Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 21, 2018 - Wednesday in the 33th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 4:1-11 and Luke 19:11-28]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. [Luke]
NOVEMBER 21 THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The first scriptures for the liturgy during this week and next week are taken from the Book of Revelation, an example of apocalyptic literature that the early Christian community included in the canon of the New Testament. Many of us know the hymn, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty," with the line "casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea...." - well...that glassy sea is introduced in the first scripture for today! And we are told the elders "cast down their crowns before the throne...."The author of the Book of Revelation borrowed from Ezekiel in describing the "four living creatures" as well as from Isaiah in describing a royal throne room.
A major theme of the Book of Revelation is that earthly powers being exercised by rulers such as Caesar cannot prevail against the sovereignty of God. God is the creator of all things. The author is given a vision of God's power which must triumph.
The Bible is the Word of God in human words. It is a preaching in many different forms. There is poetry, narrative, history and apocalypse and hymns. All of these proclaim the truths God intends for us to know for salvation, as the Second Vatican Council teaches in the document on divine revelation, DEI VERBUM. Today's colorful and vivid vision from the Book of Revelation offers us a contrast with the gospels and epistles but it is nonetheless a preaching of God's kingdom. I recommend reading it from a good study bible that can help with all those vivid images. That glassy sea and those four living creatures are just two examples! AMEN.