Memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr

November Roses

I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,
and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

This is a week of transition from the end of the liturgical year, Christ the King, to the beginning of the new year, with the First Sunday of Advent. I think of this week as a moving wheel turning, or the minute hand moving, as it crests the top and starts into a new cycle. This is that momentary pause between breaths that a healthy person enjoys, as he has sufficient oxygen for a few more seconds and no immediate need to inhale.

Our readings continue the momentum of apocalyptic expectation from last year into next year. They urge us to expect and hope despite the frightful violence that is coming down all around us.

Today’s reading describes the Seer’s vision of the elect one hundred and forty four thousand. They are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. The number twelve times twelve times one thousand has a round fullness. It stretches the imagination and suggests satisfaction for the sacrifice of Jesus.

In our own day, familiar as we are with cities of several million people and an ever-increasing world population of several billion, 144,000 people seems far too few. But we need not take it literally. It's about fullness, completeness. As Jesus said from the cross, "It is consummated." 

This group, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads, represents the purity which Jesus’ passion and death bestows upon sinful humanity. They are chosen from every nation, not just the Jews, because Jesus’ mission is universal. Because most Jews refused to join the new Christian community, and because so many gentiles eagerly crowded the door, the leaders saw clearly their mission was to the whole world. The saving grace of Jesus is channeled not through his Jewish origins but through his human nature to all people. We take that for granted but it was quite a revelation to the early church.

They have been ransomed as the first fruits
of the human race for God and the Lamb.
On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.

As we hear of unblemished saints we also celebrate the feast of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr. We should understand that God has the authority to, and will, restore our innocence. This is a healing process that goes beyond both atonement and forgiveness. I may do wrong to someone and, by the grace of God, atone for my sin and be forgiven; but I still need healing for what I have done to myself. The shame, grief and proclivity for that particular sin remain where atonement and forgiveness have been given.

Sexual sins, in particular, leave long-lasting psychic and spiritual scars that seem never to disappear. Perhaps that is why virgins are celebrated as the first fruits of the human race for God and the Lamb.

As we approach Advent and Christmas to celebrate the New Jerusalem we will celebrate the Holy City that, despite its history of infidelity and treachery, remains always and forever the virgin bride of God.