Readings for Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Revelations 20:1-4, 11—21:2
Then I (John) saw an angel come down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a heavy chain.
He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent,
which is the Devil or Satan,
and tied it up for a thousand years and threw it into the abyss,
which he locked over it and sealed,
so that it could no longer lead the nations astray
until the thousand years are completed.
After this, it is to be released for a short time.
Then I saw thrones; those who sat on them were entrusted with judgment.
I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
and who had not worshiped the beast or its image
nor had accepted its mark on their foreheads or hands.
They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it.
The earth and the sky fled from his presence
and there was no place for them.
I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne,
and scrolls were opened.
Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds,
by what was written in the scrolls.
The sea gave up its dead;
then Death and Hades gave up their dead.
All the dead were judged according to their deeds.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire.
(This pool of fire is the second death.)
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life
was thrown into the pool of fire.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rev 20:1-4, 11—21:2
In this long selection from John’s Book of Revelations we are given the vision of Christ defeating sin and death (holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a heavy chain. He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is the Devil or Satan, and tied it up for a thousand years and threw it into the abyss”). The thousand years here is not to be taken literally. Like other numerical references in apocalyptic literature different numbers have different significance (i.e. 7 the perfect number or fullness, 6 the least perfect number – hence 666 the mark of the beast, and 40 the number of years for a generation), this on simply represents a long period of time between Christ’s first victory and his second coming, the Parousia.
We also are given the image of the final judgment when the dead rise from their graves ("I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne") with a list of all they had done, the scrolls. They were judged according to their actions and then either passed to the New Jerusalem or cast into the pool of fire. Finally comes the new age and God ruling over it for eternity symbolized by the wedding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
R. (Rev. 21:3b) Here God lives among his people.
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. Here God lives among his people.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young–
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. Here God lives among his people.
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. Here God lives among his people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
Here we are given a hymn of praise for those who depend on God (Blessed they who dwell in your house!). The psalm is once again linked to the first reading, this time by the use of a response actually taken from Revelations (Rev; 21; 3b).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 21:29-33
He (Jesus) taught them (the disciples) a lesson.
“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 21:29-33
We have here the end of Jesus’ eschatological discourse. When talking about the immediacy of the signs and symbols, most scholars agree he is speaking of his own crucifixion and resurrection. He also mentions the timelessness of the truth of the Gospel. (“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The line we walk in tightening circles is drawing back upon itself as we mark this second to the last day in the liturgical year. This Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season and we must prepare to shift gears, as they say. Today we continue our thoughts of the end of all things and hope desperately that our names are inscribed in the book of life and we will eventually find that eternal home promised.
Jesus parable in the Gospel reminds us that the end will come sooner than we think and that we dare not procrastinate. The New Jerusalem is waiting for us and the longer we delay in our own preparations the longer the journey will be to get to that final destination.
The analogy of approaching the mirror has been used before but is apt at this time as we come to the end of another year. From a great distance we see ourselves, our spiritual selves, looking very presentable. Especially standing next to our brothers and sisters we may even look positively sparkling. As we draw closer to the mirror that represents our spiritual introspection, as we hopefully have in the past year, we begin to see things that we had not noticed before. We see little flaws that were not apparent from the previous distance but become glaringly apparent as we stand closer.
Each cycle of spiritual effort brings us closer to that mirror and each year we find elements of our faith lives that need to be repaired, replaced, or completely overhauled. Just as the fastidious dresser looks at each seam, at each article of clothing– its color, its fit, the way it lays, so we look at each element of our spiritual lives. What seemed fine just a short year ago may not do at all with our new heightened sense of spiritual awareness.
For now we take our steps toward a New Jerusalem where there is no more suffering or pain; where all our spiritual blessings will be heaped upon us and we will know what it is like to be in the presence of pure love – for that is what God is. We have just one more day beyond this one to contemplate that wondrous journey before we will look once more at the mirror to see if we have prepared ourselves for the advent of the King who is Christ.
