Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings

by Derek Reeve

Sunday, November 13^th, Thirty Third Sunday in Year Three

Readings: Malachi 3/19-20  :  Paul’s second Letter to the Thessalonians 3/7-12  :  Luke 21/5-19

In today’s Gospel reading Luke presents Jesus as the true prophet who not only spoke in God’s name but foretold the future. The scene is set in Herod the Great’s major building project, the magnificent Jerusalem Temple. While his disciples are looking around in wonder at the magnificence of the building, Jesus foretells its total destruction. Luke’s readers will know, of course, that these words have come true. The Temple was utterly destroyed by the Romans in the year 70.

Given the fact that Luke’s readers would have recognised the authenticity of Jesus’ prophecy about the Temple, they would be all the more ready to accept what he went on to say about the things that will precede the End.

What is striking is the way in which Luke presents Jesus’ prophecies concerning the way in which his disciples would suffer. This is the theme that Luke will pursue in his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus says that his followers would be put to the test, but he assures them that his Spirit would be with them so that they would not need even to prepare what they would say when the time came. He tells them that the Spirit will give them an eloquence and wisdom so that no-one would be able to contradict them.

Finally, Jesus assures his followers that not a hair of their head would be lost. This would seem to contradict what he has said before until it is realised that Jesus is speaking of their overcoming all these trials and so gaining fullness of life.

The prophet Malachi prepares the way for Jesus’ words. He foretells the End when the wicked will be destroyed. For those who are faithful and who ‘fear God’s name’, ‘the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays’.

The prophet’s words prepare for those of Jesus, that his followers have no need to fear whatever trials may come their way.

Today the last extract from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonian Christians is read. Whether it was Paul himself or someone writing under his name at a later date, they are speaking of the End times.

It would seem that there were those who, because they expected the End to be imminent, had given up working and were taking advantage of the situation to lead an easy life and do nothing. Paul himself or the writer reminds them how Paul had always earned his living rather than being a burden on the community, and he re-iterates the order he had already given that those who do no work should get no food! He orders the Thessalonian Christians to go on working quietly and earning the food that they eat.

All the readings today are concerned with the End. Both Paul and Jesus say that Christians should live as if the End were today and so be ready to meet the Lord whenever and however he may come. This is sound advice for us today. We ought to live each day as if it were our last, not in fear and trembling, but rather living life to the full in love for others. This is the way to fulfilment, and it means that we will be ready to meet the Lord, whether he come in death or at the End. There is a delightful story about the young Aloysius, disciple of Ignatius and Jesuit novice. While playing chess he was asked one day by another novice what he would do if he knew that death was imminent. His simple reply apparently was that he would continue his game of chess. He was able to say this because he was trying to live each and every day in love as if it were his last, and so he had nothing to fear whatever he might be doing.

The other message that we might take from today’s readings is that we ought not to be afraid to speak of our faith and our convictions. This doesn’t give us permission to expound on any subject, whether we have knowledge of it or not. It means that we should speak with sincerity and simplicity about those things that make sense of our lives. We may not know all the answers and that is true of everyone, even the Pope. The truly wise person is the one who is honest enough to say ‘I don’t know’ when asked about some detail of faith about which they don’t have an explanation. People are much more impressed by this honesty than they are by the trotting out of ready-made answers which we may have learnt by rote but which we don’t fully understand ourselves and which are not truly our own.

Jesus assures his disciples that his Spirit will be with them and that is why we ought not to be afraid, so long as we are truly open to his Spirit. It is always important to be ready to engage in dialogue so that we learn from others, and they from us.

Today is also Remembrance Sunday when all who have died in the many wars of the last two centuries are commemorated. We commend them into God’s loving care, and we remember too, all who have lost loved ones in warfare. Above all, today ought to be a day when we pray for an end to all warfare, and when we pray too that peaceful solutions may be found to solve the world’s problems.

