Drunks and Anxious People
November 26, Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Originally, I was planning on starting my reflections tomorrow. First day of the Church calendar and all that. Then I heard today’s readings,1 and decided to make today my test run. After all, Jesus said, “Take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.”2
So here I am, winging it, just like Jesus told me to.
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Reading 1
RV 22:1-7
John said:
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the street, On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. Nothing accursed will be found anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”
“Behold, I am coming soon.” Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.
The Book of Revelation has a reputation for being dark and scary. Deservedly so; there’s some freaky stuff in there— a dragon that sweeps stars from the sky, the sea turning to blood, all that kind of stuff. The Church has been reading selections from it for the last few weeks, and it can feel kind of unrelenting. It’s not a cheerful way to start your day, if you attend a daily mass or read a daily lectionary.
But today, on the last day of the Church year, we’ve come to the end.3 After all the plagues and dragons and seals and lampstands, (spoiler alert) Jesus wins.
Revelation is the last book in the Bible, even though it’s not the last one written,4 and that's for good reason: the end of a story is the point of the story. Which is why this is the last reading of the regular year, the ending of the ending. The whole point of everything, the Bible, history of mankind, the history of the universe, is Jesus.
So no matter what else happens between now and then, no matter what else we have to go through in our own personal lives or in the world writ large, we know “night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light.”
Responsorial Psalm
PS 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7AB
R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Apparently, maranatha appears only once in the entire Bible,5 which is kinda weird. Since it was transliterated, rather than translated, into Greek letters, it's not entirely clear whether it’s supposed to be marana tha, which would be Aramaic for “O Lord, come!”; or if it’s meant to be maran atha, “Our Lord has come.”
It was a phrase probably used in early Christian liturgies, meaning it’s probably the first option (which is clearly how it’s being used in this refrain). Revelation, especially in today’s first reading, is about the Second Coming. Ancient Christians prayed for Jesus’ return, as do we today, for all the great reasons in these verses, and more.
Alleluia
LK 21:36
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is just the last line of today’s Gospel reading. To a modern, literate congregation, these sorts of things can feel repetitive. But remember, the liturgy was formed in a pre-literate society. Repetition helped people remember the important lessons, since they couldn’t just glance down at the missalette and review.
Gospel
LK 21:34-36
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
It's funny, when you talk to internet atheists, they often pull out arguments like, “Do you wear mixed fabric?” or “Is it a sin to eat shellfish?”
The answers to these questions are pretty easy, and not really worth dwelling on. There's not a lot of reason to debate someone who's deepest cut Bible verse comes from an old episode of The West Wing.6
Not to offer them any tips, but a much stronger case against Christianity could be made around the apocalyptic statements from Jesus himself. Take the above Gospel reading, where Jesus says the tribulations are “imminent.”
This is actually a question that’s been bugging Christians since the beginning. Many of Jesus’ followers thought he was coming back immediately. The Gospels weren’t even written until the apostles started dying off.
This part of Luke is similar to the 13th chapter of Mark (which was written first) and 24th chapter of Matthew (which came later). In those books, Jesus predicts the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple.
Luke was written last, after all the Romans destroyed everything. So, he changes the context of the prophesy, removing the implication that this was a sign of the end times. A few verses before this,7 Luke’s account says, “They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” [Emphasis mine.]
When is that? Who knows?
Hence, the point of this Gospel: be vigilant, don’t become “drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.”
What’s interesting here is that Jesus refers to, I think, two different types of people. Someone who’s focused on daily chores isn’t someone who’s getting drunk. The latter is something we’re often concerned with as a society, but who ever complains that you’re getting your day-to-day work done?
It’s easy to focus on our earthly duties, and forget about higher things. This is why, a few chapters back,8 Jesus admonishes Martha, saying "Mary has chosen the better part," listening to him rather than serving.
It’s possible to pay too little attention to this world (drunkenness) and too much (anxiety), but you can never be too vigilant in praying.
OK, not technically the end; there’s a bit of an epilogue. But it’s the end of the story.
That’s probably the Second Epistle of Peter.
Which is called a hapax legomenon. Isn’t Wikipedia great?
Aaron Sorkin has done a lot of harm by writing witty characters who nevertheless are woefully uninformed, and misleading large chunks of his audience feeling like they actually learned something.