Today's Gospel in Art - The stars will fall from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken

Leonid Meteor Storm, 1833 by Edmund Weiss © Wikicommons / Christian Art

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 14th November 2021 - Mark 13:24-32

Jesus said to his disciples: 'In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven 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; then too he will send the angels to gather his chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.

'Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

'But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.'

Reflection on the Coloured Print

Advent will soon be upon us: a time when we long and wait patiently for Our Lord to be born. Today's reading is touching upon the same themes of preparation, patience and watchfulness. But isn't life one big journey of preparation anyway? When we are young, we prepare for a future job. When we have a job we prepare for another one. When we grow up in a family, we may want to prepare for maybe having a family of our own one day? And so on. But are we preparing for Christ's second coming? Probably not. If we knew Christ was coming at the end of this year, wouldn't we completely change our lives and prepare with joyful anticipation? That is what Jesus is asking of us today: not to wait, but to prepare now, expecting His coming at any moment... Our prayer lives would gain a sense of urgency.

Today's Gospel passage reads like poetry. The images that are evoked of the stars, the moon, the sun, and the angels, show that Jesus is not warning us to frighten us, but He is saying His words out of love and encouragement.

Our polychrome print on paper depicts the Leonid Meteor Storm, as seen over North America on the night of November 12-13, 1833. This print was issued in 1888 as part of a book by Edmund Weiss. Weiss was an Austrian astronomer who was one of the main astronomers during the 19th century and also taught at the University in Vienna. The lunar crater 'Weiss' is named after him. The Leonid meteor storm of 1833 was a big event and impacted artists around the world, who witnessed a true celestial spectacle that evening. It probably isn't too dissimilar to what would happen if 'the stars [came] falling from heaven' as described in today's Gospel reading.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/990
Christian Art - www.christian.art/