Stand Erect and Raise Your Hands for the Lord By Beth DeCristofaro
I, John, saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth became illumined by his splendor. He cried out in a mighty voice: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. She has become a haunt for demons. … Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb." (Revelations 18:1-2, 19:9)
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand." (Luke 21:25-28)
Piety
“Dear Jesus may I always be aware of your presence, your power, and your Love, all the days of my life.” May I spend each day living convinced and trusting in your coming as here, as now, as your Kingdom is building.
(from www.sacredspace.ie )
Study
What does living in anticipation mean? During pregnancy, it is a very present, tugging desire to prepare a room for the baby before those pangs of labor begin. When being dropped off at college for freshman year there is a nervous, interior desire to have “things” ready but also to fit in, to be suitable with roommate, teachers, and find future friends. At end-of-life, there is the exhausting realization that any day, any minute, the culmination of suffering yet also potential will happen. And unlike other anticipations, this one is greeted with dread.
We can’t sustain such level of attentive suspense for very long. It is not only psychically draining but we are so very distracted, whether objects, events or people whether they be sparkly or frightening. Also, living for what will come causes us to miss being open to God coming to us today.
The notes to the NAB tell us that these words from Revelation are: “A stirring dirge over the fall of Babylon-Rome. The perspective is prophetic as if the fall of Rome had already taken place. The imagery here, as elsewhere in this book, is not to be taken literally. The vindictiveness of some of the language, borrowed from the scathing Old Testament prophecies against Babylon, Tyre, and Nineveh, is meant to portray the inexorable demands of God’s holiness and justice symbolically. The section concludes with a joyous canticle on the future glory of heaven.”[i]
Action
Revelation’s imagery is prescient in the wars of today, tear gas being hurled at unarmed refugees, cloying poverty in the nation, invectives hurled at political rivals. We can see the imagery of a fallen Babylon. Can we turn again to the Lamb as invited friends? Our time of anticipation is now. What within me is Babylon? What within me is called to the wedding feast of the Lamb?
Even with “signs” Jesus’ promise of the Kingdom is also present. He gives us the hope to stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. How are we answering the invitation of the Lamb and living the hope of redemption, keeping anticipation present?
Illustration: “Golden Rule”, Norman Rockwell, https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A8gle_d%27or_(Norman_Rockwell)
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