Waiting in Joyful Hope     By Fr. Robert J. Bauer, SDB

A few years ago one of the major news magazines spoke of a "boom in doom." In saying this, the magazine was referring to a growing number of books, articles and media presentations focusing on spectacular and horrible scenarios for the end of the world. As we approach the year 2000, material of this kind has grown by leaps and bounds. Supermarket tabloids abound with frightening predictions and sensational materials of all sorts. One such publication even published a fuzzy photograph purporting to be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding across Arizona. And a TV evangelist recently made a statement implying that the "Antichrist" is alive at this very moment.

This trend is by no means a new phenomenon. Every age has produced such material. This is especially the case in times of global threat and major transitions. A similar phenomenon occurred around the year 1000 AD. Predictions of disaster and the end of the world regularly appear in times of war, for instance. Several such books were written at the time of the Gulf War, but the war was over before they could reach a very wide audience. Some books and articles have even linked the Y2K problem with the end of the world.

The puzzling nature of prophets like Ezekiel and the exotic visions of the Book of Revelation make it easy to ground such predictions in the Bible, because these books are not always easy to read and interpret. The somewhat strange symbolism of Revelation has been used to point to all sorts of people and events. As a matter of fact, much of this symbolism is an allusion to events at the time of the book's writing. Since we are unfamiliar with some of these historical events, and since we find symbolic literature difficult, it is easy to make a book like Revelation point to things happening in our own time. This is akin to taking political cartoons from 50 years ago and trying to read them today. They might have been easy to understand in their own time, but they are very confusing today. Setting dates and naming evil end-time figures have always been a popular temptation, and for hundreds of years these predictions have been wrong.

In stark contrast to all this is the Church's consistent approach, which has refrained from giving names and dates and has always looked forward to the coming of Christ as a positive experience. The Church has heeded the statement of Jesus that "of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mk 13:32). In fact, the Church's liturgy has always looked with hope to the Second Coming. The Second Coming of Christ is seen as the full realization of God's kingdom as set forth by the Old Testament prophets and inaugurated in the ministry of Christ (Lk 4:16-22). The coming of Christ ushers in the time of the messianic banquet (Is 25:6-8), the end of hostility, disunity and death, accompanied by the wiping away of every tear in the eyes of the faithful (Rev 21:1-4).

The season of advent-with its frequent "Come, Lord Jesus"-is dedicated to this longing. The many beautiful prophecies of Isaiah that are read in that season fill the faithful with hope and joy. The petition in the Lord's Prayer-"Thy kingdom come"-expresses a longing not for war and disaster but for the peace and joy of God's eternal reign. This is accompanied by the statement that follows the Lord's Prayer in the liturgy of the Eucharist-"as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."

The year 2000 is not a magical number that indicates some special set of occurrences. It is an invitation to renewal of life and recommitment to Gospel living.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:

For the reader who wishes to follow up on this article I recommend a book by Fr. Juan Alfaro, OSB. The book exists in both English and Spanish. It is brief and inexpensive, but very clear and helpful.

Juan Alfaro, OSB. Hope & Glory: A Catholic Introduction to the Book of Revelation. Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89243-785-5

Spanish Title: Esperanza y gloria: introdución al Apocalipsis para católicos. Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 1995.

Fr. Robert J. Bauer, SDB, was ordained in 1971. He is currently professor of Old Testament Studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio.