33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Reflection (2025)
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Malachi 3:19-20a
Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 (see 9)
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19
November 16, 2025
Jesus speaks of “how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings.” There was a beauty to the temple. God’s temple should be beautiful as his dwelling place but our salvation is not dependent on the physical beauty of the temple. Our salvation is dependent on the beauty of the faith we each hold in our hearts.
Jesus speaks of the coming destruction of the temple, “the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” The people respond, “Teacher, when will this happen…what sign will there be?”
These might sound like good questions, but what difference will it make a good disciple to know these things? What difference would it make for us to know when the Second Coming will be?
We ask when so that we might prepare ourselves at the proper time. However, if we live as good Christian disciples, we are ready all the time. So, it doesn’t matter when the Second Coming will happen. In fact, the proper time to follow Jesus is always. There is never an acceptable time to live in a way that is not in accord with our Lord’s teaching.
A day will come “when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble.” They will face the eternal fires of Hell.
We all sin at times, but for those who fear God’s name, “there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” Jesus has come to heal us from our sins when we repent.
Do you fear God?
This is always a tough concept for me. How does one fear God who rules with justice and has sent his Son Jesus to die for us as a supreme act of love? How do we fear someone who has shown absolute and eternal love for us?
One answer would be to interpret “fear of God” as standing in awe of God. There is creditability to this but I can’t help wonder if having more fear of God won’t be a good thing for us. Maybe having more fear of God would lead us to be better at avoiding sin.
Would it do us good to hear more fire and brimstone preaching?
Would it help us understand the battle against evil that we are in for the salvation of our souls? Hell does exist! Jesus himself speaks of it (see my article “Proof That Hell Exists”).
Jesus speaks of wars and insurrections to come. He speaks of nations fighting against nations. He speaks of earthquakes, families, and plagues that will come. The world has seen all these things.
Has the world responded for the better?
It seems to me that the world has not responded for the better. It is a fact that fewer people are coming to church. Clearly, wars continue. Mass shootings are worse because the weapons are worse. 2,000 years ago there were no guns. 300 hundred years ago, a person had to reload their gun manually after each shot. Today we have automatic weapons that fire shot after shot without even letting go of the button. For war, we now have weapons of mass destruction. The fear of these has not led the world back to Jesus.
For those of us who strive to keep the faith, Jesus prophesizes of the persecution we will face because of his name. The time has come that Paul described to Timothy, “the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
How are we to respond? We could choose to be silent, but then we become responsible not just for our sins but the sins of those who we did not warn (see Ezekiel 3:17-21).
We must keep the faith. Paul writes, “But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
It may not make us popular but it will lead us towards salvation. Keeping the faith may bring us earthly condemnation. So what? Remember the words Jesus spoke, “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:28). If we choose to be silent about our faith, are we putting ourselves on a path to Hell? Ask God when you are to speak and when called to speak, ask him for the words to say.
Paul calls us to imitate him. We do this because Paul has imitated Christ. Paul has made himself a model of faith for us.
Who do you take as your model to follow? Do you follow worldly leaders or do you follow someone who emulates Jesus? Make yourself a model for others to follow to Christ. Ask for the grace to persevere. Then, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Peace,
Fr. Jeff