Monday, November 14^th, Monday in Week Thirty Two in Year Two

Readings: Apocalypse 1/1-4, 2/1-5  :  Luke 18/35-43

During these last two weeks before Advent the first reading at Mass is taken from the Apocalypse also known as ‘The Revelation to John’. Although this book is placed at the end of the Bible, it was not the last book of the Bible to be composed. The Greek title of the book, ‘The Apocalypse’ means ‘the unveiling’ and though Revelation is the title with which most English-speaking Christians are familiar. Apocalypse has the advantage of catching the esoteric nature of the work.

This book is widely popular but for a number of different reasons. A great number of people read it as a guide to how the world will come to an end, assuming that the writer had some special information from God about this. However, this was not the intention of the author, and it has led to many extraordinary and dangerous interpretations of the text. Most believing Christians agree now that the author had no knowledge of the future beyond an absolute conviction that God would finally defeat the powers of evil.

The Apocalypse was probably written between the years 92 and 96 at the end of the reign of the Emperor Domitian. It was addressed, it would seem, to the Christian communities of the western part of Asia Minor. The author was a Jewish Christian writer named John who was either John, the son of Zebedee or the writer of the Gospel and Epistles of John. Some Scripture scholars believe that the writer may have included visions and passages that were already current among Christians, but the work seems to be that of only one author.

In today’s reading, which begins the book, the writer tells his readers that it is a revelation given by Christ to explain the meaning of the times in which he was writing and how God’s people will soon be delivered.

Sadly, the reading skips over a large section of chapter 1 which is worth reading. In the verses that are omitted, the writer explains that he is on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, some sixty-five miles south-west of Ephesus. The location may have affected some of the imagery that the writer employs. He explains that he is on Patmos ‘because of the Word of God’, which would seem to indicate that either he is imprisoned or has been exiled to this small island which was used in this way. This would explain the whole atmosphere of persecution which pervades the book.

The vision occurs on the Lord’s Day, that is Sunday, which may account for the echoes of Christian worship that are found in the book, since the author may have had in mind what would have been taking place in all the Christian communities on that day.

The way in which the seven letters to the churches are introduced would seem to suggest that they are meant to be read publicly in the course of each church’s meeting for worship. The introduction might even indicate that the seven messages were meant to be read as a whole.

In the first message to the church in Ephesus, the vision of Christ is rich with symbolism. The seven stars are symbolic of regal and imperial power and the imagery derives from the book of Daniel in the Hebrew Scriptures, where God is referred to as the ’Ancient of Days’. The seven candlesticks refer to the great lampstand in the Jerusalem Temple where God was seen in glory by the prophet Isaiah.

In this Letter to the church in Ephesus the writer congratulates the church on how its members have suffered and how they have resisted the false teaching that has been brought to them by other preachers. He congratulates them for their patient endurance, but he reproaches them that their love has become less than it had been. He encourages them to repent and to return to being as they had been.

The message is just as real for us as it was for the Ephesian church. It is easy to become complacent and to just jog along in our following of Christ. We lose our first fervour and so the reading invites us to turn again to Christ and to commit ourselves to him once again with renewed love. That love is shown, of course, not in prayers and in words but, above all, in the love we have for others.

In the Gospel reading today Jesus is continuing his journey up to Jerusalem. Luke has shown us the rich man who was unable to enter the Kingdom because of his continuing attachment to his worldly wealth. Today it is the blind beggar who has no possessions at all and who is helpless, who shouts out to Jesus as he passes by.  Some of the crowd scold him and tell him not to bother the prophet, but he insists. Jesus notices him as he noticed the tax-collector Zacchaeus, and he tells those around the man to bring him to him. When Jesus asks the man what he wants his reply is simple and heartbreaking. In the old translation it was ‘Lord, that I may see’ and Jesus tells him that his faith has given him sight. The man follows Jesus praising God for what has happened.

This, like so many others in Luke’s Gospel, is a beautiful story. We can immediately apply it to ourselves. How blind we are and how often we fail to see things as they truly are! How often we allow others to blind us to what is painfully obvious! Like the poor beggar we must be beggars, asking only to see aright as the Lord sees and not as the world sees. We might well make our own the prayer of the poor beggar, ‘Lord, that I may see!’

