Around the time of Christ’s birth, the expectation of the Messiah was that He was going to come as a military leader, a worldly king, who would get rid of the Romans and instate a true and just Jewish leadership to show God’s favor towards the people of Israel. Christ’s mission on earth was not to win a war against the Romans but to win the far greater war against sin and death. Jesus won a victory but not the one that most people at the time were preoccupied with. In today’s Gospel reading we heard ominous words, which sounds as though they are about the end of creation; and it is a passage that has often been used by end-of –the-world cults to stir up panic. It was a belief widely held by the very early Christians that they would see the end of the world, so it is possible that the evangelist himself believed this to be the case.
In today’s Gospel Jesus states that the Son of Man will come with power and glory. For those who follow Jesus, life will not end with the destruction of the Temple and the dispersal of the nation of Israel. A new life will begin, the life of the Christian community, which we continue to live today. Today’s Gospel, then, isn’t meant to be a frightening and depressing read. It offers an image of hope even in the worst of times. We know, however bad things get, that Jesus has brought us salvation. As His followers, we can be part of that new life.