Wednesday in the 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, November 20, 2024

Revelation 4, 1-11

I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpet-like voice that had spoken to me before, saying, “Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.” At once I was caught up in spirit. A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald. Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal. In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a man, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight. The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming: “Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.”

The second of the seven visions of which the Book of Revelation is composed begins with chapter four and concludes with the first verse of chapter eight, according to the Venerable Bede, who wrote his commentary on the book in the early 700’s.  This vision presents the history of the Church from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the final judgment.  Consolations are given to the faithful through the revelation of various mysteries.  In the first part of the vision St. John sees the heavenly court through “an open door to heaven”.  The “trumpet-like voice” of Christ tells John that he will show him the Church’s future.  “On the throne sat one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.”  This is the Father.  While the Son was described in some detail in chapter one of the book, and the Holy Spirit will be described a few verses after this one, the Father is never described in Revelation accept as “the one who sat upon the throne” and as one “whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.”  No mortal human may look upon the face of God while still bound to earth, and so John does not see it.  But even were he to see it, he would not be able to describe it, for human language fails before the appearance of the infinite God.

“Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.”  The halo signifies the Father’s holiness and his power.  “Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat.”  These are the Church as signified by the twelve Apostles and the twelve Prophets of the Old Testament.  The Church is said to surround God in a semi-circle in order to praise and serve him.  Their white garments signify freedom from the stain of sin; the golden crowns show the Church as accorded honor and a sharing in his authority by Almighty God.  “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder.”  Thus does God speak and make known his will, which the elect can discern but which unbelievers do not recognize: “A voice therefore came from heaven: ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’  The multitude therefore that stood and heard said that it thundered. Others said: An angel spoke to him.”  “Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.”  This is the Holy Spirit, blazing within the semi-circle formed by the Church and before the face of the Father.  “In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal.”  The ancients believed that a crystal sphere surrounded the world, enclosing the atmosphere.  The sun, stars, and planets were thought to be attached to the underside of the sphere.  Above the sphere was heaven.  The floor of heaven, then, is the boundary of earth’s sky.

“In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back.”  These were positioned within the semi-circle but apart from the Father and the Holy Spirit.  These four living creatures also signify the Church.  They are said to be full of eyes because, in ancient times, it was thought that light was emitted by the eye, enabling sight.  The Church is shown to light up the whole of the world with the preaching of the Gospel.  Matthew 5, 14: “You are the light of the world.”  “The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a man, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.”  The Church Fathers understood these as the four Evangelists of the Gospels: Mark, the lion, whose Gospel begins with John the Baptist roaring in the wilderness; Luke, the calf, whose Gospel shows Jesus born in a stable; Matthew, the man, whose Gospel begins with the Lord’s genealogy according to his human nature; and John, the eagle, whose Gospel soars into the heavens.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.”  The Evangelists tell of the glory of God in their Gospels and the whole Church resounds with his praise.  “They throw down their crowns before the throne.”  The Church confesses that all her beauty and authority come from Almighty God and she adores him on his throne.  At least one of the Fathers comments that the throne itself signifies the Church, on which God is enthroned.  “Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.”  Almighty God is worshipped as the Creator As though at the very moment of creation.  During the course of this vision we see the progress of the Church through time until the great persecution in the last days and God’s preservation of his Church.

St. John gives a peek at the glory that shall be ours if we persevere in the Faith, for which we must pray.

 Tuesday in the 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, November 19, 2024

Revelation 3, 1-6; 14-22

I, John, heard the Lord saying to me: “To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this: The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this: “I know your works, that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you. However, you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy.  The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels. Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this: The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: “I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Upon opening the Bible to the Book of Revelation, one is confronted with angels, beasts, tumult, mysterious numbers, cryptic sayings, and strange images all around.  It is also a book so posed of seven separate but overlapping visions of the Church’s history from its beginning until its glorification in heaven.  It cannot be read as a consecutive text, as, say, a modern novel.  For these reasons most people steer clear of the book.  But once we understand the images and the order of the visions, the book gives up its secrets, and we can find it very beautiful and revelatory.