Tuesday, November 15^th, Commemoration of Albert the Great, theologian (1200-1280)

Albert was the son of a noble Swabian family but when he was 23 years old and against his parents’ wishes, he joined the Dominican friars. Albert was a very successful scholar and taught in Hildesheim, Ratisbon and Cologne where Thomas Aquinas was his student. He became Master of the Paris House of Studies and organised the Dominican House of Studies in Cologne in 1248. From 1254-1257 Albert was the Provincial of the Dominicans in Germany and in 1260 he was named a bishop of Ratisbon. However, he was no administrator and resigned from his diocese to return to preaching and writing. Albert was prominent at the Council of Lyons in 1274 and at Paris in 1277 where he staunchly defended the work of his student, Thomas Aquinas.

Like Thomas Aquinas after him, Albert based much of his thinking on the philosophy of Aristotle in his presentation of Christian theology Aristotle had, of course, been introduced into Europe through Muslim scholars. Albert was also interested in all aspects of science, and he produced no less than thirty-eight volumes including some on astronomy, physiology, chemistry and geography. The main Albert’s work though was his Summa Theologiae.

Albert died in 1280 and because of the breadth of his interests and his writings he became known as the ‘Universal Doctor’ or teacher. He was beatified in 1622 but not canonised until 1831 by Pius XI, when he was declared patron of students of the natural sciences.

Today we pray for all scientists and researchers that they use their gifts wisely, humanely and for the benefit of others.

Readings: Apocalypse 3/1-6, 14-22  :  Luke 19/1-10

The writer of the Book of Revelation included letters to the seven churches in his first chapters and yesterday that to the church in Ephesus was read. Today the letters to the churches of Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira are passed over and those to the churches of Sardis and Laodicea are read.

The writer has nothing good to say about the church in Sardis, and he rebukes its members for their complacency. The warning about coming like a thief in the night maybe, in some way, related to the fact that Sardis had been captured twice by surprise attacks.

This warning is always relevant, especially for us today. Complacency is something of which we may be guilty. Our church is in dire straits, and we very often show little concern except to complain. We cannot leave it to our bishops to solve all the problems. We are the Church and it is also our responsibility to do all that we can to make our communities true communities of love and friendship that are welcoming and will attract others. Of course, what has been said about the Church is also true about society and the world in general. Though we may feel powerless, we are not and every little effort to make our world a better place counts. Am I doing all that I can?

The church in Laodicea is also rebuked for its complacency. The writer speaks of it being spat out of the Lord’s mouth because it is neither hot nor cold. This may be an allusion to the hot spring baths at nearby Hierapolis and the cold drinking water of Colossae since it is neither one nor the other. We must ask ourselves whether our Christian life is lukewarm and is the life of our community lukewarm?

The church in Laodicea is urged to repent and not to deceive itself. Only the Lord can renew us, enrich us and clothe us once again with the garments of salvation. We pray that he may open our eyes so that we may see clearly and not be deceived by the world around us.

The final lines call to mind the famous painting by Holman Hunt where Jesus stands outside the door and knocks. As the picture depicts, there is no handle on the outside of the door, and it can only be opened from the inside. So it is for each of us and for the Church itself. We must open the door to the Lord and to his Spirit. He wants to come in to our lives and renew us, and he uses the image of a meal which he wishes to share with us. It is a meal that is at the very heart of renewal for the Church and that meal is, of course, the Eucharist. It is the meal to which all are invited, which we share together and in which the Lord strengthens us for the life to which he calls us.

The Eucharist as we celebrate it today is a very poor image of that meal to which Jesus calls us, and some people are even told that they are not welcome to share in it. In the measure that the Eucharist becomes a true meal in which all share, in which we offer ourselves with Christ to God, and in which he gives himself to us to nourish and strengthen us, in that same measure the Church will surely grow and become more what it is meant to be, the Body of Christ in the world. Is this what the Spirit is saying to the Church today?

The Gospel reading is the one which we heard some Sundays ago. It tells us how Jesus not only asks to come to the house of Zacchaeus but invites himself to supper. This is again an image of the Eucharist where Jesus invites us to a common table which we share though we are all sinners. Jesus’ presence among us invites us to do what Zacchaeus did and to change our whole way of life. He gives himself to us and invites us to give ourselves to one another and to all who come our way. As the writer of the Apocalypse makes Jesus say: ’Look, I am at the door knocking’. Will we let him in to transform our whole way of life?

