Sky Is Falling

Preparing for the end of the world in different ways

11/17/2024

Mk 13:24-32 Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.  Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Have you heard the story about Chicken Little? It originated as a European folktale about the adventure of a little chicken. In Europe he's called Henny Penny, but we Americans like to call him "Chicken Little." One day, an acorn fell on Chicken Little's head, and he mistakenly believed that the sky was falling, that the world was about to come to an end.

He decided he must warn the king, and headed off for the royal palace. Along the way, he shouts, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Now, various animals join his crusade with funny names: Cocky Locky, Drakey Lakey, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey, and Ducky Lucky. And a very handsome dog named Apollo Wallo.

Before they reach the king, though, they meet sinister Foxy Loxy. He listens to their story, and invites them to his lair to discuss matters further. But when they enter his house, Foxy Loxy tries to kill the animals. But brave Apollo Wallo saves them and shuts Foxy Loxy in his own lair. I just made up that ending.

In the real story the fox eats the other animals. The point of this parable is to highlight how gullible people can be believing stories like "the sky is falling.” Gullible people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of the parade of poultry.

In the gospel today Jesus sounds a lot like Chicken Little shouting “the sky is falling,” when he says: "The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken." But then he also adds this crucial caveat: "But of that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

In other words, Jesus is predicting the sky will fall one day, but we do not know when. So, his point is always be prepared. In a sense, always live like the sky is falling so will always be ready when it does. Chicken Little was right but for the wrong reasons.

May I draw three practical take-aways from this gospel passage bout the sky is falling? First, we heard a lot of rhetoric during the recent presidential election about how the two candidates represented "an existential threat to democracy." Essentially, each party acted like Chicken Little warning that if the other candidate won, he or she would usher in the end of American civilization. But one candidate has won, and we are all still here. If the other candidate had won, we would still be here.

My friends, our great nation will indeed come to an end, but not by the 2024 election. I will never forget that scene in the movie Top Gun: Maverick, when the Real Admiral warns Maverick: "The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction." Maverick turns and agrees: "Maybe so sir. But not today." So, too, the end is inevitable and one day our country will be extinct. But not today. In other words, don’t be so gullible and jump on the bandwagon of the poultry parade.

A second application of how the sky is falling touches each person individually. That is, one day our own personal world will end when we die. Someday Fr. John Antony's "sky will fall" and I will no longer see the sky, but will be laid "six feet under, pushing up daisies." But we sometimes pretend that we will live forever and never die. But that earthly immortality is an illusion, and a dangerous illusion.

On the other hand, the Church, a little like Chicken Little, urges us to pray for a happy death, that is, to die in the state of grace. In the past two weeks I've presided at the funerals of Dc. Bill Curry, Roger Wallace, and Lori Cravens. This coming week we will have the funerals for Rosemary Reith and Terry Upchurch. They all died a happy death when their sky fell, and we should pray for the same, because some day our sky will fall, too. So, just call me Chicken Little.

And the third application is to remember there is one place the sky will never fall, namely, the Church, which St. Augustine called "The City of God,” where the Son, Jesus, is always shining in the sky. One of my favorite Bible verses is Hb 13:14, which states, "Here we have no lasting city." That verse refers to all the earthly cities that we live in: Fort Smith, Van Buren, Muldrow, Pocola, etc. But that verse also implies that there is another city that will last forever, namely, the Kingdom of God, the Church.

But there is no shortage of Chicken Littles today claiming that the Church is doomed. I haven't seen it, but the recent movie called "Conclave" about the election of a pope by corrupt cardinals making the Church appear nothing more than a corporate boardroom where shady deals occur. But the reality is very different.

Jesus promised in Mt 16:18 that he would build his Church on the rock of St. Peter and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it, no matter what Chicken Little, or Hollywood says. That is why we belong to the Catholic Church: it is the one city where the sky will never fall. There's an old saying that "there are only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes."

But I would suggest that there is a third thing, namely, that Christ's Church will endure forever. My friends, make your citizenship in that Eternal City permanent. Then you can relax and no jump on the bandwagon when you see the poultry parade of Chicken Little, Cocky Locky, Drakey Lakey, Goosey Loosey. Why? Because our sky is not falling, and it never will.

Praised be Jesus Christ!