Commentary on the Gospel – November 28, 2025

November 28, 2025

Heaven and Earth Will Pass Away, but My Word Will Not Pass Away

Among the “liturgical joys” we gave ourselves after the Second Vatican Council, there was a Santo whose refrain repeated these words: “No, no, no pasará… nononono no, no pasará…” It was sung with a lively, dance-like rhythm, which made it feel as though the solemn proclamation—“heaven and earth will pass away”—and even the holiness of the Holy of holies itself were being slightly trivialized. The announcement that heaven and earth will pass away—especially in these gloomy times filled with dark warnings of climate catastrophe—hardly seems like something to dance to. It would be like celebrating a funeral with salsa or merengue, even if we believe with certainty in the resurrection.

The announcement is very serious: heaven, earth, everything will pass away. Just in case we were enjoying our stay on this earth a bit too much, we’re reminded that everything is temporary. The promise of what comes after is certainly far better, but it leads us into something unknown and mysterious—and therefore something that naturally stirs a bit of fear, and for which we must cling firmly to faith in God’s promise.

The readings today insist that we learn to read the signs of the times. How do we remain in faith and hope, trusting that the Kingdom of God will not be taken from us? How do we recognize that everything present—both the painful and the joyful—is passing? And if it’s all passing, why keep striving?

How do we live in this world with the peace of someone who knows that nothing lasts forever, but that the Word—the living and incarnate Christ—will always remain? We keep walking, even knowing that everything ends, because we are convinced that the Word does not end. Meaning: no matter how much the visible, the tangible, the perishable fades away, we are already living and tasting what does not pass away.

And maybe that is reason enough to dance and rejoice—not like someone at a loud party, but like someone savoring the Eternal Banquet.

Cármen Fernández Aguinaco