34th Friday in Ordinary Time
28 November 2025
Reading the Signs with Hope, Not Fear
All week long,
the Church has been leading us through the “apocalyptic” readings that close the liturgical year
inviting us to look squarely at the reality
that earthly kingdoms rise and fall,
earthly structures shake,
and earthly securities eventually collapse.
But today,
Jesus gives us the reason He tells us all these things.
It is not to frighten us.
It is not to make us anxious.
It is not to send us searching for dates, predictions, or timelines.
It is to teach us how to live faithfully in our time,
keeping our eyes fixed on the only Kingdom that will not pass away.
The first reading from Daniel brings us into a dramatic vision...
winds stirring the sea,
strange beasts rising and falling,
kingdoms coming and going.
It is chaotic, unsettling,
almost like something out of a movie.
But the point is not the beasts.
It is what comes after them:
“I saw One like a Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven… His dominion is everlasting.”
That’s the whole message of apocalyptic Scripture:
When the kingdoms of the world tremble,
God is not shaken.
When earthly powers fall,
divine kingship is revealed.
Daniel’s vision ends not in fear,
but in hope...
the Son of Man receiving a kingdom that will never be destroyed.
And in the Gospel,
Jesus identifies Himself as that Son of Man.
Throughout the week Jesus has described upheaval:
- wars
- natural disasters
- betrayals
- persecutions
- false messiahs
- cosmic signs
But Jesus gives us the real purpose behind His warnings today:
“When you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.”
In other words:
The shaking of the world is not a sign of God’s absence...
it is the doorway to His presence.
Every age has its earthquakes, its conflicts, its crises, its persecutions.
Jesus is not telling us to read them like a horoscope for the end times.
He is teaching us how to remain awake, faithful, anchored, and hopeful...
no matter what happens around us.
Jesus has been clear all week:
When the world trembles,
disciples do not collapse, they stand.
When others panic,
disciples lift their eyes.
When others lose hope,
disciples remember the promise.
“Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.”
That is the single unshakable foundation.
Not political structures.
Not worldly power.
Not cultural influence.
Not economic security.
Not physical strength.
Everything passes.
Christ’s word does not.
If we anchor our lives in His word,
then even in a shaking world
we become steady, grounded, unafraid.
Jesus gives us a simple image today:
the fig tree.
When it buds,
you know summer is near.
When the world shakes,
the disciple knows Christ is near.
The signs are not a code to crack.
They are a reminder of His closeness.
They are an invitation to spiritual alertness.
They are a call to renew our allegiance to Christ the King.
Jesus is saying:
“Do not be paralyzed by fear.
Do not be distracted by false alarms.
Do not become drowsy or numb from the anxieties of life.
Look for Me.
Stay awake.
My Kingdom is breaking in.”
Some Christians obsess over predicting the end.
There’s even movies that have made about this obsession.
Others ignore these readings altogether.
Jesus offers a third way:
Live faithfully now.
Live watchfully now.
Live courageously now.
Live as citizens of the Kingdom of God now.
Because the Son of Man is coming
not to frighten us,
but to fulfill every longing of our hearts.
So today we ask for grace:
to build our lives on Christ’s words,
to trust His kingship in every circumstance,
and to stand erect with hope whenever the world trembles.
The kingdoms of this world pass.
Christ’s Kingdom is near.
His word will not pass away.