Third Sunday of Easter---Liturgical Cycle C

Lectionary Readings

Homily
Every third year, on the Sundays after Easter, our Catholic Liturgy treats us to a sampling of the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse—as it was once called. If we hear these weekly selections carefully, it’s a taste which can whet our appetite.

The word “Apocalypse” means a “revelation.” It’s like one of those cryptograms in a Crossword Puzzle book, where the letters are all mixed up, an “a” is a “t” and an “e” is a “b” and so on. Once you find the formula, the sentence is decoded and it all makes sense. Apocalyptic literary form is like that. Once you can decode it the message is clear.

The Book of Revelation is written in this apocalyptic form, which was very popular in antiquity. Among the Hebrew people we have the Book of Daniel and Ezekiel and Zechariah as examples of this style.

What the writer does is use words, ideas, images, symbols which are known to his intended readers but are “Greek” to an outsider. Apocalyptic is a revelation only to those who can decode it, who are privy to its secret message. There are 404 verses in the book of Revelation and 278 are words and phrases lifted right out of the Old Testament. Of the remaining 126, over half have their meaning in Christian thought.

The Book of Revelation is addressed by the writer to the First century Christian communities in the coastal towns around the Mediterranean Sea. These early churches were under the siege of persecution by the Roman emperor. If this document offering hope and urging steadfastness and resistance fell into the hands of the Roman authorities, it would have been unintelligible to them; they did not have the “key” to decode them.

Take, for example, last Sunday’s reading from the Prologue of the Book: the reader is introduced to the vision of “seven lampstands of gold and among the lampstands One like a Son of Man,” holding in his right hand seven stars. Only one versed in the Hebrew tradition would know that “seven” is the code number of perfection and only a Christian would know that the lampstand is the Light of Christ, the Lumen Christi and that the seven stars are, as we are told, “the presiding spirits of the churches.”

Since the number is “seven” we know that the Revelation is for all the Christian communities of that First Century. But its message is universal: it is addressed also to all the churches of our century as well. We have to hear it carefully; it speaks to us, a people under persecution so cleverly designed that we become entangled and give up without a fight. (Read Wendell Berry’s article, Fall of Community, in which he shows how it has eaten away our human decency.)

The Book begins with the seven letters from the presiding spirits of the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Leaodicea. Since the number is “seven” the biblical mind considers these letters addressed to all churches, including our own. The author has “seven eyes” and “seven horns” – perfect wisdom and perfect power, all-seeing and all-powerful. Each letter compliments the church on its steadfastness, its devotion to the Christ, and each letter points out weakness and failures and encourages stout-heartedness.

The situation of the Christian churches at the end of the first century had become quite desperate. The Roman Emperor, Domitian, sensing that the kingdom was beginning to break up, set down a decree that each citizen must swear an oath of allegiance, like our pledge of allegiance, to himself (Domitian) as “lord and god.” Along with this oath, the citizen was required to offer a bit of incense burning before a statue of Domitian erected for that purpose in every town’s central plaza. That is when this letter of the Apocalypse swings into action, encouraging all Christians to resist, to remain faithful.

Who can say that this scripture has no relevance for us today?

The little snapshot from the Book of Revelation in today’s reading has reference to the “Scroll of History.” There is no one to be found to open the scroll, for who is worthy to be privy to the councils of God? One of the Four Elders (“four” is a code number for worldwide) says, “The Lion of Judah, the Root of David, (Old Testament messianic phrases) has won the right by his victory to open the scroll with the seven seals.”

Then comes the vision of the Lamb that was slain, now standing before the throne of God. Only a Christian would catch the image of the Lamb that was slain who now is alive. The whole heavenly choir cries out:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches
wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and blessing.”

“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor, glory and might,
forever and ever.”

“Amen!”

The message is clear:

God in Christ is in charge of history. He is the final victor. The Roman emperor is not “lord and god.” Our allegiance is to the Lamb of God and to him alone!

It speaks to us this day.

--Fr. Pat

Excerpt from "A Catholic's Companion: Liturgical Cycle C" (c)2000 C. Patrick Creed
Published by Watchmaker Press. Maggie Hettinger, editor