Friday of the
Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Revelation 20:1-4.11-21:2; Luke 21:29-33)
James Foley was the young journalist whom the ISIS
captured and beheaded. Foley was a
devout man who believed that God called him to report the truth about a besieged
people. He seems worthy to stand among
those dead being brought to life in today’s first reading.
The Book of Revelation was written to support first
century Christians undergoing persecution.
It promises relief for those under siege and eternal life for those who
succumbed to the force of the enemy. Today’s
passage relates the culmination of the saga.
The martyred come back to life. The
survivors are judged according to their deeds.
The brutality of war and of religious bigotry clash with the
experience of Thanksgiving and the hustle-bustle of Christmas shopping. However, we would be foolish to drop them
from our consciousness. After all, we withhold
our greatest thanks for Christ’s coming to share with us his love and peace.
