Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Opportunity For Witnessing
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Today the book of Revelation describes the last judgment as the final exodus. Plagues had struck the Egyptians; seven plagues strike those who have rejected Christ. Those who have followed Christ the Paschal Lamb and have crossed their Red Sea by being faithful in passing the lake and the fire of trials, enter the promised land. There they sing the song of Moses, the song of their liberation, to God, the Lord of history. Let this eucharist be a song of praise to God for our liberation in Christ.
Gospel. Our baptism has made us witnesses of Christ. But it is not always an easy path, especially in times of great change, and even more so for missionaries. Difficulties will come from those closest to us. But we may rest assured that Christ is with us and that through his Spirit he will make us eloquent and give us the wisdom what to say and do. Do not be afraid! This may be easier said than done.
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
we believe that your plans for us
are for peace and courage, and not for fear.
Keep us open-eyed to the signs
of the constant coming of Jesus your Son.
Help us to commit ourselves untiringly
to the growth of your kingdom among us
by carrying out your plans for peace and love
and for all that makes our world more
your world and the way to your home.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
First Reading
The Seven Last Plagues
Then, I saw another great and marvelous sign in the heavens: seven angels brought seven plagues, which are the last, for, with these, the wrath of God will end.
There was a sea of crystal mingled with fire, and the conquerors of the beast, of its name and the mark of its name, stood by it. They had been given the celestial harps,
and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
Great and marvelous are your works,
O LORD,
God and Master of the universe.
Justice and truth guide your steps,
O King of the nations.
LORD, who will not give honor and glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come and bow before you,
for they have now seen your judgments.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (Rev. 15: 3b) Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be handed over to synagogues and prisons, and for my sake, you will be brought before kings and governors.
This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
So keep this in mind: don’t worry in advance about what to say,
because I will provide you with words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.
You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and some of you will be put to death.
But even though, because of my name, you will be hated by everyone.
But not a hair of your head will perish.
By your patient endurance, you will save your souls.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the Church, that free from all paralyzing fears it may have the courage born of faith to bear witness to the demands of the gospel, we pray:
– For the leaders of the Church, that in our difficult times they may not be men and women of fear but of trust in God, we pray:
– For the prophets in our midst, sent by God to wake us up from our complacency, that we may not muzzle them but heed their call for conversion, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
accept this bread and this wine
as signs that we are committed
to build up your kingdom in our world.
May our attitudes and decisions in life
be those of Jesus, your Son:
to seek your dawn of love and service
rather than self-destructive selfishness,
to be constructive and creative
in giving shape to a new earth
rather than to be critical of the past.
May we thus fully encounter you one day
in the joys of a new heaven.
Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God,
your Son Jesus destroyed our death by dying
and by rising he restored our life.
By the strength of this eucharist
May we and the whole of humanity
grow up in Christ day after day
through the pains and tensions of all growth.
But keep alive in us the joy of a firm hope
that your dawn of justice is coming
to make us and all things new
and that Jesus will return
to make us share in his glory
for good and for ever.
Blessing
Do not fear. We are in God’s hands. Trust in God. And let his Spirit live and speak and act in us, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
To hatred, respond with love; to an offence, with forgiveness.
Luke 21:12-19
This gospel passage for today is a continuation of yesterday's readings - about the end things: Jesus' prediction of the destruction of the temple religion in Jerusalem. Catastrophes, wars, famines, riots, and persecutions are not things that would occur in the future but faced the community of Luke at the time.
Think of the many wars and calamities today. As a world, we live in a context marked by war in Israel, acts of violence, abuses, and destruction that wound the world, the human family that lives here, and violence directed toward the Christian community.
But then, there is reassurance: “Not a hair of your head will perish” (v. 18). This is our hope. It speaks of the attitude that a Christian must adopt in living this history characterized by violence and adversity. The attitude of hope in God allows us not to be overwhelmed by tragic events. Indeed, they are an “opportunity to bear witness “(v. 13) to Christ.
Those who follow Christ cannot remain slaves to their fears and anxieties; instead, we are called to live with the certainty that the Lord's action of goodness provides us with providential and reassuring tenderness. He, the Lord, guides our existence and knows the ultimate purpose of things and events. The assurance of the Lord accompanies us that the power of the Spirit of God will destroy the forces of evil.
To communicate his message, Jesus resorts to apocalyptic language. But this has nothing to do with catastrophes. He speaks of wars, revolutions, earthquakes, famine, and pestilence, and terrifying facts. Our world has always been like this, and it can be seen even today in front of our eyes.
Understanding how to interpret these events is important, and Jesus wants us to be prepared to enter his new world. The Kingdom of God ushers upon us by storm, and the old ways of practising religion and believing in God are blown away. Jesus introduces to us a God who is merciful.
At the Passover, Jesus laid the cornerstone of a new temple, the temple of living stones, of those who unite their lives of love to Christ. The destruction of the material temple signifies a transition from the old temple to the new one. From this temple, the only sacrifices that ascend to heaven and are pleasing to God are the works of love.