Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C Lk 21,5-19

‘If you persevere, you will keep your life’ (Lk 21:19).

Perseverance in love…

„ ‘How did you get on with the fortune-teller?’ ‘She let me down. I knocked, and she asked who it was.” People have always been interested in the future: horoscopes, reading the stars, crystal balls and palm readings. This is all a natural sign of human curiosity and the desire to take control of our future. Sometimes it borders on superstition. But it’s ironic to believe a fortune-teller when you don’t even know who’s behind the door. Even in the time of Jesus of Nazareth, people were no different, asking: ‘Teacher, when will the world end?’ What signs will accompany it?’ Jesus did not provide them with a date or even an hour. However, in the sayings recorded by Luke, he did confirm the transience of the world: ‘There will come days when not a stone will be left unturned of all that you see…’ (Lk 21:6).

Every evening, the news confirms Jesus’ predictions about hunger, disease, signs in the sky, wars, and persecution. Everything that Jesus said is really happening. It is reasonable and wise to accept that everything is coming to an end. To terminate it would not be very meaningful. Becoming lazy is also irresponsible and unchristian. There is a significant distinction between the Gospel, which discusses the future, and pseudo-prophecies. The Gospel also describes the future, but allows people to draw their own conclusions about it. Pseudo-prophecies themselves guide how to behave and what to do. The Gospel is neither a magic wand to protect against misfortune nor a drug injection to relieve convulsions. An essential aspect of the Gospel is Jesus’s statement: ‘If you persevere, you will preserve your life’ (Lk 21:19). It is as if Jesus is saying that you cannot close your eyes to the cataclysms and problems of the world. However, you can do one thing: perseverance will preserve life.

But what does the term ‘perseverance’ mean? In addition to the endurance of an athlete, student, or researcher, there is also the persistence in doing good. A person exists in proportion to how much they love. If they don’t love, they’re just here (selfish person). Those who like to communicate with others and with God realise their purpose in life and participate in God’s blessings. In the evangelical sense, perseverance consists of projecting our humanity into God’s reality and realising what he wants from us: to remain loving, forgiving, patient, tolerant, and merciful — in other words, to persevere in love. 

General Malcom, who participated in the Gulf War, spoke thoughtfully about the importance of focusing on love. He wrote that it is necessary to love winning more than playing. ‘I’ve never spoken to a war veteran who said they fought because they hated the enemy. I’ve never talked to an athlete who said they won because they hated their opponent. I’ve never met anyone who said they stayed in a happy marriage just because they hate divorce.

We must love winning more than we hate losing. To achieve any goal, you must want it; you must love it. Don’t try to motivate yourself to avoid losing, because you’re going to lose anyway. Love winning and try to reach your goal. Let this desire become your duty — it’s the positive force that will lead you to success if it’s your driving force in life. When you focus on the fear of losing, you will lose. Identify the areas of your life where you have experienced adverse outcomes and consider the number of concerns associated with each. Turn things around completely and aim to win. Take one step towards this every day, and learn to love winning more than hating losing.[2] Anything that helps us love will also help us persevere in doing good. Only then can we experience unity with God and be on the right path. Opposite tendencies are associated with the transience and perishability of the world: not only is there no stone left on stone, but also flesh on flesh, bone by bone. The Gospel encourages us not to try to predict the future, but to live in the present in such a way that our lives will have meaning in the future as well.

It is said that a person who died suddenly saw God approaching him with a briefcase in his hand. ‘My son, the time has come; we must go!’ One asked: ‘Why so soon, Lord? I wanted to do so much more!’ ‘I’m sorry, my son. Your time has come,’ God replied. ‘And what’s in that suitcase?’ ‘Everything that belonged to you, everything that was yours.’ ‘Everything that belonged to me? Are you saying you have my things — my clothes, money and documents — in there?’ ‘I’m sorry,’ said God, ‘but what you mention never belonged to you. They belong to the country.’ ‘Does that mean you have my memories in your suitcase?’ ‘I’m sorry, my son, but they won’t go with you either because they never belonged to you. They belong to time.’

‘So my skills and talents are in the boot?’ ‘They don’t belong to you either. They belong to the circumstances you were in.’ ‘Does that mean my friends and relatives are in there too?’ ‘I’m sorry, son, but people don’t belong to you either. They belong to your life path.’ ‘So my wife and children are there?’ ‘I’m sorry, son, but they don’t belong to you either because they belong to your heart.’ ‘Does that mean my body is in the boot?’ ‘It doesn’t even belong to you because it belongs to dust.’ ‘So is my soul there?’ ‘No, my son. Your soul does not belong to you because it belongs to me.’ 

Desperately, the man snatched the briefcase from God’s hand and opened it. It was empty. With tears in his eyes, he asked God, ‘Does this mean that nothing ever belonged to me? I never owned anything?’ ‘Yes, my son. Every moment you lived belonged to you!’ The only thing that belongs to us is the present moment. Therefore, it is right to experience moments with loved ones and to do good. Jesus sums this up with the words: ‘If you persevere, you will preserve your life’ (Lk 21:19). We do not have to live in fear or sadness over transience, because the Lord walks with us on our journey through life.