There are special readings for Albert but almost certainly those of the day will be used. Those for Albert are: Ecclesiasticus 15/1-6, which speaks of the Wisdom of God, which is given to those who ‘fear the Lord’ as did Albert.

Matthew 13/47-52, in which Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven and the scribe who ‘brings out from his storeroom things both new and old’, as did Albert in his vast search for knowledge.

Wednesday, November 16^th, Solemnity of Edmund of Abingdon, patron of Portsmouth diocese

Today is a great feast in the diocese of Portsmouth because Edmund, who was born in 1170 in Abingdon, within the present diocese of Portsmouth, is, together with the mother of God, patron of the diocese.

Edmund, whose family name was Rich, was born into a family of merchants but became a student both at Oxford and Paris. At Oxford, he became professor of Philosophy, and then he taught at the cathedral school in Salisbury where he became the Treasurer of the Cathedral.

In spite of being attracted to the monastic life, Edmund was made archbishop of Canterbury in 1233, and he became a notable reforming bishop. Edmund led a disciplined life, and his passion for justice led him into frequent disputes with the King. One of these disputes resulted in Edmund’s journeying to Rome to appeal against the King and to seek the Pope’s support in his struggle. It was on this journey that Edmund became ill, and he died at Soissy in France on this day in 1240. He was buried in the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny nearby, and his remains are still there above the main Altar.

Edmund, besides being a vigorous and reforming bishop was also known as a peacemaker. He was a distinguished commentator on the Scriptures and an effective spiritual writer. His goodness was so well known that he was canonised in 1246, only six years after his death and his shrine at Pontigny became a place of pilgrimage. Although this is no longer the case, Edmund is still venerated at Pontigny and in the surrounding district where he is known as Edme. Devotion in England spread throughout the country but was centred on Abingdon his birthplace and at Catesby in Northamptonshire where two of his sisters were nuns. Being the first Oxford Master to be canonised, Edmund is remembered by Saint Edmund Hall, which still exists in the university.

We pray today for the diocese of Portsmouth, its people and all those called to serve them with the bishop. We pray too for Edmund’s successor at Canterbury, Justin Welby, and for greater understanding and cooperation between the Anglican Communion and our church.

Readings: Jeremiah 1/4-9  :  Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians 3/1-6  :  John 21/15-17

The readings are special for the feast and are all about Edmund’s life and ministry. The first from the prophet Jeremiah speaks of the prophet’s special calling by God, something that Edmund also felt. It speaks too of his courage in speaking out in the face of the opposition that Edmund found even from within the Church but especially from the King. In spite of own inadequacy, the prophet assures us that the Lord will also be with us and will put words into our mouths when the time comes, and we also should speak out for what is right and good.

The reading from the Letter to the Corinthians is a reminder of Edmund’s love for his people whose well-being was his great concern.

The Gospel reading is the famous dialogue between Jesus and Peter where the Lord asks Peter if he loves him. Edmund’s devotion to Jesus was very obvious, and he lived it out in the service he gave to the people with whom he had been entrusted.

We pray for those who have the care of the diocese of Portsmouth and throughout the Church. We pray that they may have, as Pope Francis has put it, ‘the smell of the sheep’ about them or, in other words be truly close to their people so that they understand what it is that makes up their lives, their joys and their sorrows.

For those outside the diocese of Portsmouth today is only a Commemoration and so the readings will, almost certainly be those of the day, which will be commented on tomorrow.

