Today we read a passage in which Jesus speaks to the disciples about what is coming, about what awaits them and their descendants. This speech of Jesus is the longest one in Mark. Let us listen to it more attentively: what prompted the conversation? what can be said about the disciples' attitude toward Jerusalem and its temple?

Jesus' own words can be divided into three parts: about the destruction of Jerusalem, about His return and the end of this world, and two parables. The intersection of these themes can seem unexpected, but prophecy is not a chronological account of the future. It is, rather, various images of it, so that in the destruction of Jerusalem one can also see the end of this world.

It is interesting to trace whether the disciples' initial curiosity receives an answer. It appears that a direct answer sounds only at the very end of the chapter: in the parable of the fig tree He speaks about signs. But about the exact time it is said that it is hidden from everyone except the Father. And if He himself is what matters to us, then we must keep watch, like the doorkeeper in the second parable. This final summons will help us hear all the other words of Jesus as well, which seem to stand apart from the disciples' question: He is addressing each of us personally.

If Jesus does not answer the disciples' question before verse 28, then what is He speaking about in verses 5-27? What stands out is how often Jesus addresses them directly. Jesus is concerned not so much with the future itself as with people, His disciples, in that future. Jesus makes them understand that what they need most in this life is God and His guidance, something that is especially visible "against the background" of the end.

When reading this chapter, a natural feeling often arises: although one would very much not want to take part in the events described, there is one thing to be glad about. If all this does happen, then (vv. 19-20 and vv. 24-27) Jesus will return and save His chosen ones. He is God and Savior.

Christ warned us in advance about the calamities that precede His return. About calamities that we ourselves provoke by our deeds. On learning of the reckoning, one can drop one's hands in despair, but it is better to gather oneself inwardly and turn to the One who saves.

The Lord has already shortened those days for the sake of the elect. Ten righteous people were not found in Sodom, but in a world that has surpassed Sodom, Christ has called many pure souls who, unnoticed by those around them, prevent the final catastrophe from taking place.

The forces of evil understand this too, and in the days of tribulation, "such as has not been from the beginning of creation," they will once again try to neutralize the healing leaven. They will try the old method: sending false christs and false prophets who perform lying signs and wonders. Well, there are already many such people in our time. And though we do not know the day and hour of the final battle, the One who warned us beforehand has called us to be ready every day. As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed; may we not drop the weapon of faith and faithfulness to Christ, nor cast it aside to gather dust.

Lord, grant us discernment of spirits! Amen.

In His conversation with the disciples about the end of the world, the Lord, as the biblical prophets sent by Him did, speaks at the same time about nearby concrete events and about the still distant end of history. In this case, clearly, the Lord uses the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD as an image of the end of the world. Yet His words can in many ways also be applied to other eras. In the passage we read today, it is important that the Lord says to the disciples: "Pray..." He also adds that for the sake of His elect God shortens the last days. It follows from this that it is within our power, through prayer and faithfulness to God, to lessen the weight of the sufferings of the last time. Together with the preaching of the Gospel, this becomes the most important task of the Church, giving a truly cosmic meaning to its existence.