20201128 MARANATHA, COME LORD JESUS
28 November, 2020, Saturday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Apocalypse 22:1-7 © |
The Lord God will shine on them; it will never be night again
The angel showed me, John, the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear down the middle of the city street. On either side of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.
The ban will be lifted. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in the city; his servants will worship him, they will see him face to face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. It will never be night again and they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them. They will reign for ever and ever.
The angel said to me, ‘All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God who gives the spirit to the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his servants what is soon to take place. Very soon now, I shall be with you again.’ Happy are those who treasure the prophetic message of this book.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 94(95):1-7 © |
Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his.
To him belongs the sea, for he made it
and the dry land shaped by his hands.
Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Gospel Acclamation | Mt24:42,44 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk21:36 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 21:34-36 © |
That day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’
MARANATHA, COME LORD JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 22:1-7; LUKE 21:34-36]
The reason why people are losing hope in life and falling into despair is because the world has no vision to offer. What vision does the world offer? A good life is defined as having all the luxuries in the world and indulging in all the pleasures of life; sex, drink and food. But a promiscuous life cannot make one happy because one has no real love in life. Eating and drinking excessively will cause a person to fall sick and acquire all kinds of illnesses. In truth, beyond the pleasures of life the world has nothing much to offer. Power, fame and glory we know cannot make a person happy. One has no peace, always worrying about one’s popularity and one’s many competitors. There is no privacy and no security because he or she is wanted by the paparazzi, the robbers, the kidnappers and one’s enemies. This explains why the world is falling into despair. This life on earth is not that great and what is more, after working so hard, accumulating wealth and power, we will have to leave them behind, sometimes unexpectedly.
But Christianity offers the world a vision and a hope beyond this life. St John gives us a vision of eternal life with God in heaven. After showing us the exterior of the heavenly Jerusalem, John brings us to the interior. The angel showed him, “the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear down the middle of the city street.” The river of life reminds us of what the Prophet Ezekiel prophesied about the new temple. (cf Ezk 47) This river of life also reminds us of the Samaritan woman who was seeking living water. (cf Jn 4) Living water is a symbol of life.
Of course, the river of life reminds us of the Holy Spirit which is the One who gives life to our bodies. “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Rom 8:10f) And we are told that whereas in Ezekiel, wherever the water flows, the trees will bear fruit for food and leaves for healing (Ezk 47:12), John says, it is a cure for the pagans. “On either side of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.” In other words, it brings about the conversion of souls for Christ. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the One who enlightens our minds and touches our hearts. We are also reminded that those who live in the life of the Spirit will bear fruit in plenty. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22f; cf Jn 15:1-8). In the New Jerusalem, there will be peace, love and unity because everyone will be living by the Holy Spirit.
St John also speaks about the restoration of paradise. He brings us back to the paradise at the very beginning of creation when “Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gn 2:9) But to test Adam and Eve’s fidelity and obedience to Him, He gave them the choice of free will. The Lord said, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” (Gn 2:16f) Adam and Eve however were tempted by the Devil, and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and so were unable to take the fruits from the tree of life. Only in Christ and through His death and resurrection, purified of our sins, can we once again partake of the fruits from the tree of life. In a significant manner, Christ who died on a tree took away all the curses imposed on humanity and overwrote the curses in the Law. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” – in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Gal 3:13f; cf Acts 5:30; Dt 21:23)
In a restored paradise, there will be full union with God which is commonly called the Beatific vision when we see God face to face. In the Old Testament, we are told that if we see God face to face we will die. This is because we are people of unclean lips. (Isa 6:5; cf Gn 3:32:30; Dt 5:24; Jdg 6:22f) But this “ban will be lifted” because in Christ we are purified. “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in the city; his servants will worship him, they will see him face to face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” This was what St John wrote earlier on when he said, Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:2f) Seeing God is what will ultimately fulfil a man. This is what St Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.” Indeed, man’s heart is hungering for fullness of love and his intellect for fullness of knowledge. When we see God face to face, St John says, “It will never be night again and they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them.”
In the light of such a great vision for us, what must we do to arrive at the New Jerusalem? Again, St John wrote, “All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God who gives the spirit to the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his servants what is soon to take place. Very soon now, I shall be with you again.’ Happy are those who treasure the prophetic message of this book.” We are called to take the message seriously. Like the Christians, we must also with eagerness pray, “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus!” This was the cry of the early Church and therefore should be the cry of every Christian who is convinced that this is the fullness of life that is awaiting them when they die and enter into the bosom of our heavenly Father. It is this great expectation that gives Christians a solid hope in not just life after death but fullness of life and love with God and with the community of the saved.
Until then, the Lord exhorts us, “Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life.” We need to stay alert and watchful, for as St Peter says, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.” (1 Pt 5:8f) We do not know when the Lord will come or when we will be brought to the Lord for judgment at death because as the Lord says, “that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth.” This is why we must be prepared at all times, keeping ourselves focused on the Lord and our final victory which is to enter heaven and reign with God forever as St John wrote, “They will reign for ever and ever.”
The only way to be watchful, especially when we are living in a world of moral relativism, when truth is no longer clear, when we cannot distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, all the more, we must as the Lord warns us, “Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.” This was what the Lord did in His own life. He was waiting for His final battle with the Evil One at Jerusalem. It is unfortunate that the last two verses of this chapter were omitted from our liturgy. It reads, “Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.” (Lk 21:37f) We must follow the example of Christ who would spend the night in prayer conversing with His Father and then preach His word to the people who made the sacrifice to gather at the Temple every morning to listen to His Word. Such should be the way if we want to stay strong in our faith.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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