Thursday, November 17^th, Commemoration of Hilda, Hugh of Lincoln and Elizabeth

Only in England is Hilda of Whitby (614-680) commemorated today. Hilda was born in Northumbria in 614, and she was related to the royal families of both Northumbria and East Anglia. She was baptised by Paulinus who was the first bishop of York, but she continued to live the life of a woman of her station until the age of thirty-three when she planned to join her sister who was a nun at Chelles in France. However, Paulinus called her back to become, eventually, the abbess of the monastery at Hartlepool. In 657, she founded or re-founded the double monastery at Whitby, which became famous for its learning, scholarship and its encouragement of the arts. Whitby produced no less than five bishops, and it was Hilda who supported the Anglo-Saxon cowherd Caedmon to become the first poet to write in the Anglo-Saxon language. The famous Synod of Whitby was held at Hilda’s monastery in the years 663 to 634.

Renowned for her wisdom Hilda was consulted by kings and bishops alike. Though brought up in the Celtic traditions, she accepted the decision of the Synod of Whitby that the Church in England should follow Roman customs. Hilda is remembered for her patronage of learning and the arts and for her leadership of the English Church in its formative period.

We pray today for the Church in this country and for a greater understanding of the place of women within the Church.

Today in England another English saint, Hugh of Lincoln (c.1140-1200) is also commemorated Hugh was born near Grenoble in France and when he was twenty-five he joined the Carthusian monastery at the Grande Chartreuse. In 1175, he was asked by the King of England, Henry II, to become Prior of the Carthusian house at Witham in Somerset, which Henry had founded in reparation for the murder of Thomas of Canterbury. The house had been failing and had had two unsuitable priors, but under Hugh it began to flourish again. In 1186 Henry chose Hugh to be bishop of Lincoln, but he refused until ordered to accept by the prior of the Grande Chartreuse. Hugh spent the rest of his life working ceaselessly in his diocese, which was the largest in the country. Wisely, he delegated a lot of the pastoral care of the people to others and, although both friend and critic of successive kings, he still worked with his own hands to bring about the extension of his cathedral church.

Hugh gained a great reputation for justice, for his care of the sick and for his support of the oppressed, including the Jewish community for whom he risked his life. Hugh died in London on this day in the year 1200, and he was canonised in 1220. His remains were moved to a shrine in the Angel Choir of his cathedral in 1280 but were lost at the time of the Reformation.

We pray today for the diocese of Lincoln and its bishop and for Carthusian monks and nuns throughout the world, especially at the English monastery of Saint Hugh’s Charterhouse in Sussex.

Finally, today is also the Commemoration of Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) not only in England but throughout the Western Church.

Elizabeth was born in 1207 and betrothed to her future husband, Louis, almost immediately. From the age of four she was raised in the castle of Warburg by Louis’ family, and they did not always treat her with kindness.

By the time Louis and Elizabeth were married, he had become a ruler of three of Germany’s provinces. In spite of their unlikely union, the marriage was a happy one and Louis gave Elizabeth support in all her generosity to the poor and the needy. Besides giving them food and the necessities of life, Elizabeth tried to find work for those who were unemployed, and she respected their dignity.

Louis died in an epidemic and Elizabeth, who had just given birth to their fourth child, was so overcome with grief that the rest of the family who despised her were able to take control and to expel her from the castle.

After providing for her children’s future, she built herself a little hospice where she continued to care for the poor and the sick, even fishing to earn money for them.

Elizabeth died in 1231 at the early age of only twenty-four. Her early death may have been due to the austerity of her life, which was made even worse by her confessor, Conrad of Marburg, whose direction seems almost sadistic.

Elizabeth was canonised in 1235, and her remains are in the church of Saint Elizabeth in Marburg.

Although Elizabeth’s marriage seems to have been a happy one, we pray today for all who are victims as child brides and for an end to this dreadful practice.

Readings: Apocalypse 5/1-10  :  Luke 19/41-44

In the reading which was missed yesterday because of the Solemnity of Edmund of Abingdon (Apocalypse 4/1-11) the writer describes his vision of Heaven with the One who is God sitting on the throne. The whole scene is one of awe and majesty with all the heavenly creatures prostrating themselves in adoration.

We can draw little from this vision except that the description of God and of the heavenly court is an attempt by the writer to put into words that which cannot be described. It is a reminder to us that when we pray, we are in the presence of the mystery of God, the One who is unknowable and beyond all our understanding, the One before whom we can only prostrate ourselves and cry out with the heavenly court ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is and who is to come’.

