A Dog Story

Understanding how only Jesus can promise us eternal life

11/26/2024

LK 21:5-11 While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here– the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

Since I became a dog person I noticed everyone likes to tell stories about their dog. But sooner or later everyone tells a dog story that they deeply wish they did not have to share, namely, when they put their dog to sleep. It is heart-breaking. So after hearing enough of these sad stories, Apollo and I have decided that he is not going to grow old and one day be put to sleep.

We were going for a walk one day – actually, he was taking me for a walk – and I said to him, “Hey, Apollo, let’s make a deal. How about you always stay young, and healthy, and handsome?” And he looked back at me and barked: “Deal!” So I have now placed a large portrait of Apollo in the basement and that picture is daily growing older while the Apollo that you and I see remains youthful and vivacious. That’s a not-so-subtle reference to Oscar Wilde’s classic book “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

But both Apollo and I realize that such deals are only wishful thinking. Like that old saying goes: “The only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes.” In other words, everyone dies, indeed, everything eventually ends. If you prefer a philosophical description of how everything ends, rather than the literary one by Oscar Wilde, I highly recommend you read the rather dense but brilliant book by Etienne Gilson called “The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy.”

Listen carefully to what Gilson wrote: “This created universe, of which St. Augustine said that it unceasingly leans over towards the abyss of nothingness, is saved at each moment from collapse into nothingness by the continuous giving of being which, of itself, it could neither give nor preserve” (pp. 71-72).

That is, the only One who never ends is God. And it is because he holds us in his hands and makes possible our next breath that we continue to exist. Put differently, God is the only One who can say to us, “Let’s make a deal and say that you will never die.” There really is a portrait of us that stays young and vivacious forever, and that is the face of Jesus Christ. And one day, we will look like him.

In the gospel today the apostles are admiring the adornments of the Jerusalem Temple, a little like I admire Apollo. But Jesus warns them that one day the great and mighty Jerusalem Temple will lie in ruins, like people share their stories about putting their dog to sleep. By the way, I apologize for comparing the Jerusalem Temple to my dog Apollo, but that’s the only analogy I could think of at 4:30 in the morning! But the Greek god Apollo had his own temple at Delphi, so maybe the comparison is not entirely unwarranted.

But then Jesus adds that some will come saying they will save them from calamity. He states: “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them.” In a sense, Jesus is saying that all things eventually end. But there is only One who exists eternally, namely, God, and Jesus his eternal Son.

In other words, like Etienne Gilson said, Jesus is the one who “saves us from collapse into nothingness by the continuous giving of being." And like Oscar Wilde suggested: the face of Jesus is the portrait of us that never wrinkles, or ages, or dies. No one else can offer us a deal like that.

My friends we are fast approaching the end of another calendar year of the Catholic Church. As you know, the Church year begins on the first Sunday of Advent, and ends at the end of the 34th week in Ordinary Time. We are currently at Tuesday of the 34th week in Ordinary.

The reason for this repetitious cycle of years is to remind us that even time itself will one day come to an end. The clock of the cosmos will stop ticking, just like the Jerusalem Temple, and Apollo, and you, and me. Like the viral program, Mr. Smith, said to Neo in the movie “Matrix,” “The end is inevitable, Mr. Anderson.”

But even as the clock of the liturgical calendar winds down – and you and I do too – Jesus comes to make us a deal, namely, the deal that we live forever. Many others may come to offer us that deal, saying, “I am he!” but we should not follow them. Why not? Because Jesus is the only One who can save us at each moment from collapse into nothingness by the continuous giving of a being (called grace) which of ourselves we can neither give nor preserve.

Praised be Jesus Christ!