Reading 1
Rv 15:1-4
I, John, saw in heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring:
seven angels with the seven last plagues,
for through them God’s fury is accomplished.
Then I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire.
On the sea of glass were standing those
who had won the victory over the beast
and its image and the number that signified its name.
They were holding God’s harps,
and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and wonderful are your works,
Lord God almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
O king of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
or glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9
Responsorial PsalmR. (Rev. 15: 3b)
Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Gospel
Lk 21:12-19
Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Meditation: Luke 21:12-19
“Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty!” (Revelation 15:3)
Jesus doesn’t want us to be on the defensive. He calls us to go out boldly and share that love with everyone we meet. Some people will welcome it eagerly, others will remain indifferent, and still others will be hostile.
It would be easy to get tied up in knots about this. What would I say if someone challenged my faith? How would I explain myself? Maybe I should just keep my faith quiet.
Jesus cuts through all that. “Do not worry about how or what your defense will be… . For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” (Luke 12:11,12).
We may not have to rehearse our defense, but there is something we can do, and that is to practice praising God in every circumstance. God is always present, he always loves us, and it’s always appropriate to praise him. But how can praising God help us when we are challenged? Today’s first reading gives us some clues. The saints in Revelation 15 take the words of Moses’ and Miriam’s victory song and carry them forward to the “great and wonderful works” that God has done for them. They praise him for who he is, and they recall what he has done—his wonderful works in the world and in their lives. The glory and wonder of God are on the tips of their tongues, and they are ready to proclaim them at a moment’s notice.
We can praise God by listing his wonderful attributes: his greatness, his faithfulness, compassion, mercy, and power. We can thank him for all he has done for us: He has created us, he knows us, he has forgiven us, he has spoken to us, loved us, and gifted us. We can turn to passages like Psalm 118 or Psalm 136 to help fuel our minds until the praises of God pour more spontaneously from our lips.
Once we have lifted our hearts and voices to God in praise, we will be ready to glorify him before human beings as well. Our words, seasoned with love and reverence for God and his people, will flow much more naturally!
“Lord, I can never begin to praise you as you deserve. Teach my voice to praise you more and more. Be glorified in me!”
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