Dealing with destruction

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today contain images of death and destruction that are associated with transition from the old order symbolized by the evil of Babylon and Rome to the new order where we participate in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Transition and choices

In the passage from the Book of Revelation, the Fall of Babylon leads to the Victory Song of the faithful.

* [19:5–10] A victory song follows, sung by the entire church, celebrating the marriage of the Lamb, the union of the Messiah with the community of the elect.

The response to Psalm 100. 1-5 today is (Rev. 19: 9a); “Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”

In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus links the description of the Great Tribulation to the Coming of the Son of Man.

* [21:20–24] The actual destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in A.D. 70 upon which Luke and his community look back provides the assurance that, just as Jesus’ prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction was fulfilled, so too will be his announcement of their final redemption (Lk 21:27–28).
* [21:24] The times of the Gentiles: a period of indeterminate length separating the destruction of Jerusalem from the cosmic signs accompanying the coming of the Son of Man.

Joe Zaboroski comments that Jesus is using a style that emphasizes the apocryphal for effect. As part of this Christ warns us of behaviors, which are mentioned right before this passage, which can lead to a bad outcome. If we stand steadfast in our faithfulness to Christ and his teaching we will be rewarded in another way that is seen clearly in today’s Psalm reading.

“Blessed are we who have been called to the supper of the lamb.” So my hope is that I have and will continue to serve the Lord.  We can then rejoice in knowing “we are his people” and “we can enter His gate with thanksgiving.” So the readings are nothing to lament but to rejoice in knowing “we are called to the feast.”

Josephus, describes that over a million inhabitants died when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem with its temple in 70 A.D.

Don Schwager quotes Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D. to remind us that the signs have been accomplished.

"The signs given in the Gospel and in prophecy and fulfilled in us show the coming of the Lord... We know that the coming is near by the fact that we see the fulfillment of certain signs of that coming that have been accomplished... The signs that Christ told them to look for are listed in the Gospel of Saint Luke: 'Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the nations are fulfilled.' This has happened and no one doubts that it has happened... It is plain that there is no country or place in our time that is not harassed or humbled according to the words 'for fear and expectation of what will come on the whole world.' All the signs that the gospel describes in the earlier verses have mostly been accomplished." (excerpt from Letter 198)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a tells us that God is inviting us to a wedding—the “wedding feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

Today’s first reading tells us that God is inviting us to a wedding—the “wedding feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). This is no ordinary ceremony. Scripture often uses marriage as a metaphor to describe God’s covenant relationship with his people, and the actual feast is seen as a description of the joy and celebration that await us in heaven. This is the biggest invitation you could possibly receive: an eternal celebration with God and all the saints and angels! So how will you respond?

Friar Jude Winkler uses the taunt song at the beginning of the text today from the Book of Revelation to remind us of the power of words to enact what they proclaim in the culture of Israel. We need to choose the life of Babylon or the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Friar Jude notes that the Gospel describes the end in apocalyptic terms that may be literal or figurative. We need to be ready regardless in the face of phenomena occurring or signs.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares some of the communication between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams about the eight pillars of joy.

“God, who is forever pouring out God’s whole being from all eternity, wants you to flourish. God wants you to be filled with joy and excitement and ever longing to be able to find what is so beautiful in God’s creation: the compassion of so many, the caring, the sharing. And God says, Please, my child, help me. Help me to spread love and laughter and joy and compassion. And you know what, my child? As you do this—hey, presto—you discover joy. Joy, which you had not sought, comes as the gift, as almost the reward for this non-self-regarding caring for others.”

We experience tribulation, tragedy and trial on our journey to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Our foretaste of that feast comes as we live with compassion and generosity and experience the joy of relationship with Jesus.

References

(n.d.). Revelation chapter 19 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/19
(n.d.). Luke chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/21:58
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved November 29, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Primary Sources - Josephus Describes The Romans' Sack Of Jerusalem. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/josephussack.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). 34th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/