20241128 COLLAPSE OF WORLD POWERS AND DESTRUCTION OF THE PLANET
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.
Cry out to the Lord, all the earth.
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.’
28 November 2024, Thursday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time
COLLAPSE OF WORLD POWERS AND DESTRUCTION OF THE PLANET
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 18:1-2,21-23,19:1-3,9; LUKE 21:20-28]
When we look at the world today, we are bewildered as to where the world is taking humanity. Everything that for thousands of years seemed to be everlasting appears to be breaking down. The family is breaking apart – young people are not getting married, and even if they do, they easily divorce, and they do not want to be burdened with children. Who wants to have children and be enslaved to them when one can instead enjoy the freedom to travel and just look after one’s own interests. Today, some are confused over their gender, and making a distinction between gender and biological sex. The world offers sex-change and biological reconstruction to those who want to change their gender. Others are clamouring for same-sex union. We have forgotten not just our divine identity but our humanity as well. We are confused over our sexual identity.
Abortion and euthanasia are considered personal rights because one must have absolute freedom over one’s body. Life is no longer sacred. The emphasis on personal rights also lead to other things as well. One has a right to pornography, alcohol, drugs, and how to live one’s life. Personal rights also extend to free speech, to say whatever one wants to say, even if it is untrue and causes harm to others and the larger community. There is no consideration of the common good. Individual rights are valued above all others, as if such rights are absolute.
It is the worship of self! This is precisely the sin of Rome, the new Babylon. There, the people lived sensual lives, practised idolatry and worship of the Emperor. The Christians were persecuted. Yes, we read that Babylon “has become the haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit and dirty, loathsome bird.” This worship of self – promiscuity, pleasure, and sin – is displayed in a new way in our times. It is seen also in the worship of self, making ourselves the norm of truth and judgment for everything in life. In humanism and moral relativism, man is the highest judge of truth and goodness. We are not subjected to anyone higher than us. There is no such thing as God or another superior being in charge of us. We decide our own future. We will disappear like the rest of creation when we die. There is no soul or immortal life. So we only live for this world and enjoy as much as we can in this world.
But there will be judgment, now and at the end of time. This is the warning of the Word of God. In the first reading, St John had a vision of the collapse of Babylon. “Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen. 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; the famous prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication.” Indeed, all the artistes and promoters of promiscuity, craftsmen and traders of idolatry and the evil leaders in the world that have misled and overpowered the rest of humanity would be destroyed. So it might seem that evil and its agents have power over the rest of humanity and the world, but in truth they will have to face ultimate judgment and their powers would be destroyed eventually.
Indeed, this is our faith – 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.’ 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.'” God will be faithful to His servants and those who are in union with Him. They will be united with Him in heaven.
How do we know for certain that evil and sinful people would be destroyed? Sin and evil always bring death. This is what St Paul tells us in Romans, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23) And in Galatians, St Paul warned us, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” (Gal 6:7f) St Paul also made it clear, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21)
However, we do not have to wait till the full force of evil has been unleashed in the world to recognize the implications. Jesus in the gospel warned us that the signs are already taking place. It is a question of whether we are attentive to the signs and take them seriously. What are these signs that are comparable to those signs mentioned by our Lord in the gospel?
Firstly, Jesus warned, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realize 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. 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.” If we are not cognizant of the fate of the Church, then we should seriously think of where our Church is headed. Today, we are living in challenging times because the Church of the West is being challenged by secularism, a false sense of autonomy, liberal ideas and values that have caused not just humanity but even Christians to lose the gospel values of truth, love, the sacredness of life and fidelity in marriage. Even the Church is so divided today, infiltrated by extreme left ideologies with respect to marriage, sexuality, and responsible freedom. A large segment of the Church has also imbibed the liberal values of the West. Like Israel, the Church is undergoing tremendous difficulties, challenged from within and without. Will the Church’s influence in the world diminish and her numbers be reduced to a mere group of remnants seeking to be faithful to the teaching of the gospel?
Secondly, Jesus provides us the signs of climate change and war. Again, we see this happening in our times. Not only is there moral disorder but also climatic changes because of man’s selfishness leading to abuse of nature. We see how man, who seeks only to satisfy his greed and selfish gains and convenience, has brought about the destruction of nature, unleashing the effects seen in storms, typhoons, hurricanes, extreme heat and cold, and drought. Such is the impact of what we are seeing in the world today. Also, modern technology and the pursuit of power and technological advancement, have led to selfish ambitions of some nations seeking world dominance over others, fearing for their safety. Such progress in science and technology has also led to economic and military competition and greater insecurity. Wars are being fought today using technology to destroy their enemies. We are not very far from a nuclear war if we do not handle this fragile situation carefully.
What is needed, therefore, is for us to stand firm in our faith. The Lord said, “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.” Let us not be cowed into submission by the world. We must remain faithful to the Word of God and the gospel entrusted to the Church. Even when marginalized and persecuted, we must be ready to suffer for the truth and the gospel alongside those Christians and missionaries who were martyred for their faith. To align ourselves with the world would not be in our best interest. If we have to suffer with the world eventually, it is better to suffer for truth and for love. With the psalmist, we “Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy. Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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