Mark 13:24-32 (November 15, 2015 - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Gospel:

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.”

Gospel Trivia:

Firstly, this gospel is not meant to be taken literally -- it does not portend the end of the world.  Instead, it likely refers to actual historical events that reveal the triumph of Jesus' mission and which unfolded after his death and Resurrection.

The "sun will be darkened" is used to portend political catastrophes or disaster in a large scale. Cosmic phenomena is used in the traditional language of the prophets to describe the powerful intervention of God in human history.

This would refer to the eventual fall of Jerusalem to the Roman empire in 70 AD.  In response to the Jewish rebellion, Roman armies attacked and ransacked the city of Jerusalem and levelled it to the ground, except for the towers and walls that are now left standing (when tourists visit the city).

This actually led to Christianity radiating to other cities and town in Palestine and beyond, such that by the 5th century, Christians had grown so much in size and in strength that Constantine the Great recognized Christianity as an official religion of the Roman empire.

"The Son of Man" coming from the clouds is a symbolic way of referring to the next phase in world history after dominant powers have passed away.  In Christian theology, it is also the "reverse" -- the coming of humanity to heaven brought about by the Kingdom of God now on earth.

The budding of the fig tree is a sign that summer is near.  Thus, the fall of the temple is a sign that the triumph of Jesus mission -- to build the Kingdom of God -- is about to fully unfold.

Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), p. 97-98.