THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

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A good Sunday to all. 

If we read the Gospel according to Mark, we get stuck when we reach chapter 13; we find obscure, mysterious, difficult language, different from the rest of the Gospel. Today’s passage is taken from this chapter. We are going to listen to Jesus speak of wars, earthquakes, calamities, and pestilences; he will announce the darkening of the sun, the moon no longer giving its light, and the stars falling from heaven. 

The most immediate interpretation that comes to us is that Jesus is making gloomy predictions about our future, or rather, about the end of the world. Let’s say it immediately: Jesus is not talking about the end of the world at all. He is giving good news; the new world is about to be born. To avoid this incorrect interpretation, which is still circulating, and to understand the message of joy and hope, it is necessary to consider the historical context in which the evangelist Mark wrote this chapter. 

His Gospel was written around 68, and this chapter is set a few years later. What was the situation of the community in Rome? It was still traumatized by the persecution of Nero, which had just ended. It lasted from 64 to 68, and many brothers were cruelly killed, as the historian Tacitus recounts in a memorable passage of his Annals. It is moving for us Christians to read about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in faith. 

Along with these martyrs, the two pillars of the early church, Peter and Paul, also lost their lives, but the most painful wound was the division within this community during the persecution. Tacitus tells us that some Christians denounced their brothers; it was a time of chaos. Nero’s death was followed by a few months in which the empire seemed on the verge of collapse: violent civil wars brought three emperors, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, to power in quick succession, until Vespasian took power. 

Again, Tacitus tells us that there was enormous confusion in the empire, and that contradictory, fanciful rumors circulated about Nero’s end. Some said he was still alive and would reappear after a short time. Then came years of plagues, calamities, and famine, especially in the year 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was razed to the ground, and in this dramatic moment, the Christians of Rome felt dismayed and wondered where the world was going; how could these dreadful events be reconciled with the hopes that the Gospel has awakened in all of us? Where is that new world that should have sprung up? Forty years have already passed since Easter, and we see that in the world, competition and violence continue. What is the sense of all that is happening? 

There is a mystery surrounding these events, and no one reveals the meaning our lives can have. When these chaotic times come, danger also appears. We also experience it today, as exalted fanatics make catastrophic predictions, and gullible people listen to them because they promise their audience that they will be safe if they follow their advice. If they also ask for money, people believe them even more, thinking they are buying this hope of salvation. 

That is why Mark begins this page by referring us to a correct recommendation of Jesus: Be careful, because you could be deceived and misinterpret the events of the story and, therefore, make foolish decisions. Let us listen to what Jesus recommends: 

See that no one deceives you. You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. (Mt 24:4,6-7). 

Listening to these mysterious words of Jesus, perhaps we, like many others, have been carried away by the idea that he is alluding to the end of the world. But if we reflect a little, we ask ourselves: Has he said anything strange or new? The answer is NO; he was simply describing what was happening in his time, what would happen in Nero’s time, and what happens all the time, even today. When did the wars of peoples against peoples, kingdoms against kingdoms, end? Was there ever a time without earthquakes, calamities, or famines? 

Jesus was not announcing extraordinary catastrophes; it is enough to open the newspapers to see that he was speaking about the reality of what is always happening, what is still happening today, and what is under our eyes. His purpose, then, was not to make predictions but to teach us to read the present with the eyes of God, to understand the meaning of what is happening, and to arrive at the right interpretation, because if we misinterpret the events, we make wrong decisions. 

Yet we ask ourselves how certain dramas in which we become involved can be part of God’s plan. We would like someone to remove the veil that shrouds evil, pain, and mystery. Today, in the face of wars, injustice, and violence suffered by the innocent, many conclude that the world is at the mercy of evil and that it will only get worse; nothing can be done; people will always be driven by greed, selfishness, and covetousness. The consequence of this misreading is that we lose hope and conclude that the kingdom of God was a beautiful dream Jesus had in his head, one that would never come true. 

