Monsignor Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the  Gospel of this Sunday, November 16, 2025, entitled:  “All the earth has seen the savior”.

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Malachi 3:19-20:  “The sun of righteousness will shine on you”

Psalm 97:  “All the earth has seen the Savior”

1 Thessalonians 3:71-72:  “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

Luke 21:5-19:  “If you persevere with patience, you will save your lives.”

After the deaths of a group of young men who were cruelly murdered, some of their relatives asked me,  “Are our boys in heaven? How can I be sure they are with God? I can’t believe they are gone. I look at them and wonder what lies beyond.”

A troubling question for everyone: what lies beyond? Jesus often spoke of life after death. He always did so with parables and images that invite us to full participation with the Father, but which leave us with many unanswered questions about the specific nature of the life we ​​will have there. We have much curiosity and many doubts, especially when we suffer the loss of a loved one or have been in imminent danger of death. The passage we hear today gives us clues, not to discover what heaven will be like, but to teach us how we should live our lives in light of the approaching end.

Jesus recommends three very specific attitudes to us today. The first relates to the certainties we have and the values ​​that underpin them. Nothing was more important to a Jew than the temple, for it signified the presence of God who accompanied, sustained, and protected them throughout their history. However, for many of them, the architecture and the power of religion had displaced faith and had transformed sacrifices, rituals, and construction into symbols more powerful than the God of Israel himself. Their rituals led them to neglect the most important commandments required for true worship: mercy and social justice. For Christ to tell them that it will be destroyed is, for them, blasphemy, but for Jesus, it is a correction, making it clear that if the temple does not facilitate a relationship with God and with one’s brothers and sisters, if it causes social divisions and unjust relationships, it cannot be the foundation of religion. God is being abandoned for a material temple. This is also a wake-up call for us who often place our trust not in the presence of God, not in relationships with our brothers and sisters, but in the material structures that undermine and enslave us.

Along with the ecological disasters suffered in some states, alarmist interpretations about the end times have also emerged.  Prophets claiming knowledge of the end of the world try to instill fear to achieve their own ends. Jesus’ words today put us on alert. No one can say “I am,” for that is appropriating the divine name. No one will be master of time and eternity, but only God. It is true that there will be persecutions and divisions, that there will be disasters, but our trust must be firmly in the Lord. Saint Paul already rebuked the inhabitants of Thessalonica who, thinking that the kingdom was already near, stopped striving and devoted themselves to idleness. The Coming of the Kingdom, far from excusing us from our obligations, fills us with greater enthusiasm and hope to work with more dedication in building it. In no way should be thinking about eternity lead us to neglect our tasks or to become anxious about what might happen. Jesus calls us to the true hope that builds and energizes, that is sustained by the effective presence of our Savior in the midst of all difficulties. When we recognize that violence has reached unimaginable levels, it becomes necessary to remember these words. We cannot give up without giving it our all. Let us remember that Christ affirms that when there are persecutions and divisions, “take note of this… and I will give you words of wisdom.”

Jesus’ third invitation is to stand firm in order to attain eternal life. And it is curious that when he announces the worst disasters that lead to betrayal and murder, he insists on the true attitude of the Christian: hope in abundant life. This is the fundamental teaching of this Sunday: this world will pass away, along with its conquests, its technology, and its scientific development, of which we so often boast. All the things we strive for, sometimes excessively, will come to an end. Our existence on this earth will conclude, although we do not know when or how. Sometimes, just when we feel most secure, misfortune strikes. Are we prepared for the end? We need to reflect on where we are placing our hearts and what importance we are giving to things, to people, and to God. The building of the Kingdom of God is not a momentary endeavor; our hope will be for all the life and beyond. In the first reading, the prophet Malachi, while threatening the wicked, also gave hope to the righteous:  “The day of the Lord is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and wicked will be like chaff… But for you who fear the Lord, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.”  Jesus’ words invite us today to lift our heads, not to be afraid, to work with perseverance, and to keep hope alive. The Risen Christ fills us with strength in the face of the uncertainties of our final days.

How do we view the end of the world? What feelings does it evoke in us? Are we people of hope who generate healthy optimism?

Grant us, O Lord, your help to dedicate ourselves faithfully to your service, for only in fulfilling your will can we find true happiness. Amen