Worshiping the Clock and the Calendar, by Anthony Esolen

The eternal does not “develop.” That is a contradiction in terms. So says our Lord, in the days before his Passion, when he spoke to his disciples of the last days and the coming of the Son of Man in glory. “Heaven and earth will pass away,” he says, “but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

His saying so can become too familiar to us. We hear it at Mass every year, but it must have left the disciples dumbstruck. Moses does not say that about himself. Isaiah and Jeremiah do not say it. Such a statement is predicated only of God – as Jesus and his disciples knew. “Lift up your eyes to the heavens,” says God, “and look at the earth beneath: for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever.” (Isaiah 51:6). ….