Pax
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Revelations 20:1-4, 11—21:2
Then I (John) saw an angel come down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a heavy chain.
He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent,
which is the Devil or Satan,
and tied it up for a thousand years and threw it into the abyss,
which he locked over it and sealed,
so that it could no longer lead the nations astray
until the thousand years are completed.
After this, it is to be released for a short time.
Then I saw thrones; those who sat on them were entrusted with judgment.
I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
and who had not worshiped the beast or its image
nor had accepted its mark on their foreheads or hands.
They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it.
The earth and the sky fled from his presence
and there was no place for them.
I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne,
and scrolls were opened.
Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds,
by what was written in the scrolls.
The sea gave up its dead;
then Death and Hades gave up their dead.
All the dead were judged according to their deeds.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire.
(This pool of fire is the second death.)
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life
was thrown into the pool of fire.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rev 20:1-4, 11—21:2
In this long selection from John’s Book of Revelations we are given the vision of Christ defeating sin and death (holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a heavy chain. He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is the Devil or Satan, and tied it up for a thousand years and threw it into the abyss”). The thousand years here is not to be taken literally. Like other numerical references in apocalyptic literature different numbers have different significance (i.e. 7 the perfect number or fullness, 6 the least perfect number – hence 666 the mark of the beast, and 40 the number of years for a generation), this on simply represents a long period of time between Christ’s first victory and his second coming, the Parousia.
We also are given the image of the final judgment when the dead rise from their graves ("I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne") with a list of all they had done, the scrolls. They were judged according to their actions and then either passed to the New Jerusalem or cast into the pool of fire. Finally comes the new age and God ruling over it for eternity symbolized by the wedding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
R. (Rev. 21:3b) Here God lives among his people.
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. Here God lives among his people.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young–
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. Here God lives among his people.
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. Here God lives among his people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
Here we are given a hymn of praise for those who depend on God (Blessed they who dwell in your house!). The psalm is once again linked to the first reading, this time by the use of a response actually taken from Revelations (Rev; 21; 3b).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 21:29-33
He (Jesus) taught them (the disciples) a lesson.
“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 21:29-33
We have here the end of Jesus’ eschatological discourse. When talking about the immediacy of the signs and symbols, most scholars agree he is speaking of his own crucifixion and resurrection. He also mentions the timelessness of the truth of the Gospel. (“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The line we walk in tightening circles is drawing back upon itself as we mark this second to the last day in the liturgical year. This Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season and we must prepare to shift gears, as they say. Today we continue our thoughts of the end of all things and hope desperately that our names are inscribed in the book of life and we will eventually find that eternal home promised.
Jesus parable in the Gospel reminds us that the end will come sooner than we think and that we dare not procrastinate. The New Jerusalem is waiting for us and the longer we delay in our own preparations the longer the journey will be to get to that final destination.
The analogy of approaching the mirror has been used before but is apt at this time as we come to the end of another year. From a great distance we see ourselves, our spiritual selves, looking very presentable. Especially standing next to our brothers and sisters we may even look positively sparkling. As we draw closer to the mirror that represents our spiritual introspection, as we hopefully have in the past year, we begin to see things that we had not noticed before. We see little flaws that were not apparent from the previous distance but become glaringly apparent as we stand closer.
Each cycle of spiritual effort brings us closer to that mirror and each year we find elements of our faith lives that need to be repaired, replaced, or completely overhauled. Just as the fastidious dresser looks at each seam, at each article of clothing– its color, its fit, the way it lays, so we look at each element of our spiritual lives. What seemed fine just a short year ago may not do at all with our new heightened sense of spiritual awareness.
For now we take our steps toward a New Jerusalem where there is no more suffering or pain; where all our spiritual blessings will be heaped upon us and we will know what it is like to be in the presence of pure love – for that is what God is. We have just one more day beyond this one to contemplate that wondrous journey before we will look once more at the mirror to see if we have prepared ourselves for the advent of the King who is Christ.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is” Old Woman at the Mirror“ Bernardo Strozzi, c. 1615
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved
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