The first vision is comprised of the book’s first three chapters.  In this vision, St. John sees an image of Jesus Christ vested as a priest, full of power, and governing his Church, which is signified by seven golden candlesticks.  He dictates letters to John addressed to seven primary churches in Asia Minor at that time, which signify the Church spread throughout the world.  In the letters the Lord both warns and consoles the churches so that the believers may hold fast to the Faith and come st last into their heavenly inheritance.  In the first of these letters, which was read as the First Reading of yesterday’s Mass, the Lord taught that we must perform acts of love for the sake of Jesus so that we might grow in faith.  Unless we love Jesus, we will cease to believe in him.  Chief among these acts of love is prayer, for we cannot love someone we do not talk to.

“To the angel of the Church in Sardis.”  The word “angel” comes from a Greek word meaning “messenger”.  In the context of the text, this means the bishop of a place, for a bishop is sent by God to bring the Gospel before his people.  “The one who has the seven spirits of God.”  This is the Lord Jesus.  The Holy Spirit — “the seven spirits of God” — proceeds from the Father and the Son.  The “seven stars” is the Church.  “Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”  A dire warning to strengthen one’s faith through good works, especially that of working for the conversion of the world, accomplished through prayer and witness.  “Remember then how you accepted and heard.”  They accepted the Gospel and acted on its commandments.  In both the Greek and the Hebrew, the verb “to hear” also means the verb “to obey”.  The Lord says, “If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief.”  The unrepentant will experience the second coming as a shock because they have not looked for it or put their lives in order for the judgment.  “The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life.”  The one who is victorious over the world, the flesh, and the devil, by the grace of God.  The “white” color of the victor’s robe reveals his freedom from the stain of sin and brilliance in good works.  Being written in “the book of life” signifies the will of God for the salvation of the believer.  “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  The Father sends the Son and the Spirit into the world.  The Son redeems it and the Spirit provides the graces needed to take advantage of the redemption wrought by the Son so that we might be saved.

“The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation.”  The Hebrew word “amen” means “truly” or “indeed”, hence, “the faithful and true witness” of the love of the Father for all his children.  The Son is “the source” of God’s creation for “All things were made through him and without him was made nothing that was made” (John 1, 3).  “I know that you are neither cold nor hot.”  Their faith, love, and zeal have grown weak.  They exercise these things only when it is convenient for them.  “I will spit”.  The Greek has “to vomit forth” or “to spew”, a far more violent rejection than merely “to spit”.  Those who are lukewarm in their faith, love and zeal will be cast out of the elect by Almighty God.  “I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything.”  The complacent, the self-righteous, the “autonomous” individual who does not consider how he is utterly dependent on God for every breath and heartbeat.  “I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire”, that is, to pray for the gifts of faith, love, and zeal.  With these, the believer is able to repent of sin and to fully carry out God’s will.  Otherwise “your shameful nakedness may not be exposed”, that is, their ridiculous arrogance will be revealed.  “And buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.”  This is the grace of knowing ourselves to be utterly in need of God, and of knowing our sins so that we can repentant of them.

“Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.”  The Lord sends us trials of all kinds and severity.  For those who make use of them and persevere in the faith, this will make them stronger.  For those who have neglected their faith, this will destroy them.  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”  The Lord comes to us, knowing that of our own power we cannot go to him.  He offers us grace.  If we receive it, we will become his temples in which he will live, as the Ark of the Covenant was once housed in the Temple in Jerusalem before Israel’s idolatry lost it for them.  “I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.”  The Son of God shares his victory with those who persevere in faith and do the will of the Father, and rewards the just with the highest places in heaven.  “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  That is, anyone can hear his words, but who will listen to them and obey?

 Monday in the 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, November 18, 2024

Luke 18, 35-43

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

“Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”  The blind man cries loudly so that he might be heard.  This is a prayer, a prayer straight from the heart.  There is nothing fancy about it.  It features not rhetoric.  It is not delivered with a flattering tone.  It is a great cry of need from someone who believes. “The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent.”  Why would people do this?  Does his need offend their propriety?  Do they think that Jesus should be shielded from such a sight as this blind man would present?  Or do people speak out of their own need to control?  All of these possible motives are signs of inward blindness as terrible as the outward blindness suffered by this man.

