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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – During the General Audience held on November 12, in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father Benedict XVI continued his catechesis on the Apostle St. Paul, highlighting his preaching on the second coming of the Lord. “Every Christian discourse on the last things, called eschatology, always starts from the event of the Resurrection: In this event the last things have already begun, and in a certain sense, are already present,” the Pope explained, recalling that Saint Paul, in the First Letter to the Thessalonians makes reference to this return of Jesus, called the parousia, advent. “Paul describes the parousía of Christ with very living tones and symbolic images, but transmitting a simple and profound message: At the end, we will be always with the Lord. That is, beyond the images, the essential message: Our future is 'to be with the Lord.' As believers, in our lives we already are with the Lord -- our future, eternal life, has already begun.”
In the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul “speaks of negative events that must precede that conclusive end...But the intention of this letter of St. Paul is above all practical... he awaiting of the parousía of Jesus does not dispense with the work of this world, but on the contrary, brings responsibilities before the divine Judge regarding our way of acting in this world.”
The relationship between the return of the Judge/Savior and our commitment in life also appears in the Letter to the Philippians. As the Pope recalled, “Paul is in jail and awaiting his sentence, which might be death. In this situation, he thinks of his future being with the Lord, but he also thinks of the community of Philippi, which needs its father, Paul...Paul is not afraid of death, on the contrary, it means in fact the complete being with Christ. But Paul also participates in the sentiments of Christ, who has not lived for himself, but for us. Living for others becomes the program of his life and because of that, he shows his perfect readiness to do the will of God, [readiness] for what God decides... We see that his being with Christ creates a great interior freedom: freedom before the threat of death, but freedom also before all the tasks and sufferings of life. He was simply available to God and truly free.”
Benedict XVI then went on to address the fundamental attitudes of a Christian toward the “last things.” “The first attitude is the certainty that Jesus has risen, is with the Father, and because of that, is with us forever. And no one is stronger that Christ, because he is with the Father, is with us. Because of this, we are secure and free of fear,” said Benedict XVI. “Fear of spirits and gods was spread throughout the entire ancient world. And today as well, missionaries find -- together with so many good elements in natural religions -- the fear of spirits and the ill-fated powers that threaten us. Christ is alive; he has overcome death and has overcome all these powers. With this certainty, with this freedom, with this joy, we live.”
The second attitude comes from the certainty that “Christ is with me. And that in Christ the future world has already begun -- this also gives the certainty of hope. The future is not a darkness in which no one gets one's bearings. It is not like that. Without Christ, also for the world today, the future is dark; there is fear of the future -- a lot of fear of the future. The Christian knows that the light of Christ is stronger and because of this, lives in a hope that is not vague, in a hope that gives certainty and courage to face the future.”
The third attitude addresses the “ responsibility toward the world, toward our brothers before Christ, and at the same time, also certainty of his mercy. Both things are important...We have talents, we have to work so this world opens itself to Christ, so that it is renewed. But even working and knowing in our responsibility that God is a true judge, we are also sure that he is a good judge. We know his face -- the face of the risen Christ, of Christ crucified for us.”
One final aspect of Pauline doctrine on eschatology, “is the fact of the universality of the call to faith, which unites Jews and Gentiles, that is, the pagans, as a sign and anticipation of the future reality.” In concluding his catechesis, the Holy Father mentioned that “St. Paul in the conclusion of his Second Letter to the Corinthians repeats and also puts on the lips of the Corinthians, a prayer originating in the first Christian communities of the area of Palestine: Maranà, thà!, which literally means, 'Our Lord, come!'...It seems to me that for us today, in our lives, in our world, it is difficult to sincerely pray so that this world perishes, so that the new Jerusalem comes, so that the final judgment and Christ the judge come... Certainly, we don't want the end of the world to come now. But, on the other hand, we want this unjust world to end. We also want the world to be deeply changed, the civilization of love to begin, [we want] a world of justice and peace, without violence, without hunger, to arrive. We all want this -- and how can it happen without the presence of Christ? Without the presence of Christ, a just and renewed world will never really arrive. And though in another way, totally and deeply, we too can and should say, with great urgency and in the circumstances of our time, Come, Lord! Come to your world, in the way that you know. Come where there is injustice and violence. Come to the refugee camps, in Darfur and in North Kivu, in so many places in the world. Come where drugs dominate. Come, too, among those rich people who have forgotten you and who live only for themselves. Come where you are not known. Come to your world and renew the world of today. Come also to our hearts. Come and renew our lives. Come to our hearts so that we ourselves can be light of God, your presence. In this sense, we pray with St. Paul: Maranà, thà! Come, Lord Jesus! And we pray so that Christ is really present today in our world, and that he renews it.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 13/11/2008)
