At the beginning of this commentary, we noted that it might seem odd to have an “end times” passage as the gospel for the first Sunday of Advent. But recall that while such readings are often associated with the second coming of Christ in the mind of modern readers, the Old Testament passages that speak of the “days of wrath” or “the day of the Lord” are pointing to the coming of the promised Messiah. And our gospel reminds us that in our liturgical cycle we too are preparing to celebrate the coming of the Messiah – even as we are reminded of the passing nature of this world and our lives.

Culpepper points out that this gospel, in both senses, marks a clear divide between believers and those for whom “death stands as a final denial of life” and all they have accomplished is swept away. Culpepper points to the deuterocanonical Wisdom of Solomon as their lament”

1 They who said among themselves, thinking not aright: “Brief and troublous is our lifetime; neither is there any remedy for man’s dying, nor is anyone known to have come back from the nether world.2 For haphazard were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; Because the breath in our nostrils is a smoke and reason is a spark at the beating of our hearts,3 And when this is quenched, our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air.4 Even our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will recall our deeds. So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like a mist pursued by the sun’s rays and overpowered by its heat.5 For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow; and our dying cannot be deferred because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns. (Wisdom of Solomon 2:1–5)

For those who believe, the gospel reveals that beyond the grave and the end of “our time” stands the One of whom the prophets spoke – Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our earthly life passes away, but eternal life awaits.

Image credit: The Great Day of His Wrath | John Martin, 1851 | Tate Gallery, London | PD-US