The angel spoke to me, saying,
"Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain anted showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
Just as the Lord led Moses up the mountain that he might see the Promised Land from afar, so the angel showed John, the Seer of Patmos, the New Jerusalem coming down from God. Neither the saint nor the Apostles nor innumerable martyrs would see its realization in their time. Nor do we see it today.
There is still much expectation. Some evangelicals expect a second coming of the Lord any day; some dreamers envision a sustainable ecology with both fabulous wealth for a few and sufficient prosperity for the rest. StarTrek anticipated a 25th century with no poverty! There are even those who see a select few beginning again, like Noah and his family, on a distant exoplanet. (They obviously have not read the rest of the story; the tale of Noah's flood ended badly with his drunkenness and the family's dispersal. The Lord's drastic punishment failed, and human wickedness continued uninterrupted despite the Deluge.)
Martyrs like Saint Barnabas remind us that nothing good can happen without sacrifice. For Catholics, it's a way of life. We give as much as we can and are disappointed that we cannot give more.
With his encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis has shown us that wasting the Earth's natural resources is the same thing as exploitation of human beings. Neither is just; both are evil. They can end only in the catastrophe we're already seeing.
But, as Isaiah said and the Lord reiterated, "They have eyes but cannot see; they have ears but cannot hear." The science is clear; the solutions are available; but the spirit is not there. We don't want to sacrifice. If we are not willing to cut back on our wasteful habits, it's because we intend to continue misusing people and draining natural resources.
The Lord raises up martyrs like Saint Barnabas in every age to witness the spirit, to show us the way, and to prove how reluctant we are. Their virtue reveals our sin, which is why we hate them. The world finds their joyful determination distressing and disturbing.
"Come away and rest a while!" the Lord urged his apostles. When we turn back to the Lord we will discover the ways and means to make the necessary sacrifices. The spirit of sacrifice will be eager, joyful, and expectant. Like Moses and Saint John, we will see the Promised Land and the New Jerusalem from afar.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.