2.1-14).

Today, Jesus affirms a twofold coming of the Lord. He will come to demonstrate Jerusalem his its sin and guilt for not having believed in the One he sent. Jerusalem has an obligation: to always listen to the Lord that speaks to it. Not only did it refuse to listen, it also put its God on the cross, in the person of his Only Son. It did not recognize the day it was visited by divine grace.

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

After this first affirmation of Lordship on the Holy City, which will be entirely destroyed, the Lord will come to attest, certify his Lordship over the entire universe. He will come to make the new heavens and the new earth. All the existing universe will be shaken, put upside down, everything will collapse. When all these things happen, then the Son of man, the Crucifix, the Immolated Lamb, appear, show up on the clouds of heaven as the Judge of all men. Everybody must confess his truth.

Today, Jesus can also be rejected, cancelled from our sight. The Crucifix can also be removed from every place. However, tomorrow it is before his presence that we must submit for the judgment. All in the last day of their life or at the end of the world will have to recognize him as their Lord and God. Everybody must submit to his judgment, that will be eternal, of welcome into his kingdom of light or of ejection forever into despair and death.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints give us true faith in Jesus.