Homily on the Gospel of Mark 13:24-32

Given at the Five Year Anniversary of the SVDP Dayton Chapel

Although we do not generally spend a lot of time thinking about the end of the world or about what will happen when the world ends, there are times when such thinking is more common. For example, when we came to the year 2000, there was much speculation about the end of the world.

Obviously, my world ends when I die–at least in some sense. For those of us who believe in eternal life, the world does not end nor do I end. At my death, my own world is transformed. For all of us, this physical world as we know it will end someday, whether we are here or not. This is not some esoteric belief, but simply the facts that relate to physical matter. The concern in the Scriptures today has two points: that everyone will be judged and that how we live now is important for the world to come.

We hear first from the Book of Daniel about some kind of judgment or decision about those who have died. Some will awake, some will remain asleep, and yet others will rise to a more terrible fate.
In Mark’s Gospel today, the image is different. An angel goes and gathers all the elect. The fate of the non-elect is not spoken about.

Sometimes we forget that our actions now are in some mysterious way related to our life after death. Salvation is entirely a gift of God and yet the way that we live is still important. If God is every day inviting us to live His life, and we are consistently refusing that invitation, why should we think it will be different in eternal life? If God is inviting us and every day we try to live His life, this is our goal. God wants us. It is as simple as that. God invites us daily to accept His love. All of the literature about the end of the world and about judgment can be reduced to this: God wants us. God invites us to choose Him. If we try to respond, then our world is transformed. It does not matter if the world ends today: we are already with God.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul – its staff, volunteers, and benefactors – recognize that our actions today are related to our life after death. Every day, the staff and volunteers of St. Vincent de Paul recall the words of Jesus, “You must love your neighbor as yourself,” when they see the suffering and pain that poverty imprints on the faces of those they serve.

• It is seen in the faces of infants who do not get adequate health care and nutrition, and in the faces of children who cannot get quality child care and early childhood education.
• It is seen in the faces of people who live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty and who have limited educational opportunities and little access to jobs that pay livable wages.
• It is seen in the faces of the working poor who struggle to hold down two or three jobs and still cannot feed their children or find affordable housing.
• It is seen in the faces of immigrants and refugees who grieve as they leave their homelands behind and then must struggle to be accepted and make a new life for themselves in a new land.
• It is seen in the faces of isolated elderly citizens who are dehumanized when they have to choose either food, utilities, or medication.

Every day, St. Vincent de Paul’s caring network of staff and volunteers work to serve individuals and families of all faiths who are confronted with the ills of poverty. Your work makes us all more aware of the fact that the issues of poverty in our communities are widespread and varied.

As we look out across our communities and country, what we see is a shocking and disturbing reality. In one of the richest, most powerful nations on earth, tens of millions of people lack some of the basic material necessities of life. The existence of such widespread poverty amidst such enormous wealth is a moral and social wound in the soul of our country.

The most basic principle of Catholic social teaching is the dignity of the human person. Each person is created in the image of God. Each person is precious. Catholic social teaching tells us that the dignity of every human being is to be recognized and respected, and if any are in need, then we share in the responsibility to help.

At the same time, our Christian faith leads us to be people of hope. We believe in the ultimate goodness of human beings and in their innate potential for human development and growth. We see hope in the goodness and courage of the people whom we serve and in the dedication and commitment of the staff and volunteers of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

The social and economic issues of today are certainly serious concerns. At times they seem daunting and overwhelming, and we might find ourselves feeling powerless, but we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to that temptation. We may not be able to end poverty and all the sufferings associated with it, but each one of us can bring care and compassion. Within our own communities, there are people in need, who live in poverty, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has responded generously and compassionately. In the Dayton area alone, the Society has extended a loving hand and heart to our less fortunate brothers and sisters for over 75 years. But, as disciples of the Lord, we are also called to recognize a deep poverty that is often overlooked. Pope Benedict mentioned this poverty in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Peace in 2009 [and I quote]:

If it were a question of material poverty alone, then the social sciences … would be sufficient to illustrate its principal characteristics. Yet we know that other, non-material forms of poverty exist which are not the direct and automatic consequence of material deprivation. For example, in advanced wealthy societies, there is evidence of marginalization, as well as affective, moral and spiritual poverty seen in people whose interior lives are disoriented and who experience various forms of malaise despite their economic prosperity.

Vincentians recognize the reality of material poverty, but you also recognize the reality of spiritual poverty. The Society’s mission statement reads, “Answering Christ’s call, we foster hope by providing spiritual, emotional, and financial assistance on a person-to-person basis to the poor …. ” In this context, it seems appropriate to recall the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord as anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor …. ” We know those glad tidings! They are the teachings of Jesus. The gospel message is the good news, the glad tidings we must bring to the poor. It seems to me that it can even be said that, when we fail to bring those good tidings to others through word and action, we contribute to the poverty that diminishes the quality of the lives of those we serve. I also believe that the Vincentians understand that and this chapel, set aside in the heart of your work facility, is a testimony to that.

Each year, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul helps tens of thousands of our less fortunate brothers and sisters break the grip of poverty on their lives. I have only to look out at those gathered here today to find tremendous hope, a hope that is so essential to those we serve. I congratulate and thank you for your generous service to Dayton community in the name of the Church, and I urge you to continue your impressive work and dedicated support. Each of you is giving witness to God’s teachings through your acts of mercy, service, and charity. I am confident that, as the Lord looks out at your service to His People, His heart is moved with gratitude for He sees that you have chosen Him, and our world is being transformed. It does not matter if the world ends today; we are already with God.