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| “St Cecilia and an Angel” by Orazio Gentileschi, 1618-21 |
Reading 1: Revelation
14:14-19
I, John, looked and there was
a white cloud,
and sitting on the cloud one
who looked like a son of man,
with a gold crown on his head
and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Another angel came out of the
temple,
crying out in a loud voice to
the one sitting on the cloud,
“Use your sickle and reap the
harvest,
for the time to reap has
come,
because the earth’s harvest
is fully ripe.”
So the one who was sitting on
the cloud swung his sickle over the earth,
and the earth was harvested.
Then another angel came out
of the temple in heaven
who also had a sharp sickle.
Then another angel came from
the altar, who was in charge of the fire,
and cried out in a loud voice
to the one who had the sharp
sickle,
“Use your sharp sickle and
cut the clusters from the earth’s vines,
for its grapes are ripe.”
So the angel swung his sickle
over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage.
He threw it into the great
wine press of God’s fury.
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Commentary on Rv 14:14-19
St. John’s
apocalyptic vision shows us the image of Jesus (one who looked like a son of
man) harvesting the earth, bringing the faithful to the Kingdom of God. The
vision also makes clear that not everyone will enjoy that salvific event. Some
(“He threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury”) will be thrown
down, the doom of the ungodly (cf Joel
4:12-13; Isaiah
63:1-6).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
96:10, 11-12, 13
R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Say among the nations: The
LORD is king.
He has made the world firm,
not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with
equity.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens be glad and
the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it
resound;
let the plains be joyful and
all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of
the forest exult.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the LORD, for he
comes;
for he comes to rule the
earth.
He shall rule the world with
justice
and the peoples with his
constancy.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
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Commentary on Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13
Psalm 96 is a hymn of praise to the one true God. The psalmist
invites all people to come to faith and believe in God who created all things,
and is above all things. He exhorts the people to praise the Lord for his
wondrous works of creation. The reason for this exhortation is that God will
come to rule the earth with his justice. In this passage we see the forerunner
of the understanding of the New Jerusalem – the Heavenly Kingdom.
“What does this justice and fidelity mean? On the day of
Judgment, he will gather his chosen ones to himself and send the rest away, he
will place some to his right hand and others to his left. It is only right
and fair that those who show no mercy before the coming of the judge should not
then hope for mercy from him. Whereas those who struggle to be merciful
towards others will be judged with mercy.” (St Augustine, Enarrationes in
Psalmos, 95, 15) [4]
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Gospel: Luke
21:5-11
While some people were
speaking about
how the temple was adorned
with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, “All that you see
here–
the days will come when there
will not be left
a stone upon another stone
that will not be thrown down.”
Then they asked him,
“Teacher, when will this
happen?
And what sign will there be
when all these things are about to happen?”
He answered,
“See that you not be
deceived,
for many will come in my
name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has
come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and
insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such
things must happen first,
but it will not immediately
be the end.”
Then he said to them,
“Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful
earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty
signs will come from the sky.”
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Commentary on Lk 21:5-11
This selection is part of
St. Luke’s version of Jesus' eschatological (end times) discourse. This
version differs significantly from the version found in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 13:1-37) in that
it does not anticipate the parousia (second coming) within the lifetime of the
audience. We note from many of St. Paul’s epistles that the early Christian
community anticipated that Jesus was coming again within their lifetimes.
In this passage, Jesus points to
events in the future as opposed to those that would have occurred during the
author’s lifetime. St. Luke focuses on the Christian Community living the faith
from day to day. He relates how Jesus told the disciples of the coming
persecutions and bid them to trust in the Holy Spirit who would keep their
souls safe from harm.
CCC: Lk 21:4 2544
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Reflection:
Since
the 5th Lateran Council in 1516 the Church has
prohibited anyone from announcing or predicting the end of all things. So, when
the end does come, you’re not going to hear it from us. That does not mean you
will not hear predictions of the end of the world – the Apocalypse –
Armageddon. There will always be people who claim to have some special
knowledge, or to have discovered some special code that tells them exactly when
the world as we know it will end. The scripture we have today is an excellent
example of a whole class or genre of biblical literature intended to envision
what that end time must be like.
If
I were an old time preacher, I could take off in a fire and brimstone way using
these selections, pointing out that “the bible says” the end is at hand.
Pounding furiously on the pulpit, I would read the passage from Revelation once
more that says: “He threw it into the
great wine press of God’s fury,” and would probably add the next verse from
this chapter of the Revelation that was omitted in our reading that says: “The wine press was trodden outside the city
and blood poured out of the wine press to the height of a horse's bridle for
two hundred miles.” (Revelation 14:20) I’d add that just for the shock value.
We
have to accept this scripture for what it was, symbolic literature of a style
intended not to be read literally, but rather a vision seen through the lens of
faith. What we need to take away from this scripture is a sense that all things
come to an end, ourselves included. If scripture and history have taught us
anything, we know that we will not be able to predict the day or the hour of
that very personal event.
As
disciples of Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, we believe he was present before
we were conceived. We are called to be
prepared daily to face the time when we will come before the Lord, sitting in
judgment, when we return to him. We are reminded, in harsh words and gentle
invitation, that we need to reconcile our debts to the Lord and our brothers
and sisters so that we can fly home to that loving embrace when we are called.
Today
we hear this message: there will come a time when the life we are living on
this earth ends, and we will be called to account for what we have done,
whether good or ill. We must make sure that, as best we can, we have made every
effort to be in complete accord with God and His Son, our Lord Jesus who is the
Christ, the king at the end of all things.
Pax
[1]
The Picture used is “St
Cecilia and an Angel” by Orazio Gentileschi, 1618-21
[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]
The Navarre Bible: “Psalms”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp. 324
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