This is the incorrect reading and the consequence of losing hope and resigning: ‘Let’s not think about it anymore; let’s mind our own business.’ Jesus invites us to read our history in another way, using a phrase that can be misinterpreted. He says this will be the beginning of sorrow. What sorrows is he talking about? Other sorrows besides those he has already announced: wars, calamities… who knows what awaits us. 

This is not the meaning of the phrase Jesus used. The sorrows begin, but what pains are we talking about? They are the birth pains, seeds of the birth of life, of a new world, not signs of death. Jesus has already used this wonderful image at the Last Supper. John tells us this: before the disciples’ sadness, Jesus says that the woman in childbirth is sad because she knows that her hour has come, but when she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the affliction for the joy that a new person has entered the world. This is how Jesus invites us to read these dramatic events of history: the same old story, as signs of pain that foretell the birth of a new world. 

Now Jesus continues to open our minds to this authentic interpretation of what is happening, and he does so using a language that is not ours: apocalyptic language. ‘Apocalyptic’ is an adjective that comes from the Greek verb ‘apocalyptein’ and does not have the meaning normally given to it. When journalists say, ‘an apocalyptic earthquake,’ they completely misrepresent the meaning of this adjective. Originally, ‘apocalyptein’ means to remove the veil, and that is what Jesus wants to do: remove the veil that prevents us from understanding what happens and to give the right interpretation. Now we are going to hear that he removes this veil, and he does so with images we must decipher, because those images are called apocalyptic. Let’s listen: 

In those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 

“After that tribulation.” What tribulation was Jesus referring to? The destruction of the city of Jerusalem and its temple. Jesus had foreseen it; Israel had rejected his proposal for a world of peace and universal love, and, in doing so, had decreed their ruin while he was on the Mount of Olives, contemplating that city. 

What happened after this catastrophe? For Israel, it was the end of everything. The hopes awakened by the prophets’ promises had vanished. One had to resign oneself. Jesus says NO. After that tragedy, something wonderful and positive will emerge, and he tells us so in apocalyptic images. 

The first one: “The sun will be darkened.” If the material sun goes dark, it is a calamity. All the people of the Ancient Middle East considered the stars in the sky to be gods and believed that all events in the world depended on them, because they could favor life and vegetation or cause misfortunes and calamities; therefore, they offered prayers and sacrifices to these sky deities. Throughout the Ancient Middle East, the Sun god was worshipped. In Egypt, you can see in the background the famous bas-relief of Akhenaten, Amenhotep IV, and his wife, Nefertiti. They hold their daughters in their arms; above them is the solar disk Aton, the sun god. Also, in Mesopotamia, consider the god Assur, depicted as the splendor of the winged sun. The god Assur is the cruelest god in history. He was also presented with a solar disk. 

Then, the second apocalyptic image: “The moon will not give its light.” In the background, I have placed a seal from the third millennium B.C. It depicts King Ur-Nammu, shown with some dignitaries, and we are interested in the crescent moon above them; it is the god Sin, worshipped throughout the Ancient Middle East, because vegetation and the transhumance of the Greeks depended on the moon. 

Third image: “The stars will be falling from the sky.” In the background, I have placed a bas-relief featuring the god Sin, the crescent moon again, the Sun god, the goddess Ishtar, the eight-pointed morning star, and Venus, all of which were also worshipped throughout the Ancient Middle East. Also called ‘Astarte,’ she has several names; she is the goddess of love and war. Jesus did not invent these images. 

These apocalyptic images appear in the prophet Isaiah. In chapters 13 and 34, Isaiah says that the stars of heaven and the constellation Orion will no longer give their light; the sun shall be darkened at its rising, and the moon shall not give its light; all the host of heaven shall be dissolved. These are the apocalyptic images that Jesus took up. What does this darkening of the gods of heaven mean? Jesus means that a whole new world will begin with the destruction of Jerusalem. With the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel, these gods that had seduced humankind will be destroyed – gods that justified slavery, moral corruption, oppression of the peoples, and cruelty – all these stars are finished; they will lose their splendor. 

Where the light of the Gospel enters, all else will be darkened. Who were these stars? All the rulers, from the Pharaoh to the Mesopotamian emperors, the kings… they all thought they were stars in the sky. Jesus says these stars now fall, come to earth, and stay down where they belong. 