“But he kept calling out all the more.”  Jesus urges his followers to persevere in prayer: “Pray always and do not grow weary” (Luke 18, 1).  We see this too in the persistence of the Syrian woman (cf. Matthew 15, 21-28).  It is a sad spectacle, the blind man crying out to Jesus almost against all hope, and the people who could help him try to silence him.  Perhaps this is our modern secular world which wants its Jesus to be a wise man but without any trace of divinity, such as the power to heal blindness.

“Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him.”  The Lord halts his progress for the sake of the blind man, whose cries he has heard, and orders the people who had tried to silence him to bring him forward.  He makes them useful despite themselves.  He makes them the means by which the blind man can come to him.  Thus does God show his power, using the people who assail us for believing as the means of drawing us nearer to him.  “What do you want me to do for you?”  The Lord asks us this question continuously throughout our days.  He asks it as one who has come to serve and not to be served.  He does not act as a ruler would on this occasion, asking him his name and where he is from, and why he should grant the favor he seeks.  He does not insist on signs of respect or obeisance.  The Lord simply asks the question, calmly and without any fuss.  Now, the Lord knows the man is blind.  This is even apparent to anyone capable of watching him stumble up over people to get to Jesus.  But the Lord wants him to say what he wants.  Does he want food or money? Does he want to see?  Sometimes when we pray we are too shy to ask for what we really want, as though it would be too much for the Lord to do for us, or that we do not really deserve for our prayer to be answered.  But we should ask for the biggest thing a person can want: eternal happiness with him.  And for cures for diseases, jobs, the needs of others, the conversion of family members — all of these too.  

“Lord, please let me see.”  Let us note the simplicity of this prayer, right out of the heart.  We should pray like this: Lord, give me faith.  Lord, make my child well.  Lord, give me justice.  Lord, forgive my sins.  The simplicity is not for the Lord’s benefit, but for ours.  We put ourselves not in the position of a bargainer or someone owed a favor, or of a flatterer at court, but as we truly are, utterly dependent upon him.  “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” And the Lord replies just as simply and directly.  And he does not demand arduous rituals or sacrifices in order to facilitate the healing.  He simply heals.  He is the server who makes a reply to the master.  He adds only, “Your faith has saved you.”  The faith that increased each time he was told to be silent and he shouted anyway.  The faith that grew “the more” in the face of opposition and the temptation of others for him to give up.  This is precisely how faith grows, not so much in favorable times.  For those whose faith is weak, that is, faith that is not fought for, it may be snuffed out altogether by opposition: “For he that has, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that has not, from him shall be taken away that also which he has” (Matthew 13, 12).  In adverse times such as these, when the leaders of the Church and of our society seem to flaunt the law of God with impunity, this is important to remember.

“He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God.”  We hope that when we open our eyes after death the first thing we see is the face of Jesus, and that was the case with this man.  And he is not leaving to celebrate his sight elsewhere.  He is where he needs to be, close to Jesus, giving glory to God.  “When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.”  The people had been walking with Jesus to Jerusalem, but they had not been rejoicing.  The Lord used them to bring him the blind man, and he uses the newly sighted man to bring them to him.  It all works in God’s Providence.

Let us be patient in these days and ask the Lord to increase our faith.  If harder days come, we will be able to withstand them, with the help of God, and even to see our faith continually increase.  In this way we help others, too, or, God helps them through us.  There is a folksy saying that we may be the only Bible another person ever reads.  But we may also be the only Crucifix another person ever sees.

The 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, November 17, 2024 

Mark 13, 24–32

Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

We are now a week away from the First Sunday of Advent, and so the Church directs that the readings for Mass turn to the Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven.  As we prepare to celebrate the time when the Son of God was born on earth, so we at the same time prepare for his Second Coming.  It is necessary for us to begin to prepare spiritually for Christmas before the Season of Advent, which is the proximate preparation for it, begins, if we are to celebrate it well. 

