A: 1st Sun of Adv (1 Dec 2019) - DESTRUCTION IS OUR MAKING (Mt 24:37-44)

Our gospel today presents Jesus as using the story of the so-called Great Flood, a time when everybody, save for Noah and his family, was caught unprepared for the catastrophe that destroyed the world. He says: “For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man” (vv. 37-39).

However, if we take a look at the Genesis story of the Flood (Gen 6–9), we actually do not read therein Jesus’ description of the crowd’s reaction to the coming of the flood. What is simply mentioned is that after God was resolved to destroy the earth, “Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark . . . after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth” (Gen 7:7,10). The crowd who were allegedly pleading Noah for entry into the gates of the ark as the waters were rising—as we often see in cinematographic portrayal of the Flood—is not detailed in Genesis.

I suppose what appears to happen is that the Matthean Jesus might have magnified the traditional Flood Story in order to speak about his concurrent context of societal callousness and hedonism evident in the public’s wanton eating, drinking, and licentiousness (v. 38). People in his time might have already taken for granted the salvation of their souls, hence, Jesus was calling their attention with his forceful words, using the story of the Flood to emphasize his point. However, we know that he was speaking to deaf ears since many did not take his words seriously, resulting even to their clamor for Jesus’ eventual crucifixion. True enough, the prophesied destruction took place when Jerusalem was crushed by the Romans in 70 C.E., and all were truly caught unprepared.

Still, another destruction (this time, final) will transpire when the Son of Man comes on an unexpected time (vv. 42, 44). Hopefully, every one of us will be prepared, as we have been continuously warned not only by the Bible but by several concerned individuals. Truly, another Great Flood is coming; but this time, it is not God’s making, it is ours. We are presently confronted with the worldwide environmental crisis in the so-called global warming. Many already took the podium to inform us of the magnitude of this problem, but have we taken these warnings seriously?

One prophet in this regard is Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist. She began her advocacy at home “where she convinced her parents to adopt several lifestyle choices to reduce their own carbon footprint, including giving up air travel and not eating meat.” In August 2019, she crossed the Atlantic via “a 60 ft racing yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines” as a protest against carbon emission. In September, she spoke to the UN and strongly blamed today’s generation for destroying the environment. Now, many youngsters follow her footsteps, to the point that there now exists the byword “Greta Thunberg Effect”. Noteworthy is her TedX Talk in Stockholm in November 2018 when she said, “I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, OCD and selected mutism. That basically means I only speak when I think it’s necessary. Now is one of those moments”.

We commend the teen-ager, Greta, for speaking up so boldly, but maybe we should also ask ourselves: How have we contributed to the betterment of our world? Indeed, we are all guilty of the charge of slowly destroying our world and we remorse over it, but have we been conscientious enough in proactively saving it? Greta is talking about the environment, but Jesus in our gospel speaks more than our present world: he also warns us of our impending eternal damnation if we fail to change our present lives. May we, then, live St. Paul’s words to the Romans (Second Reading) as we begin the Advent Season: “Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:12).

- Rex Fortes, CM