The trials of each day. Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

What the prophet Malachi describes in summary form in today's first reading, Our Lord expounds in greater detail in the Gospel. The prophet announces a “day” “in which all the proud and evildoers shall be as chaff; he shall consume them in the day that is coming, says the Lord of the universe, and shall leave them neither cup nor root.”.

It is the total destruction of all evil and of all evildoers. On the contrary, Malachi says, “but you who fear my name, a sun of righteousness will shine on you, and you will find health in its shadow.”. For the wicked, the fire of destruction; for the righteous, that same divine fire which has power to destroy will act as a warming and healing sun.

Jesus tells us more in the Gospel and deliberately connects two things: he prophesies the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (which actually happened in AD 70) and mixes this with references to the destruction of the world at the end of time. He explains that the righteous will be involved, at least in part, in this fire. It will be like a purgatory, a probationary fire, though still on earth. And so Christians will be persecuted. “They will deliver you up to torture and kill you, and for my sake all peoples will hate you.”.

We too might be tempted to feel terror in the face of such turmoil. But our Lord tells us: “do not be alarmed, for all this must come to pass, but it is not yet the end.”. The destruction of Jerusalem was a historic event and the early Christians, heeding Christ's warning, escaped in time. The end of the world and all the turmoil that will accompany it is a future event. But every day we Christians must face trials and even persecution for our beliefs; we may suffer hatred for Christ's sake, especially if we stand up for true moral teaching.

The prophets speak of the “day”It was also a frequent theme in the epistles of St. Paul (e.g., 2 Tim 1:12,18; 4:8). The prophets saw it as a day of judgment, of divine visitation, when God would punish the wicked and reward the righteous. It could be a specific historical event, but ultimately it would be the final day, the day of reckoning. But we live that day every day. Every day we are put to the test, and any day could be the last, when we stand before Christ: “Watch ye, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13).