“In those days after that tribulation.”  According to the Fathers and the medieval writers, such as St. Albert, there shall be a short period of rest for the Church after the last and greatest persecution.  We can understand this passage as referring to the events following this peace.  “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  At the beginning of time, as described in Genesis 1, these celestial bodies were created and set in their places.  At the end of time, since they are no longer needed, they will be “taken down” and go into non-existence.  “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”  The people left alive at the end of the world will witness a great scene.  Jesus Christ, victorious over death, will come out of heaven on the clouds for judgment.  The Fathers say that these “clouds” signify the saints and angels, for the Lord will assign some part of the judgment to them, as witnesses of his verdict (cf. Matthew 19, 28).  “Then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”  According to St. Thomas Aquinas and others, certain angels have been chosen to go throughout the earth to reconstitute the bodies of all the dead so that their souls may be infused in them once again.  This will happen in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (cf. 1 Corinthians 15, 52).  They will then be gathered by the angels before the victorious Christ.  Here, the Lord speaks only of the resurrection of the elect, as those to be damned are not worthy of his attention.

“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.”  The Lord wants us to know that there will be an end to the world, and how we can tell it is close.  Farmers watch the natural world very carefully because their crop depends on it.  We must watch the world around us in terms of its history and the signs the Lord has given us, for our salvation depends upon this.  “In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.”  The Lord refers to the sign of the last, terrible persecution, the defection of numbers of Church leaders, and the conversion of the Jews (Romans 11, 25-26).  

“Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.”  That is, this age “will not pass”, for this is the final of the ages of the world.  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  For, as St. John will testify later of what he witnessed in a vision: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone: and the sea is now no more” (Revelation 22, 1).  The just will enter an entirely new creation.  “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  This is an idiom for how unknowable the exact time of the end is for us, for certainly the Son of God, equal in majesty and power with the Father, knows when it will be.  The main facts we need to know are that the end is definitely coming, and that we must be ready in our faith and good works.

 Saturday in the 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, November 16, 2024

Luke 18, 1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’” The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

“Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.”  St. Luke prefaces his record of the Lord’s parable with a comment of his own in which he explains what the Lord’s point is.  St. John also often offers his own comments.  We can compare this with the Gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Mark, who only speak when they are describing the Lord’s actions.  Luke does this here in order to draw a distinction between what Jesus had just said about the end of time, and his teaching on persevering in prayer.  In recounting the Parable of the Good Samaritan and that of the Prodigal Son, Luke shows how they come as responses to challenges issued by the Pharisees.  But here the parable has a different subject from that on which the Lord has spoken just before.

“There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.”  Judges in Israel at the time of Jesus were the sole governing authorities in many towns and cities.  Their decisions and rulings  could not be appealed.  Within their jurisdiction, their rulings were law.  The cases brought before him consisted purely of civil and property matters, for the scribes attended to questions regarding the Mosaic Law.  The judge in the parable feared neither God nor man but ruled according to whim and possibly according to bribes.  “Render a just decision for me against my adversary.”  The Lord’s hearers would have assumed that the widow was seeking protection for her inheritance of her husband’s property.  With no husband to support her, this meant her very survival.

“For a long time the judge was unwilling.”  It seemed a petty matter to him and he would certainly not gain anything for himself by examining the widow’s claims.  “Because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.”  He cares nothing for justice but decides to rule simply for his own sake.  His fear of the widow striking him, as well as her persistence, speaks to her desperation.

“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?”  The Lord teaches that the loving Father will answer the prayers of his elect.  Jesus says, specifically, “secure the rights”.  That is, to grant salvation to the saints.  “His chosen ones who call out to him day and night.”  Those who love God with all their hearts desperately long to stand in his presence and to see him face to face.  “Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.”  That is, to fill those who love him with grace so that they might persevere and come directly to heaven after they complete their lives on earth.