In today’s reading an angel cries out for someone to open the scroll with the seven seals but no-one seems to be forth coming. The angel reassures the writer who is saddened by this, that the seals will be opened by the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, which are both terms for the Messiah.

The Lamb is then identified with this personage and is seen to have been sacrificed. He is the Messiah who has suffered and triumphed and who carries the seven spirits which God had sent out to the whole world. This episode in the vision ends with the hymn which is sung by the Elders to both God and the Lamb. This places the Lamb on the same level as God and makes him the One who will gather together all humankind, bringing them back to God.

All this language is both difficult and obscure and impossible to visualise, but it is the writer’s way of expressing the reality of Jesus’ return to the Father, bringing with him all those for whom he had died. The whole episode is soaked through with imagery from the great Jerusalem Temple and how that was, as it were, a mirror of the eternal reality of God. Jesus is seen gathering together the whole of humanity and all those in heaven and on earth, and the incense of the prayers of the saints in one great hymn of praise.

In the Gospel reading which was not read yesterday (Luke 19/11-28) Jesus tells a rather confusing parable which is remarkable for the complexity of its construction and the violence of the world it portrays. Jesus tells his disciples first of all that this parable is to counter expectations arising out of his closeness to Jerusalem, that the Kingdom of God was about to appear. In this parable Jesus tells them that he is, indeed, the Messiah, but the full establishment of the Kingdom must await two things, his rejection and death and then the long indefinite period before his triumphant return as the Son of Man to judge the world. The double focus of the parable addresses separately these two developments that have to occur before the full arrival of the Kingdom. This complex story addresses the programme of salvation as Luke sees it to be unfolding.

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus is drawing near to Jerusalem and weeps over it. It is a tragic moment because Jesus realises that the people of the city have refused to recognise their opportunity to welcome the Kingdom of God and so are doomed.

Though Jesus could not have known how the city would come to an end, he could well have seen that it was doomed and had rejected his message which would have brought them peace. By the time Luke was writing his Gospel all this would have happened and, indeed, not one stone of the Temple had been left standing on another since the Romans destroyed it utterly.

Remembering Hugh’s concern for the Jewish people, this dreadful fate of the great temple which brought tears to Jesus’ eyes, ought also to remind us of the situation in that city today. It is even now not a place of peace. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for a greater understanding between Jews and Arabs and between Christians, Muslims and Jews.

There are proper readings for each of today’s commemorations but, almost certainly, those for the day will be used.

Friday, November 18^th, The commemoration of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul in Rome

Again today we celebrate two buildings, but they are very special buildings. After the Emperor Constantine had made the Christian faith the religion of the Empire, great churches were built in Rome and in other cities.

The sites of the martyrdom of both Peter and Paul under the Emperor Nero were of particular importance and great basilicas were built over them. Legend has it that Constantine dug the first twelve baskets of earth for the foundations of Saint Peter’s Basilica, and it was opened and dedicated in the year 324. The basilica in honour of Paul was opened and dedicated in 390. Since then both churches have been rebuilt several times but since they are said to be the places where Peter and Paul laid down their lives and where they are particularly honoured, their dedication is celebrated by the whole of the Western Church.

We pray today for all those who visit these great churches and all who serve them. We remember too Pope Francis, the successor of these Apostles and who is struggling to draw the churches of the East and the West closer together, continuing what Pope John Paul II began in seeking to make the position of the Pope of Rome one of service to all the churches and the link of unity between them all.

Readings: Apocalypse 10/8-11  :  Luke 19/45-48

The short extract from the book of Revelation recalls the beginning of the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel with the instruction to the writer to eat the little scroll, which was sweet in the mouth but became bitter in the stomach. The meaning of this would seem to be that the writer has to proclaim the sweetness of the Good News that the faithful are victorious. The bitterness is the bad news of the painful disaster that will come on all the world.

It must always be remembered that the whole purpose of this book is to encourage those who are suffering for their faith. This vision reassures them that they will triumph, and those who are persecuting them will suffer for this. It is important never to try to relate anything that is read in this book to our own times. This was not in the author’s mind and only leads to the most dreadful misunderstandings.