We remember Isaiah chapter 14, the lament over Nebuchadnezzar; the prophet says in this song: “How you fell from heaven, you morning star, son of the dawn… see how you ended… ending in sheol.” The king of Tyre is introduced by the prophet Ezekiel, who says: “You who wanted to ascend to heaven to be equal to the Most High, yet you are not a god but a man.” In ancient times, kings, emperors, and pharaohs were in the heavens; they were the stars everyone had to contemplate, admire, and invoke. Jesus says that none of these stars must be in heaven; they are not divinities. 

Jesus says that all government, all oppression of people, and all power based on domination must disappear. Here is the announcement of the joy that Jesus brings. Therefore, the message of Jesus is anything but catastrophic; it is the announcement of an earthquake that will overthrow all the kingdoms of this world; the kingdoms of injustice and lies, of hypocrisy and strong powers that starve the people, and that we think will never fall. Jesus says NO. They will fall from heaven; they do not have to guide history. 

We could list some of these falling stars, and hopefully they will fall soon, because they have been in the sky too long already and have seduced us. One of these stars is the avenging, vengeful god; it is a false deity, an idol created by people’s wickedness. When we see this image of God eclipsed, it has already done too much damage, because, being his children, we try to look like Him; we should rejoice when we witness the fall of this sun. 

When we see the false stars of the world that seduce and cheat so many people with their false promises of success, stars that shine in the fair of vanity… we see them every day. When their frailty and inconsistency are revealed, we must rejoice because they will be idols less and less adored, idols that dehumanize you when you want to look like them: money, possessions, the accumulation of power achieved by any means, trampling on everyone. Let us rejoice when these idols fall from heaven. 

And now, Jesus introduces a new apocalyptic image. Let us listen: 

And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. 

To understand the apocalyptic image of the Son of Man, we must refer to the prophet Daniel. In chapter 7, he presents the succession of four empires through the image of ferocious beasts. The first is the lion (you see it in the background, the lion at the gate of Ishtar in Babylon); it represents the Babylonian empire, which, under Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city of Jerusalem and lasted as long as it had the strength to be superior to the other peoples; but at a certain moment, a bear overcame the lion; it is the empire of the Medes; and then the Medes were overtaken by another beast, a leopard, which represents the empire of the Persians, agile and swift, that spread throughout the ancient world and reached as far as Greece. Finally, a fourth beast comes that is not identified by name but is beastly. He says it is greedy and relentless, so much so that it cannot be described; it cannot even be compared to any animal to say what animal this fourth beast is. It is Alexander the Great, and after him, the Seleucids, who ruled Syria and Palestine. 

None of these empires was human. Each empire was succeeded by the next, which was worse, more inhuman, and more ferocious than the preceding. After these four beastly empires, Daniel promises that there will be no fifth beastly empire. Instead, God will deliver the kingdom not to a stronger beast capable of winning over the previous ones, but to a personage with a human heart. His government will be eternal, will not pass away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed. 

Who was this Son of Man who would appear and who was announced by the prophet Daniel? Jesus is presented as the Son of Man 80 times in the Gospels. He is the one who began the world after the kingdoms of the beasts tried to dominate one another, driven by the impulse to compete and dominate. Now the one who presents himself as the true man who has triumphed according to God has come. 

Here is the message of great hope that Jesus wants to convey through these apocalyptic images. He tells us not to be frightened by the dramas of history, because all inhuman powers are destined to fall. Then he says that this Son of Man will send the angels to gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 

Perhaps we think he will send his angels to awaken the dead and bring them to universal judgment… Jesus is talking about something else; let us not confuse it with the 25th chapter of Matthew. The image of the angels gathering the elect from the four winds does not announce judgment. It is not about any punishment. 

The message is a consoling answer that Mark offers to their communities, to those Christians who are tempted to drop their arms. Mark remembers the promise of Jesus: The Son of Man will not permit his disciples to be scattered to the four winds. In Mark’s time, when he wrote this chapter, the drama was still going strong and had scattered the community. Mark says that, remembering the promise of Jesus, angels will be sent to gather them from the four winds. The symbol is that of the four cardinal points; therefore, these angels will gather all those who have been scattered. 

