12. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
13. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
14. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer:
15. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
16. And you shall be betrayed both by parents and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
17. And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
18. But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
19. In your patience you will possess your souls.
GREG. Because the things which have been prophesied of arise not from the injustice of the inflictor of them, but from the deserts of the world which suffers them, the deeds of wicked men are foretold; as it is said, But before all these things, they shall lay their hands upon you: as if He says First the hearts of men, afterwards the elements, shall be disturbed, that when the order of things is thrown into confusion, it may be plain from what retribution it arises. For although the end of the world depends upon its own appointed course, yet finding some more corrupt than others who shall rightly be overwhelmed in its fall, our Lord makes them known.
CYRIL; Or He says this, because before that Jerusalem should be taken by the Romans, the disciples, having suffered persecution from the Jews, were imprisoned and brought before rulers; Paul was sent to Rome to Caesar, and stood before Festus and Agrippa.
It follows, And it shall turn to you for a testimony. In the Greek it is, for the glory of martyrdom.
GREG. Or, for a testimony, that is, against those who by persecuting you bring death upon themselves, or living do not imitate you, or themselves becoming hardened perish without excuse from whom the elect take example that they may live. But as hearing so many terrible things the hearts of men may be troubled He therefore adds for their consolation, Settle it therefore in your hearts, &c.
THEOPHYL. For because they were foolish and inexperienced, the Lord tells them this, that they might not be confounded when about to give account to the wise. And He adds the cause, For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist. As if He said, you shall forthwith receive of me eloquence and wisdom, so that all your adversaries, were they gathered together in one, shall not be able to resist you, neither in wisdom, that is, the power of the understanding, nor in eloquence, that is, excellence of speech, for many men have often wisdom in their mind, but being easily provoked to their great disturbance, mar the whole when their time of speaking comes. But not such were the Apostles, for in both these gifts they were highly favored.
GREG. As if the Lord said to His disciples, "Be not afraid, go forward to the battle, it is I that fight; you utter the words, I am He that speaks."
AMBROSE; Now in one place Christ speaks in His disciples, as here; in another, the Father; in another the Spirit of the Father speaks. These do not differ but agree together. In that one speaks, three speak, for the voice of the Trinity is one.
THEOPHYL. Having in what has gone before dispelled the fear of inexperience, He goes on to warn them of another very certain event, which might agitate their minds, lest falling suddenly upon them, it should dismay them; for it follows, And you shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
GREG We are the more galled by the persecutions we suffer from those of whose dispositions we made sure, because together with the bodily pain, we are tormented by the bitter pangs of lost affection.
GREG. NYSS. But let us consider the state of things at that time. While all men were suspected, kinsfolk were divided against one another, each differing from the other in religion; the gentile son stood up the betrayer of his believing parents, and of his believing son the unbelieving father became the determined accuser; no age was spared in the persecution of the faith; women were unprotected even by the natural weakness of their sex.
THEOPHYL. To all this He adds the hatred which they shall met with from men.
GREG. But because of the hard things foretold concerning the affliction of death, there immediately follows a consolation, concerning the joy of the resurrection, when it is said, But there shall not an hair of your head perish. As though He said to the martyrs Why fear you for the perishing of that which when cut, pains when that can not perish in you, which when cut gives no pain?
BEDE; Or else, There shall not perish a hair of the head of our Lord's Apostles, because not only the noble deeds and words of the Saints, but e en the slightest thought shall meet with its deserving reward.
GREG. He who preserves patience in adversity, is thereby rendered proof against all affliction, and so by conquering himself, he gains the government of himself; as it follows, In your patience shall you possess your souls. For what is it to possess your souls, but to live perfectly in all things, and sitting it upon the citadel of virtue to hold in subjection every motion of the mind?
GREG. By patience then we possess our souls, because when we are said to govern; ourselves, we begin to possess you very thing which we are. But for this reason, the possession of the soul is laid in the virtue of patience, because patience is the root and guardian which are inflicted by others, and also to have no feeling of indignation against him who inflicts them.
Catena Aurea Luke 21
One Bread, One BodyOne Bread, One Body
| << Wednesday, November 28, 2012 >> |
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Revelation 15:1-4
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Psalm 98:1-3, 7-9 |
Luke 21:12-19
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SINGING IN THE REIGN
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"They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." —Revelation 15:3
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We Christians will be persecuted by both the religious and secular authorities (Lk 21:12). As Jesus was betrayed by Judas, we will be betrayed even by our "parents, brothers, relatives and friends" (Lk 21:16). Some of us "will be put to death" (Lk 12:16). All will hate us because of our love for Jesus (Lk 21:17). Our reaction to all this bad news is not to "hang down our heads and cry." Rather, "when these things begin to happen, stand erect and hold your heads high, for your deliverance is near at hand" (Lk 21:28). In the last days, the world will be pounded by seven plagues, by wave after wave of destruction (Rv 15:1). We do not react to this with fear, stress, or confusion. Instead, we stand up, hold our heads high, and by faith break out into song (Rv 15:3). Like the three men in the fiery furnace, we create a safe place in the midst of the destroying flames by singing God's praises (Dn 3:51). Like Paul and Silas, we sing up an earthquake, praise our way out of jail, and even convert the jailer and his family (Acts 16:25ff). When times are tough, God's people sing. When God's people sing in faith, we see deliverance, protection, power, freedom, and conversion. St. Augustine declared: "He who sings prays twice." That's not the half of it. Sing to the Lord! |
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Prayer: Father, may my songs of faith protect babies in the womb from abortion.
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Promise: "By patient endurance you will save your lives." —Lk 21:19
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Praise: Louise has been praying the morning and evening prayers in the Liturgy of the Hours for over twenty years.
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Lord God, Author of Life and Source of Eternal Life,