Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - Tuesday in the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
[Revelation 14:14-19 and Luke 21:5-11]"Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth's vines, for it grapes are ripe." So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth's vintage. He threw it into the great wine press of God's fury. [Revelation]
These words from the Book of Revelation in today's first scripture easily bring to my mind the title of John Steinbeck's great novel, THE GRAPES OF WRATH. In that book he describes the terrible consequences of the "dust bowl" phenomenon of the 1930's in the Midwest. Earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, pestilence, storms, wars or dramatic acts of terrorism such as 9/11 - all of these have moved human beings to believe that the end of time is near! Events of this nature often destroy things that are taken for granted - things that we cannot imagine NOT "being there." The temple in Jerusalem could have represented such an enduring reality to Jesus' listeners (cf. today's gospel scripture). As I wind up a visit to the Washington, DC, area, I am put in mind of the capitol building, the White House, or the Supreme Court building and the great monuments to the founders of the American republic. It is very difficult to imagine them reduced to rubble like the Roman ruins or covered completely with sand, as were the Egyptian pyramids once were, or jungle, like the Incan and Aztecan cities! Yet, by the time the Gospel of Luke (and certainly the Book of Revelation) was written, the temple in Jerusalem had been torn down without a "stone left upon a stone." The gospel warns us not to equate disasters with the "end of time" or the "second coming." These disasters may indeed bring about an end to some great human endeavors. Many are never repeated or at least never fully recover. We may mourn the loss and feel as if our "world" has come to an end, but the Lord has not yet "pulled the plug" on time!
Such thoughts may seem a bit morbid in this country during the week in which we celebrate Thanksgiving! The liturgical calendar, however, aims at the whole church around the world! Here in the U.S.A. we are experiencing the troubles brought on by economic forces and our anxieties about other terrorist actions, etc. The sickle of the angel seems to be swinging! Yet, in the midst of it all, we have much to be thankful for and we may be challenged to realize what is truly important in God's gifts. The "fruits of the Spirit" do not include the grapes of wrath! AMEN
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