33rd Sunday C 16 November 2025 Punishment
Jesus is on the one hand saying we should not get too excited about things which look like the end, but are really just normal. Like we always have wars, floods, trouble etc.
So we should not be overly anxious about the things going on around us, but just get on with living our lives in the best possible way (cf second reading: don’t be idle).
On the other hand He is telling us not to be so relaxed about things that we forget the passing nature of this life, and that all we see around us will eventually be dismantled.
The reason that Jesus lets these things change, or puts before us these reminders, is to bring us to trust in Him.
No matter what we cling to here on earth it will not last forever, so we had better cling to Him who does last forever.
This is the essence of the message, the constant theme.
Money will not save us. Friends will not save us. Popularity, power, good looks, past achievements... all these, like the temple stones will be dismantled, but Jesus Christ remains.
God does not have good and bad moods. There is no good side or bad side to God. He is all good (cf James 1,17). Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13,8).
Humanity must take the blame for what is often attributed to God.
Had we never sinned we would have paradise conditions already.
When God allows us to suffer it is to purify us to think the right way as to what we want. We are purified from false gods which distract and confuse us.
The real God is ignored. The real God says, I must help these people to know Me.
So He allows the sufferings, and many people will come to repentance. God sees the potential goodness in each person, and wants to bring that goodness out.
God does not give up and will challenge us to seek Him.
So why are we not just good all time? Not so easy if we are out of practice; but then not so difficult if we do keep focused on the main event, and make small strides forward.
We learn to put God first. To us it can seem harsh but that is only because our values are distorted. We have been telling God what He is allowed to do or not – it needs to be the other way round.
The predictions and prophecies we will encounter in the next few weeks are conditional on our response. God will hold back on the punishment if we can demonstrate we do not need it. The temple would not have been destroyed if the Israelites had been obedient.
The theme of Advent which approaches: It is not as hard as we make it!
We pray for each other, and the dead, that everyone can make advance on wherever they are And they will pray for us, once they experience the kindness of God fully enough.
The cycle of threatened punishment, repentance, then falling away again, then more threatened punishment – it goes on century after century. We need God's help to break out of the cycle.
There has been a lot of progress; souls have been saved; Christian teaching has reached many places, but still there is so far to go.
Everyone can agree there is much wrong with the world (senseless violence, poverty, sexual immorality, abortions etc) but not yet have enough people seen the clear solution: There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1,29).
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