Prepared as a Bride

November 28, 2008

Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2

Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Luke 21:32-33

Piety

Prayer for a Reluctant Leader

You asked for my hands that you might use them for your purpose.

I gave them for a moment, then withdrew them for the work was hard.

You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice.

I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.

You asked for my life that you might work through me.

I gave a small part that I might not get too involved.

Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you only when it is convenient for me to do so, only in those places where it is safe to do so, and only in those who make it easy to do so.

Lord, forgive me, renew me, heal me, nurture me, empower me, send me out as an instrument of your peace that I might take seriously the meaning of servant leadership. Amen.

Study

Here God lives among his people. After this world passes, only some people will live with their God.

Psalm 84 sings of the joy of living in the presence of God. As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God! Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. Selah Happy are those who find refuge in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads. Psalm 84:4-6

Yet the Book of Revelation holds another warning: All the dead were judged according to their deeds…Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire. (Revelation 21:13,15) Just as Matthew 25 warned us last Sunday about the importance of our action in love, today, we hear it again. We will be judged by our deeds. The joy of Psalm 84 could be short-lived.

The question remains one of “When?” The time will not be known to us…we must prepare because it will be so. Heaven and earth will pass away. Each one of us will pass away. Yet if we want our names to be in the book of life, then now is when our piety, study and action matter most of all.

Marriage is one of the biblical metaphors used to describe the covenant relationship between God and his people from the Book of Isaiah forward. God wants to walk down the aisle with us. Walking with him is our choice.

Action

One of our deeds is to be concerned for the “least of our sisters and brothers.” Catholic Relief Services is asking people to urge their members of Congress to ask President-elect Obama to have a strong budget for international affairs. Please join them by completing an easy form. CRS has form which you can complete to send the message to your members.

A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives has prepared a letter to President-elect Obama to urge him to include a strong international affairs budget in his overall proposal for the fiscal year 2010 U.S. government budget. While the current financial crisis is seriously straining our nation, CRS explains that now more than ever is the time for the U.S. to remain engaged in the world. A strong international affairs budget will demonstrate our nation’s commitment to help poor people. In the long-term, such investments will also promote a more stable world and protect the global economy.

The U.S. international affairs budget includes overall funding levels for our nations’ investments in global humanitarian, economic, and diplomatic initiatives. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) receives some of the funding from the international affairs budget for its emergency response, agriculture, education, HIV and other health programs.