Thursday of the
Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
(Revelation 5:1-10; Luke 19:41-44)
The Book of Revelation was written to shore up the hope of
first century Christians whom Rome was intermittently persecuting. Today’s
first reading indicates their dire situation.
The scroll in the hand of the Almighty represents God’s
plan of salvation. The opening of that
scroll would mean the unrolling of history.
It would bring about the rescue of Christians who wait in near desperation
for relief of persecution. The
difficulty is that no hero has come forth who might overcome the evil that has encompassed
the world. Finally, the only one up to
the challenge presents himself. He is
one as courageous as a lion and gentle as a lamb. He has seven horns indicating the fullness of
power and seven eyes suggesting complete wisdom. His identity is a mystery to the nations, but
to Christians he is intimately known and welcomed. He is Jesus, the Son of God.
What is the evil threatening us today? Is it the Islamic State ready to behead their
captives? Or perhaps it is relativism
that would allow the killing of a human fetus because it has brown rather than
blue eyes? If we are really honest, we might
notice virulent evil lurking in our own hearts.
It wants to vaunt us as “numero uno” and belittle others as means to our
aggrandizement. In order to overcome
this evil we too must turn to lion-lamb, the Son of God, Jesus.