In the short reading from Luke’s Gospel today, the Jewish authorities appear more and more intent on getting rid of Jesus, but they are unable to do so because of his popularity with the people. Luke passes over the episode of the Temple traders and only uses it to lead into the gathering animosity against Jesus among the scribes and the ruling classes. What is striking is that Jesus does not hide away, but boldly continues to teach the people in the Temple, under the noises, as it were, of those who were plotting to get rid of him.

Jesus’ fearless attitude encourages us to proclaim the Gospel of Gods’ love when it is difficult or embarrassing and never to shirk our obligation to stand up for what we believe to be right and true.

There are proper readings for the Commemoration of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul but, almost certainly, those of the day will be used. Those for the Dedication are as follows: Acts of the Apostles 28/1-16, 30-31, in which Paul’s final time in Rome as a prisoner are described while he awaits his inevitable execution. To the very end, Paul continues proclaiming the Gospel.

Matthew 14/22-33, in which we see Peter as a man of doubting faith but who, at the last, proclaims Jesus to be the ‘Son of God’, something to which he bore witness for the rest of his life and for which he died.

Saturday, November 19^th, Saturday in Week Thirty-Three in Year two

Readings: Apocalypse 11/4-12  :  Luke 20/27-40

Today’s reading from the Book of Revelation is an amazingly obscure piece of imagery, and it is surprising that it has been chosen to be read today. It is possible that the imagery used reflects contemporary history. The first four verses of chapter 11, which are not read, deal with the measurements of the sanctuary of God. A distinction is made between the sanctuary which belongs to God and the outer court of the Temple which was given over to non-Jews. While the sanctuary may represent the spiritual Temple or the Christian community, protected against the destruction which is to come, the outer court may represent the earthly Temple destroyed by the Romans in the year 70.

The two prophetic witnesses, the two olive trees and the two lampstands who will preach with prophetic power until they are killed by the beast from the pit may be figures from Jewish history. Possible figures are Moses and Elijah or even Joshua and Zerubbabel (Zachariah 4/1-14) but possibly they are meant to represent contemporary figures, even Peter and Paul who had been martyred in the 60s. They are victorious since they are taken up to heaven in a cloud.

It is difficult to see what relevance this passage may have for us today. It does, however, remind us of the danger of reading into the Apocalypse meanings for our times. It is, for instance, because of the verse which says ‘the people of the world will be glad about it and celebrate the event by giving presents to each other’ that Jehovah’s Witnesses will not observe Christmas and the giving of presents! This illustrates well the danger of trying to apply the Apocalypse to the situation in our world today.

What the Apocalypse tells us very clearly is what it said to the early Christians who were being persecuted. There is an ongoing struggle between good and evil, a struggle which goes on today, but God will, in the end, be victorious and evil will be overcome.

In our prayer we must renew our faith in God who will finally overcome evil and bring about the Kingdom.

The Gospel reading today repeats a rather foolish attempt of the Sadducees to trick Jesus. It was read a few Sundays ago. The Sadducees did not believe in any life after death, and the story is meant to be a catch, but Jesus shows himself to be more clever than they are. In the Jewish Law, a man was bound to marry his deceased brother’s widow if she has had no children by him. The whole story reveals how the questioners thought of a wife as property. ‘Whose would she be?’ they ask. Jesus replies by reminding them that life with God would not be like the life we know here, and there will be no need for children. Relationships will be transformed and all will be children (not ‘sons’) of God. Jesus then quotes the Hebrew Scriptures to them to show that there must be life after death. God was spoken of frequently as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but how could that be true if they were no more (dead)? If they are still living, then so will all those who die.

Jesus gives no real information about what life after death will be like, and the reference to the angels is merely to remind his questioners that those who die will not die again. Angels were part of the normal Jewish way of seeing things, but the Sadducees did not believe in them and so this reference is again to annoy them.

Jesus’ great message is not about life after death but about life here and now. He calls us to love one another and so to build up the reign of God in this present time. But what the future will bring, only God knows. He calls us to live in love and in faith and trust in the God who loves us.