Thursday of the
Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Revelation 18:1-2.21-23.19:1-3a.9; Luke 21:20-28)
The other day a man entered a religious goods store and
committed horrible crimes. He sexually
violated two women and killed one of them.
The barbarism resembles the happenings which Jesus foresees in today’s
gospel. He says that lawlessness and
destruction will take place everywhere at the end of time.
In all likelihood the evangelist Luke embellished the
prediction of Jesus with accounts of actual events. Just before he wrote his gospel Roman troops
decimated Jerusalem. They not only destroyed
the Temple beyond hope of rebuilding but evidently ravaged the people. Such marauding is typical of foreign soldiers
sent to punish a nation. It is no wonder
then that the first reading describes God’s the downfall of Rome in such
graphic terms. “Babylon” is code word
for Rome since both were associated with extravagant hedonism. According to the reading, Rome is completely
devastated. It is as if an earthquake
swallowed up the city.
Both Luke and the author of Revelation mean to encourage
Christians to live righteous lives. They
see Jesus as coming to save his people when the situation becomes most
desperate. He will recognize them by
their courage to stand erect in hope of being rescued. The righteousness and courage which the
Scriptures bespeak include efforts to build a society of justice. We will not be able to eliminate all crime
and misfortune in the world. But guided
by the gospel and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can approximate the peace
of the Kingdom of God.
