 |
| "The Presentation of the Virgin” by Vittore Carpaccio, 1504-08 |
Reading 1: Revelation
14:1-3, 4b-5
I, John, looked and there was
the Lamb standing on Mount
Zion
and with him a hundred and
forty-four thousand
who had his name and his
Father’s name written on their foreheads.
I heard a sound from heaven
like the sound of rushing
water or a loud peal of thunder.
The sound I heard was like
that of harpists playing their harps.
They were singing what seemed
to be a new hymn before the throne,
before the four living
creatures and the elders.
No one could learn this hymn
except the hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been ransomed from
the earth.
These are the ones who follow
the Lamb wherever he goes.
They have been ransomed as
the first fruits
of the human race for God and
the Lamb.
On their lips no deceit has
been found; they are unblemished.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5
The symbolism is clear in this
passage from the Revelation of St. John. Mount Zion represents the heavenly
kingdom, and the Lamb of God, Jesus. In the context of St. John’s
numerology the numbers are significant: “One hundred and forty-four thousand:
the square of twelve (the number of Israel's tribes) multiplied by a thousand,
symbolic of the new Israel (cf Revelation 14:1-5; Galatians 6:16; James 1:1)." [4] This
symbolism embraces people from every nation, race, people, and tongue (Revelation 7:9). These
faithful and unblemished (” On
their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished”) seem to be the
saintly nucleus that forms the immediate worshipers of the Christ.
CCC: Rv 14:1 1138, 2159; Rv 14:4 778, 1618
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see
your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its
fullness;
the world and those who dwell
in it.
For he founded it upon the
seas
and established it upon the
rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your
face.
Who can ascend the mountain
of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy
place?
He whose hands are sinless,
whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your
face.
He shall receive a blessing
from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks
for him,
that seeks the face of the
God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your
face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Psalm 24 is a processional song.
It recalls that God is the great creator, and he calls his people to be
faithful. It is part of a hymn of entrance, sung as the Ark of the Covenant was
brought into the Temple, followed by the faithful. The song asks the question:
who can come into his presence, and answers: only those who are sinless
(completely reconciled to God). Those who achieve that beatified state will
receive the reward of eternal life from the savior.
The hymn focuses on the character
of the one who worthily seeks God, and the one who is worthy to come into God’s
kingdom and stand before him. This same concept is borrowed in a passage from
John’s Revelation (Revelation 14:4ff): who
are the ones allowed full access to God? They are those: “whose hands are
sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” In other
words they are clean in heart, body, and spirit.
CCC: Ps 24:6 2582
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke
21:1-4
When Jesus looked up he saw
some wealthy people
putting their offerings into
the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow
putting in two small coins.
He said, “I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more
than all the rest;
for those others have all
made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty,
has offered her whole livelihood.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 21:1-4
The widow in this Gospel story
represents the poor whose focus must be on God rather than on material wealth.
This emphasis in their lives brings them the blessing of God because of their
genuine praise and love. The passage is a principal example of Jesus’ teaching
on the importance of the gifts of the spirit.
“The widow is another example of
the poor ones in this gospel whose detachment from material possessions and
dependence on God leads to their blessedness (Luke 6:20). Her simple offering
provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes
denounced in the preceding section (Luke 20:45-47). The
story is taken from Mark 12:41-44.”[5]
CCC: Lk 21:4 2544
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
It is appropriate that on the
eve (metaphorically speaking) of Advent we are given a scriptural arrow that
points us to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Notice how, in the Book of
Revelation, we hear of the “hundred and
forty-four thousand” who are unblemished and in the presence of the Lamb of
God, and then again, in the Psalm, we hear of the ones who are clean in
thought, in body, and in intent or spirit.
Finally we are given the
story of the widow in the Gospel who gives from her need rather than her
excess. The purity of her intent is praised by Jesus himself. The message begs
us to evaluate our own worthiness to stand before the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world.
We are asked to have the
courage to look inside ourselves and see there the blemish that is a barrier to
Jesus, and to hold it up in contrition. In this way the Lord of Mercy can
forgive it and it can be washed away.
There are some that argue
that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not necessary, that if we say we are
sorry to Jesus in prayer, that is enough. We argue that there is an analogy
that shows how wrong they are.
If you go to the doctor
because you are not feeling well, and he says he’d like to do some tests. Then,
if you went home, and sometime later started feeling better, you might think: “I’m
OK.” In this scenario, you would be in similar to the person who does not recognize
the mercy and grace offered in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but feels that,
since they were sorry for whatever sins they had committed, they must be
forgiven. Would it not be better not to guess and to have the doctor call you
up and say: “I’ve looked at the test results and you are fine”?
That’s what happens in
Reconciliation: the priest, standing in the place of Christ, tells you
directly, you’re all right. God’s love operates through the sacraments; grace
is transmitted through them. We are foolish not to take advantage of it as we
approach God’s great gift in the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord.
For those who avoid participating
in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we would encourage you to ask this question:
why not? Is it because, in your opinion,
no sins worthy of God’s notice have been committed? Is it because it is
embarrassing to go to your priest and bare your soul, telling him your
innermost regrets? Is it because it is
inconvenient, it takes time to make a special trip to church? Is it because it
does not seem like it has any real benefit to you spiritually?
We would ask one more
question. Which underlying flaw does
your reason represent: arrogance, pride, or laziness? Each time we take advantage of a sacrament,
graces appropriate to that sacrament are given. (CCC #1131)
We hope to enter that eternal
home as a people of whom scripture says: “…whose
hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” We pledge to avoid sin as best we can, and
take advantage of the spiritual grace imparted by sacramental reconciliation
with the Lord frequently. In doing so,
may we also approach that spiritual place where the peace of Christ waits to
embrace us.
Pax
[2]
The picture used today is "The Presentation of the Virgin” by Vittore
Carpaccio, 1504-08
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote from Revelation 7:4-9
[5]
See NAB footnote on Luke 21:1-4
No comments:
Post a Comment