First Reading : Apocalypse 18:1-12,19:1-9
Gospel : Luke 21: 20-28
Today’s first reading opens with an angel crying out prophetically that Babylon has fallen. At the mid-point the powerful angel symbolizes the fall by forcefully hurling a great boulder into the sea. The reading concludes with the rejoicing worship of God by the heavenly crowd over the fall which has now taken place. Babylon stands for Rome because, like the real, historical Babylon, it ruled the world and oppressed the People of God, attempting to impose its standards, and especially idolatry and the worship of the emperor. It is represented here as a richly dressed prostitute, riding a scarlet beast, holding in her hand a gold cup full of the filth of her prostitution, and drunk with the blood of the martyrs. The Beast has appeared occasionally in the course of the Book, notably chapter 13; it makes war on the saints (13.7) and represents the military power of Rome, on which her dominance was grounded. To her flow in all the luxury commodities in vast quantities, including slaves, and she has corrupted the whole world by her encouragement of idolatry. The passage comes as a reminder to demonstrate that so-called powerful empire of Rome will not stand the judgement of the true king of the world. Therefore, the faithful are encouraged to remain faithful to the Lord and consoled to persevere in their hardships. It is because the ultimate judgement belongs to God.
In the gospel, we come across two emphasises; the first part speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem; and the second part speaks about the glorious coming of the Son of Man. The desolation of Jerusalem, as the gospel mentions, follows as the result of the sins of Jerusalem in terms of rejection of the message of Jesus, rejection of Jesus himself and oppression of the poor that stir the wrath of God. In fact, the desolation of Jerusalem becomes the sign of the judgement of God according to the prophecies of the OT.
The second part speaks about the judgement of the world in the coming of the Son of Man. The glorious coming of the Son of Man, Jesus mentions, will be preceded by the apocalyptic signs which also refer to the entering of God into the world history for the judgement (either for blessing or woe). The blessing and woe depends on the kind of life one lives; the life of faith and acceptance of the good news or rejection of the message of the good news.
Dear friends, when we hear about judgement, it frightens us. The readings of today tell us that we need not get scared of the judgement that awaits us, provided we live a faithful life to God, to whom we have given our allegiance at our Baptism. The first reading symbolically demonstrates that the true king and judge of the world is the Lord. Even the powerful kingdoms can't escape the judgement of the Lord. The Lord always sides with His faithful ones and punishes the unfaithful. The gospel tells us how we can remain faithful to God. It's by our strong faith in God and acceptance of the message of Jesus and living by it, we can remain faithful to God.
It's through our life of faithfulness, we can welcome the judgement of God which will be on our favore. We are also warned that if we are not faithful to God which means if we reject Jesus and the message of the good news, the judgement will be pronounced against us (woes). Let's prepare ourselves by a faithful life to God, so that when He comes in glory, we will be given the reward of eternal life with Him.
.jpeg)
0 Comments