Gospel (Lk 21:29-33)

And he told them a parable:

“Look at the fig tree, and all the trees; as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Commentary

The Gospel shows us our Lord using examples taken from nature in order to speak about the kingdom of God. We can take advantage of the light God gives us in contemplating the natural world and the circumstances around us, in order to listen to what God wants to tell us or open a dialogue with Him when walking down the street, in the fields, or by the sea. It is part of Christian contemplation to see God’s hand in created realities and in the circumstances of life.

The word of God is eternally true. In his Wisdom he has everything before his eyes: the past, the present and the future. Christ is the Truth and we are called to live in Him. Everything will be fulfilled just as our Lord has said.

Living in the truth means not only rejecting all hypocrisy, lies and falsehoods, but also trying to lead a life in accord with the truth, no matter what the cost, and to help build up society on this foundation.

The devil is the father of lies and continually tries to make us resort to untruths in order to flatter our own vanity, to look good before others, or to avoid something unpleasant. But we can reject these insinuations if we are humble and rely on God’s grace, since a life built on lies is like a house built on sand that will fall to the ground.

Our Lord tells us that the truth will set us free (cf. Jn 8:32), for by the truth the chains of sin are broken and we attain our true good: union with God.