Jesus' word reaches all generations
Every generation has the opportunity to receive salvation from Jesus
November 19, 2006 -- 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
Every generation imagines that it is totally unique, that it has made discoveries for the first time that no previous generation had ever dreamed of. For example, in its exploration of sexuality, no generation can contemplate their parents having sex. From that generation's point of view, it is something completely new. That is why, in matters of ultimate human concern, every generation ends up reinventing the wheel.
"This generation will not pass away, until all these things have taken place."
This sentence from Sunday's gospel reading appears to pose quite a problem for interpretation. On one hand, it seems to make a claim that has not yet materialized. "These things" do not appear to have taken place. The universe is still standing. The sky has not fallen. And despite the depletion of our planet's resources and misuse of its environment, the earth still revolves around the sun. If the generation in question is the generation living when Mark's gospel was written, then that promise appears not to have come true. Did Mark make a mistake?
On the other hand, if the generation in question is the generation hearing the gospel's promise for the first time, then there is still hope that the promise will be fulfilled this time around. Every time a generation is born, it will hear the promise and think to itself. "We are the ones. Ours is the generation when Jesus will return to save us. In that respect, our generation is unique."
The dilemma is this: Do the cataclysmic events predicted in Mark's gospel recur in every generation, even though each generation believes itself unique? Or, are those events linked to one generation only? In that case, which generation is it?
It might help to resolve these questions by looking at the parable which Jesus includes in his teaching about the end of the world. "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates."
Jesus directs our attention to a deciduous tree, one that sheds its leaves every year. It is not a one-time event, but rather, one that recurs regularly. That image suggests that cataclysmic events happen to every generation. Instead of the sun failing, the moon not giving its light, the stars falling from the heavens, it might be more along the lines of a Katrina. Every generation believes that the world is coming to an end at some point. Similarly, every generation has the opportunity to receive salvation from the Son of Man. The cataclysmic events signal that opportunity.
We should not stumble over the poetry that the gospel uses to state its promises. It turns to dramatic images and hyperbole to make its point. We can still rely on the firmness of Jesus' word. After all, "this generation will not pass away, until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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