Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Revelation 20:1-4.11-21.2; Luke 21:29-33)
Today, the penultimate day of the liturgical year, the first
reading enters the penultimate chapter of the Bible. It has been quite a saga. From creation when God called all that he had
made “very good” through periods of human failure and folly to the ultimate victory
of Christ over sin and death. Now the holy
city appears as glorious a habitat as can be imagined. It seems to question the people if they wish
to live in it.
One would think that the answer to the question could not be
simpler. Why wouldn’t anyone want to take
part in Christ’s victory? Unfortunately,
humans are as mischievous as they are unpredictable. They sometimes prefer to be considered bad
rather than good, lazy rather than industrious, and even unique rather than
beautiful.
Hopefully, we will opt for the holy city. It means that we do good works so that our
names may be written in the book of life.
We will find some of our companions along the way to have not been to
our liking. But then in the light of
Christ which illumines the city we will know them for all the good that they have
done.
