Post-feast of the Encounter; The Holy Martyr Agatha (249-51)
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2 Peter 3:1-18; Mark 13:24-31
Our Lord’s prophetic words have a mysterious and ominous feel. The symbolic language of the dissolution of the natural order is an Old Testament prophetic way to convey the imminent and great Divine judgement upon a certain city or country. This cosmic event, which is described by Jesus, does not exclusively convey one meaning but can be understood to have a three-fold meaning: the destruction of the Temple, our Lord’s crucifixion and the conclusion of human history.
The Jewish people understood that their Temple was a microcosm of the universe, a meeting place between heaven and earth; therefore, the centre of the universe. For this reason, the destruction of the Temple would be considered a disaster of cosmic proportions. These words came true in 70AD when the Temple was destroyed by the Roman forces and never to be rebuilt again. Since then no Old Testament sacrifice has taken place.
These words also speak to us about the crucifixion of our Lord: “the sun was darkened at midday.” (Mark 15:33). Jesus is the new, final and definitive dwelling place of God with His people and the Temple is no longer needed. The holy Prophet Daniel predicts that after the Messiah is killed the Temple will be destroyed: “And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” (Dan 9:26). Jesus’ death on the cross, which is the eternal sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, makes obsolete the Old Covenant sacrifices and ends the Old while ushering in the New and final Covenant.
We can also understand these words as an end of the world prophecy. St. Peter says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.” (2 Pet 3:10). St. John saw this in his divine vision: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Rev 21:1).
All three of these interpretations are closely connected. The time of tribulation begins in Jesus’ passion on the cross, which closes the Old Covenant, initiates the New and renews the entire universe with Christ’s presence, which will also destroy all injustice and evil.