20221124 VICTORY OVER EVIL AND LIBERATION FOR THE JUST
24 November, 2022, Thursday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Apocalypse 18:1-2,21-23,19:1-3,9 © |
Babylon the Great has fallen
I, John, saw an angel come down from heaven, with great authority given to him; the earth was lit up with his glory. At the top of his voice he shouted, ‘Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, and has become the haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit and dirty, loathsome bird.’ Then a powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone, and as he hurled it into the sea, he said, ‘That is how the great city of Babylon is going to be hurled down, never to be seen again.
Never again in you, Babylon,
will be heard the song of harpists and minstrels,
the music of flute and trumpet;
never again will craftsmen of every skill be found
or the sound of the mill be heard;
never again will shine the light of the lamp,
never again will be heard
the voices of bridegroom and bride.
Your traders were the princes of the earth,
all the nations were under your spell.
After this I seemed to hear the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, ‘Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our God! He judges fairly, he punishes justly, and he has condemned the famous prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication; he has avenged his servants that she killed.’ They sang again, ‘Alleluia! The smoke of her will go up for ever and ever.’ The angel said, ‘Write this: Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb’, and he added, ‘All the things you have written are true messages from God.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 99(100):2-5 © |
Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-feast of the Lamb.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-feast of the Lamb.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-feast of the Lamb.
Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-feast of the Lamb.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-feast of the Lamb.
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: | Lk21:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 21:20-28 © |
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of vengeance when all that scripture says must be fulfilled. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!
‘For great misery will descend on the land and wrath on this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over.
‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’
VICTORY OVER EVIL AND LIBERATION FOR THE JUST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 18:1-2,21-23, 19:1-3,9; LUKE 21:20-28]
For us to appreciate today’s scripture readings, we need to highlight two significant words in the first reading. Firstly, we need to understand the usage of the name, “Babylon”. We must not forget that at the time of John’s writing, Palestine was under the control of the Roman Empire. Obviously, John would be looking for trouble if he were to mention Rome directly or even to speak of them as their enemies. This explains why in the Book of Revelation, he had to employ symbols that were familiar to the Jews but not to others.
The Roman Empire was paralleled to the then merciless and powerful Babylonian Empire. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. They were led into exile in 586 B.C. They lost everything, including their Temple. Babylon too was an evil city, a centre for idol worship. The people lived immoral lives, cheating, engaging in prostitution and sensual living. Just as Babylon was the scourge of Israel, so too was Rome. Babylon therefore was used by John as a symbol of Rome and all the enemies of the early Christians.
The other word that John used to describe the situation during the time of the early Christians was their struggle against “the famous prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication.” This prostitute refers to the seductiveness of the world. Rome, like Babylon, had succumbed to the temptations of the world, power, glory, sex, wealth and materialism. Indeed, those in government, in business and even in religion were seduced by the worldly things of this world and engaged in dishonest and immoral living. Of course, this is still happening in our times when businesses use bribery, sex, food and luxuries to tempt people into buying their products or to cooperate with them.
What happened during the time of John is still relevant in our times. The Babylon of our days is secularism and relativism. When man creates gods, supplanting the place of the Almighty God, this is the beginning of disorder. To think that we are gods and the ultimate in life is a lie. We know that we are contingent beings. We come from somewhere and at the end of time, we will have to die. So to make ourselves the absolute in life, when everything is dependent on what we think and what we like, then, in that sense we have made ourselves gods. The Church today seeks to defend her faith against secularism where God is denied, and relativism when truth and love are confused. Indeed, in relativism, man makes himself the judge of all norms. He is a norm unto himself. He accepts no one’s opinions unless others agree with him.
Secondly, the Church is also facing the “famous prostitute” of the early Christians. It is materialism. When God is removed from society, when man is reduced to an animal, he becomes materialistic. He lives a self-indulgent life, seeking to satisfy his bodily and sensual needs. His life is one of pleasure and enjoyment. He is easily tempted not just by the things of this world and the comforts of life; he is also enticed by indecency, sex, power and glory. Truly, when the soul is denied and the spiritual thirst of the human person is suppressed, it begins to look to the things of this world. Yet, at the same time, no matter how much man tries to satisfy himself from the things of this world, he finds no fulfilment, simply because nothing in his life or any creature can quench his thirst and hunger. St Augustine says, “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our heart can find no rest until it rests in you.” Since we are created in His likeness and image, only God satisfies the desires of every human heart. Those who are spiritually connected with God know that the joys of life are the transcendent things, like love, peace, truth and unity. Only God who is the supreme truth and good can satisfy our hunger.
However, in spite of the dominating trends of the world going in the direction of secularism and relativism, we should not be discouraged. This is the exhortation of our Lord in the gospel. Jesus said to His disciples, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of vengeance when all that scripture says must be fulfilled.” This prophecy of Jesus took place in 70 A.D. when a Roman General put Jerusalem under siege before eventually destroying the city. “They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over.” Thousands died during the siege because of famine and the lack of water. This was all because they did not read the signs of the times. Instead of living peaceably with the Romans, they planned to revolt against Rome.
So too those who are evil will die by their evil actions. What we sow is what we reap. For not living a righteous life, we will die by the very sins we have committed. For cheating, we go to jail. For lying, we cause more division in our families, offices and community. For pampering our body by indulging in food, drink, smoking and drugs, we will suffer from poor health and illnesses causing untold misery and burden to our loved ones who have to look after us. For indulging in free sex, having multiple partners, sleeping around, visiting prostitutes, we punish ourselves by contracting sexual diseases like AIDs. For those cohabitating, their relationships remain forever insecure. For infidelity, we break our families and destroy the future of our children. We are punished by the very sins we commit.
Indeed, this is what John tells us in the first reading, that evil will be overcome eventually. He saw the vision of a powerful angel who “picked up a boulder like a great millstone, and as he hurled it into the sea, he said, ‘That is how the great city of Babylon is going to be hurled down, never to be seen again.'” Those who think so highly of themselves, the mighty and arrogant ones; those without fear and reverence for God and for the Sacred, those who commit all kinds of evil and sin in their lives, judgment is ahead of them. They will see their downfall. For not taking heed of God’s invitation to repent and to attend the Wedding of the Lamb, they will suffer condemnation.
In the final analysis, no matter how bleak the situation is, we know that God will triumph in the end. St John wrote, “After this I seemed to hear the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, ‘Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our God! He judges fairly, he punishes justly, and he has condemned the famous prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication; he has avenged his servants that she killed.'” This victory is not won by men but by the power of God. The justice of God will prevail and the truth of God will expose the enemies of truth, those who promote falsehood and deceive the world.
As for those who are faithful to the Lord, the angel said, “Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” Indeed, all Christians, like the bride of Christ dressed in white, purified by His blood on the cross and His sacrificial death, will be admitted to the Wedding Feast. There we will find true union with God in Christ, abundant joy, love and happiness. As the bride of Christ, we reflect the joy of our Lord in us. Only in heaven is there complete joy, and the delights of God will satisfy all human hearts and desires.
So until then, “when these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.” Let us be strong and not give up easily. The judgment of God will come, even if it is not in our time. We must trust in the power of God and His divine providence. He alone will determine the end of history. So with confidence, in trust and faith, we must live our faith according to the gospel as best as we can with His grace. We leave judgement to God.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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