Nov 25 2020 Reflection
Wednesday 25 November 2020
First Reading: RV 15:1-4
Responsorial Psalm:
Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 7-8, 9
Gospel Reading: LK 21:12-19
Today’s Note: Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading:
Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Reflection:
They sang the song . . . of the Lamb. (Revelation 15:3)
The Book of Revelation is filled with elaborate imagery and apocalyptic visions of the end of all things—and that can make it difficult to understand. But the richness and beauty of this book lies in its extraordinary witness to Jesus. True to its name, Revelation unwraps the mystery of Christ and draws back the curtain to reveal Jesus in new ways. In every chapter it uses distinctive names to describe different facets of Jesus’ calling and his attributes. Today, for instance, we read about Jesus as a lamb.
We first encounter the image of a lamb in chapter 5 of Revelation. First, Jesus is introduced as a triumphant “lion of . . . Judah” (5:5). But then surprisingly, when that “lion” appears, he is shown to be a lamb instead (5:6). Even more astounding, he is a lamb who was slain (5:6, 9). This seems illogical because lions—and humans—win by killing. But Jesus triumphed by being killed. It’s through his death and resurrection that Jesus conquered all sin, all evil, all death. No wonder all the saints sing a song to the Lamb of God!
The people of Israel sang the Song of Moses after God delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 15). In heaven, everyone will sing to Jesus, the Lamb who delivered all people from slavery to sin. One day, we will join them. We too will praise the Lamb who bore our sins, who died that we might live, and whose blood has washed us clean. On that day, we will see him face-to-face and rejoice in his victory. On that day, freed from every weakness, we will join our departed loved ones and all the heavenly hosts in singing this new song.
But why wait? You can sing this song right now. In fact, you sing it at every Mass: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. It’s so important, in fact, that you sing it three times! And by doing so, you sing of what Jesus has already done, what he is doing right now, and what he will do when he returns. You sing this song in faith, but one day you will sing it in nothing but pure joy.
“Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Grant us peace.”