“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  This question goes with the Lord’s words when asked if only a few would be saved: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate: for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter and shall not be able” (Luke 13, 24).  God will indeed answer the prayers of his faithful, but will there be many or few of them?

Almighty God very much desires us to pray for what we need in order to be saved and to assist others in their salvation — far more desirous than we are to ask for this.  Let us ask so that we might receive.

Friday in the 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, November 15, 2024

Luke 17, 26-37

Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man.”  The Lord Jesus tells us plainly that people will live as they always have up until the very end: “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.”  The people of Noah’s time did this in spite of the fact that signs pointed to some imminent catastrophe.  The most important sign was that Noah, the one just man alive, living in a way very distinct from that of his neighbors due to his piety, was building an enormous vessel.  Undoubtedly, people asked him what he was doing.  The Lord, who had commanded the building of the vessel in very specific terms, had not forbidden him from speaking about it, and so we can imagine him explaining that he was preparing for a great storm.  Perhaps some of his neighbors were impressed by the scale of his undertaking, and perhaps some were amused by it.  Critically, what Noah told them made no difference in their behavior.

In the case of Sodom, the inhabitants must have understood the wickedness of their behavior, for it cried to heaven for justice.  As a result of Abraham’s intercession for them with God, who was minded to destroy the city, if ten just men were found within it, it would not be destroyed. However, not even that many just men dwelt in it.  Life in Sodom continued as normal — “they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building” — up to the end.  Their own wickedness was the sign that retribution was coming.

“So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”  If we do not see the signs, it is because we are not looking, or that we are in denial.  We have this very moment to repent of our sins, not any other.  And we must repent st once because when the Lord comes, it will not be a gradual event but a sudden one that will put an irrevocable end to the business we are engaged in: “Someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind.”  Our old life is over at that point.  St. Thomas Aquinas considers the question of the condition of the people who are still alive when the Lord comes again.  He points out that all humans must die, so what about these?  He answers that at the moment the Lord comes, everyone alive at that time will die and then in the next moment he raised up along with all the dead.

The Lord next offers various details about this time which is to come.  He admonishes us to “Remember the wife of Lot.”  One moment she was alive and on her way to safety; the next, she disobeyed the commandment given by the angels, and was no more.  Up until the very last moment of our life we can throw away our salvation with one mortal sin.  “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.”  That is, if we somehow intuit our impending death and try to make a deal with the devil to save ourselves, we will die anyway and be received into hell by the devil.  Faced with the prospect of death, many people act in this way.  “I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.”  It is intriguing that the two men in one bed are said to be “people”, but the two persons grinding meal together are allowed to be “women” by the translator.  In this passage, the Lord emphasizes again the abruptness of his coming and its unexpectedness of the moment.  It is as if to say, Blink, and he is here.  Certain Protestants interpret this line as referring to “the rapture”, an idea that is actually only a little more than a hundred years old, but they are much mistaken.  To believe in “the rapture” one must reject Matthew 24-25 as well as everything else the Lord says about his Second Coming, and what the Church has taught consistently for two thousand years.  

“Where, Lord?”  The disciples want to know where to look for the Lord when he comes.  He does not provide a geographical answer, but a more meaningful one: “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”  In order to understand what the Lord means, we must first translate this verse correctly, for an egregious error occurs in this translation.  That is, the birds in question are not “vultures” but “eagles”.  The two Greek words are as unlike as the two English words.  From the earliest times, there was never any question of any other kind of bird.  The mistake is a modern one and seems to arise first in the 1970 New American translation of the Bible.  Possibly some translator saw the Greek word for “body” and decided this word meant “corpse”, which it does not.  Then, this person decided, the Greek word for “eagles” is a mistake: it should be “vultures”.  This is very irresponsible work.  The Lord instead is saying, Where the (living) body is, there also the eagles will gather.  So what does this mean?  The Fathers, such as St. Ambrose, understand this “body” to be the Body of the Lord, and the “eagles” as the souls of the just.  St. Ambrose understands the “eagles” as the righteous because they soar high, leave behind the lower things of the world, and live for a great length of time, implying immortality.  He describes the Body of the Lord as surrounded by the “eagles” Joseph of Arimithea, the holy women, and the Apostles.  Ambrose also speaks of those who believe that the Son of God put on human flesh as  “eagles”, aloft through the wings — the gift of faith — of the Holy Spirit.