Let us try to identify the angels the Son of Man will send. The term ‘angel’ does not necessarily designate a winged spiritual being, as we often imagine. In the Bible, “angel” means any mediator of salvation, of God’s tenderness. It is also applied in the Bible to anyone who becomes an instrument in the hands of the Lord for the benefit of people. 

We are speaking of a dispersion that has taken place, and from the four winds, these scattered ones must be gathered together. They are the angels sent by the Lord who carry out this mission. What are the winds and storms that are also present today and that disperse the elect who must be gathered again? Let us think about what has happened in our communities and what is still happening. The winds of secularism, permissiveness, and the pagan conception of sexuality, the loss of reference values, religious indifferentism, and the hedonistic mentality for which the law is good and right according to what I like. These are the winds that have emptied our churches and carried away many brothers and sisters, deserting the faith. 

These winds have caught us unawares, revealing the fragile foundations on which our faith was built. The faith was not rooted in the word of God but often rested on credulity, and it did not withstand the winds, so many were scattered. Who are these angels that the Son of Man now sends to gather the elect? They are those brothers and sisters who have known how to remain faithful to Christ and the Gospel and now commit their whole lives to reuniting the brothers and sisters who have abandoned the Christian community. Now, with a brief parable, Jesus wants to instill this hope in us. Let us listen: 

Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and its leaves sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen; I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. 

The fig tree is the last to put forth leaves; when it begins to sprout, the farmer feels that summer is approaching, and he rejoices because the time of harvest has come. Jesus says: ‘Learn from the farmer.’ What should we learn from this image? Jesus speaks to us today: What conversations do we hear among Christians? Doesn’t a great deal of pessimism perhaps mark them? They wonder what impact the Gospel we announce is having on our present society. People are interested in something else; the values they refer to are not Gospel values but money, pleasure, and success, and those who do not adjust to the prevailing way of thinking, to the new fashions, are accused of being obscurantists and of being medieval. Then there is the secularist world that affirms that we must resign ourselves to disappearing; some people believe in these hopes of the secularist world. 

In this society that is becoming pagan, many Christians live as if they can’t see what Jesus says to us… What does Jesus say to these people? ‘Open your eyes because there are clear signs that the new world I started is unfolding and advancing amid so many contrasts and difficulties. Know how to grasp these signs of the new springtime that is coming.’ 

These Christians must learn to adopt the attentive gaze of the farmer who knows how to read the signs of the new season; open your eyes… I want to give some examples: When has there ever been so much interest in the word of God? They say people don’t go to church, but now faith is grounded in the word of God rather than in credulities; we have also realized that the proclamation of the Gospel today is different from the past; the choice of faith is more credible; it is presented in all its reasonableness, and these are solid foundations for our belief. 

There are more and more mature Christians who know how to articulate the reasons for their faith and who are not afraid to compare the humanism they have learned from Jesus of Nazareth with any other humanism they respect, yet remain happy with their choice. Isn’t the sensibility for universal fraternity, solidarity, and attention to the humanism of the world growing today? The attention to the marginalized, the wounded, and the suffering? The violations of human dignity are denounced today; attention to creation, rejection of all forms of racism, encounter and dialogue, even if it is difficult, between religions and different cultures, the respect that grows… Are they not just a few of the signs of this new world that is advancing? 

Let us know how to use them to rejoice and to hope. Do not be deceived, says Jesus, by pessimistic discourse; do not be seduced by the principles of the world that govern the old world, the world of idols, the world of stars that are contemplated and admired in the sky as if they were gods… they are pagan divinities, shooting stars; do not follow them. Jesus says: ‘Be sure that the old world is destined to disappear; do not stake your life on its values, stake your life for the kingdom of the Son of Man because it is to him that the future belongs.’ 

Jesus concludes, ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away… Trust in me if you want to be a builder of the history that remains, of the kingdom of God. Trust in my words.’

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.