20241129 BUILDING A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH
First reading |
Apocalypse 20:1-4,11-21:2 |
The book of life was opened, and the dead were judged
I, John, saw an angel come down from heaven with the key of the Abyss in his hand and an enormous chain. He overpowered the dragon, that primeval serpent which is the devil and Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and shut the entrance and sealed it over him, to make sure he would not deceive the nations again until the thousand years had passed. At the end of that time he must be released, but only for a short while.
Then I saw some thrones, and I saw those who are given the power to be judges take their seats on them. I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God’s word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not have the brand-mark on their foreheads or hands; they came to life, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the book of life was opened, and other books opened which were the record of what they had done in their lives, by which the dead were judged.
The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 83(84):3-6,8 |
Here God lives among men.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
Here God lives among men.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
Here God lives among men.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you:
they walk with ever-growing strength.
Here God lives among men.
Gospel Acclamation | Lk21:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 21:29-33 |
My words will never pass away
Jesus told his disciples a parable: ‘Think of the fig tree and indeed every tree. As soon as you see them bud, you know that summer is now near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’
29 November 2024, Friday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time
BUILDING A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 20:1-4,11-21:2; LUKE 21:29-33 ]
What is the ultimate goal of the gospel? It is to bring about a new heaven and a new earth. But what is this new heaven and new earth like? Certainly, it is not a simple continuity with the old heaven and the old earth. It would be something new and radically different even though there is a certain continuity. In fact, creation and humanity will be so transfigured. There will be a great discontinuity than a continuity. This is a recast of the prophecy of Isaiah, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.” (Isa 65:17f)
It would be something so beautiful and pure. St John wrote, “I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband.” It is a beautiful scene of romance and love as in a wedding ceremony. In other words, in heaven, there will be the purity of love between God who is our bridegroom and we His bride. There will be union of joy and love. This is just the contrast of the city of Babylon that was personified as a woman and a prostitute. But the bride of God is pure and holy.
But before all these take place, evil has to be destroyed and overcome. St John wrote, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea.” In the new heaven and new earth, there would not be any sea because in Biblical time, the sea had always been seen as a place of darkness, turmoil and storms, inhabited by evil monsters who sought to destroy humanity. This was why in those days, men always feared the sea because it was unfathomable.
The evil people who had died before the final judgment and whose names were not found in the Book of Life would be cast into the burning lake. St John wrote, “The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake.” They will suffer eternal death, which we call hell. In other words, those monsters that devoured many at sea would in the end themselves be destroyed. Even Satan would be thrown down into the Abyss. Those who are not in the Book of Life will be condemned to the lake of fire with the Devil, their master, but for those whose names are in the Book of Life, death is for ever defeated.
As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the Church wants us to meditate on this ultimate destiny of humanity. What will give us fulfilment is that at the end of our life, we are with God for eternity. St Paul was motivated by this thought of being with the Lord and that gave him the impetus to work for the spread of the gospel. “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:6-8) This ultimate dream should therefore also drive us to prepare ourselves for the New heaven and the New earth.
In the meantime, we too are called to build a new heaven and a new earth. This new heaven and new earth must already be something of a reality in our lives, beginning in our homes, community, organization and our offices. Are you seeking to make your home and community a place where friendship, fraternity, support and encouragement of each other a reality? If we cannot make our little communities truly a place of fraternity, how are we to build fraternity in society and our place of work? If it is not possible to build a fraternity with just a small group of people, trying to build a community of diverse ages, temperaments, gifts, cultures, education and languages would be even more challenging. This is why it is important to take stock of our vision as we come to the end of the liturgical year. The vision we have of the future must begin where we are already. Otherwise, it would be a mere figment of our imagination.
But more importantly, we are to work together to overcome evil in society. Whilst preparing ourselves and our people for the new heaven and new earth, we need to be aware of the evil forces in the world today. We need to be clear of the gospel values and what the Lord demands of us as His disciples. Our task is to lead the way in overcoming evil in our own lives so that we can show the way to the world who does not know Christ and the gospel. We must seek to grow in holiness, in purity of heart, in humility, in generosity and in compassion and forgiveness. Striving for holiness is a necessary goal in spiritual formation.
For this reason, we must always be on the alert. Jesus told His disciples, “Think of the fig tree and indeed every tree. As soon as you see them bud, you know that summer is now near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near.” We must be alert to what is happening in the world. It is important to be in touch with the lives of our people, hearing stories of their struggles, their confusion, their hopes, their joys and their dreams. Unless we connect with them, we will not be challenged with real life situations and find an appropriate response to these issues.
Indeed, we need to keep watch. We must never think that life is stable as before. The Church has become a more complex reality. Being a Christian is more challenging now than before. In those days, they contended with poverty and hardship. But today, our challenges are different. The Church used to be solid in our doctrines and united in leadership, in morality and in worship. But things have changed because of the influence of secularism, individualism, materialism and an exaggerated notion of freedom of human rights. Sometimes, we are confused even by the Church as to where we stand in the world today. Still, in the midst of these struggles, we must never give up on the Church and on the promise of Christ to be with His Church until the end of time. We live in a permanent state of hope and expectation that this world would be a better place. We must have dreams and be people of hope ourselves. We must believe that the New heaven and New earth is a possible reality. If we ourselves have lost hope, what can we offer to the world and our people, except despair and doom? So let us keep our vision of the New heaven and New earth alive.
Finally, we must hang on to the Word of God as the Lord exhorts us. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” It is to the Word of God that we will find direction, inspiration and courage. This is why, we must never forget to read and contemplate on the Word of God every day. The day we stop reading the Word of God, is the day when we will stop listening to the Lord, and we will be misled by the arguments of the world. A deep faith in the Word of God and reading it as it really is – God’s words and not some human thinking – is necessary; otherwise we will twist and turn His Word to suit our human thinking and preferences, which is what some supposedly intelligent theologians and pastors are doing. We must remember the words of St Paul to Timothy, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16f) To the Thessalonians, he commended them for their faith when he wrote, “We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.” (1 Th 2:13) Clinging to God’s words, reading with a heart of docility and faith, will help us to find strength in the midst of challenges, and hope in a world that is so polarized, confused, divided and fragmented. May the Lord help us to be united in faith.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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