Let us also be “eagles”, alert for the coming of the Lord, and eager to greet him when he comes.

 Thursday in the 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, November 14, 2024

Philemon 7-20

Beloved: I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother. Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus. I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I should have liked to retain him for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary. Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord. So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me. And if he has done you any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay. May I not tell you that you owe me your very self. Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Various strategies may be used in making changes in society or even in another person’s life.  A ruler may use blunt force: Do this or face arrest.  Or, he may attempt to persuade his people to reap the benefits of a change in behavior.  Parents or superiors can use these as well.  With very small children, the parent simply says Yes or No.  With older children, persuasion works more effectively.

In his Letter to Philemon, St. Paul describes how a man named Onesimus, a slave belonging to Paul’s disciple, Philemon, escaped and assisted Paul while he was imprisoned.  After some time had passed, either Paul received news that Philemon wanted his slave returned to him or Paul decided on his own to resolve the situation.  To do this, Paul needed to send Onesimus back to Philemon.  But Paul saw that slavery, an institution nearly as old as the human race, contradicted the teachings of the Lord Jesus.  He wrote, then, this Letter.  And rather than command his disciple, who owed his gift of faith to Paul’s preaching and prayers, Paul sought to persuade him to see Onesimus not as his property, but as his brother.  The command would have set Philemon as an antagonist and the matter would have devolved to a question of ownership.  The persuasion shows Philemon the reality: that in Christ we are all equal, we are brothers and sisters: “For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ.There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither slave nor free . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3, 27-28).

“I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother.”  Paul prudently begins by praising Philemon for his charity towards his fellow believers.  This also introduces Paul’s main theme.  “Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.”  He calls on Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother and not as his slave, saying that this is “what is proper”, even though this is extraordinary for the place and the time.  Paul reminds Philemon that he could order him to do so as he is an Apostle but also as one who was enduring imprisonment for the sake of Christ.  

“I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me.”  Paul calls Onesimus his “child”, that is, his disciple.  This makes Onesimus an equal to Philemon, who is also Paul’s “child”.  “I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.”  He is useful to Paul for carrying out errands and providing other services for him.  In this way he acts in service to the Gospel, which benefits Philemon too, for the slave came to Paul through the master.  Paul calls him his “heart”, elevating him from slave to disciple to beloved son, making it now virtually impossible for Philemon to take Onesimus back as a slave.

“I should have liked to retain him for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.”  Paul now elicits Philemon’s consent for Onesimus to return to serve him.  We should notice Paul’s shrewdness: he sends Onesimus back and also requests that Philemon free him so that he could return to Paul.  The Apostle presents Philemon with the appearance of a choice while making it very difficult for Philemon to do other than what Paul wants.  “Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.”  Paul now proposes that God had willed for Onesimus to leave Philemon so that he might teach Philemon the equality of all believers in Christ.  “So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.”  Paul elevates Onesimus one step further: as though he were Paul himself.

“And if he has done you any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay. May I not tell you that you owe me your very self.”  See what Paul does here: he makes an offer to Philemon and then makes it impossible for Philemon to take it up.  “Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.”  Paul now says that Philemon’s consent to his request — to set Onesimus free to return to Paul — will profit him, implying that Philemon will profit spiritually through this action.  He asks him to “refresh” his heart in Christ, reminding him again of his current imprisonment, where he suffers from hunger and thirst, for the sake of the Lord Jesus.  

Sometimes the best way to preach is indirectly through our everyday actions, through asking questions rooted in genuine curiosity, and by assisting others in their need.  In a world that flares with hostility towards religion, this may be the best way to make inroads.  As pertinent now as ever are the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 10, 16: “Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore crafty as serpents and innocent as doves.”