Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 - Wednesday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 4:1-11 and Luke 19:11-28]WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016, WEDNESDAY IN THE 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Revelation 4:1-11 and Luke 19:11-28] "They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming, "Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created." [Revelation] The Book of Revelation is not simply a quaint ancient form of apocalyptic literature. Out of many of these kinds of literature of its time, this one alone found its way into sacred scripture. The Church saw the message of Jesus and our faith in it. The vivid, dream-like, quality of the visions made for exciting reading but the community knew how to interpret the symbols. Later efforts to interpret it, using numbers, etc., have been fanciful but do not respect the text and type of literature. The. Book assured the community of the ultimate vindication of the church in the face of wide-spread persecution in the Roman Empire, while at the same time offering praise to God. I'm sure many of us have heard and sung the hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty," with its lines: "All the saints adore thee. Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea...." Well, take a look at this scripture today from Revelation and discover where that comes from. In fact, the whole hymn is a rendering of this section from the Book of Revelation. That "glassy sea" is part of the description of God's throne! The Book of Revelation has been a part of our worship for centuries and helps us to praise God in our own time. AMEN