CLOSE ASSOCIATES OF THE LAMB

 

MONDAY, THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Apoc 14:1-5; Ps 24:1-6; Lk 21:1-4

Becoming Associates of the Lamb

The passage from the Book of Revelation is about the close associates of the Lamb, whom John describes as the first fruits harvested from the world for God and for the Lamb. “In my vision I, John, saw Mount Zion, and standing on it a Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Keeping in mind the symbolic nature of the Book of Revelation, we note that Mount Zion is a symbol of God’s dwelling among men; it is a place of the great theophany, God’s self-revelation to men. Thus, the situation of the vision of the Lamb and the forty-four thousand in his company points to the deep communion these people attained with God and the Lamb. There are various indicators of the uniqueness of their communion, different from the other redeemed. The new hymn they sing to God and the Lamb is known only to them, the four animals, and the elders. “There in front of the throne, they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four animals and the elders, a hymn that could only be learned by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world.” Their following of the Lamb everywhere makes us understand the close and intimate relationship between them and the Lamb. The branding of their foreheads with the Lamb’s and the Father’s names shows they belong entirely to God. Finally, the fact that they never allowed a lie to pass their lips and their purity confirms the close configuration of their lives to the Lamb’s.

The word that sums up the lives of these close associates of the Lamb is consecration. Their degree of consecration to God and the Lamb made their lives exceptionally resemble the Lamb’s. Our understanding of God as the Supreme Sacrifice explains the unique closeness these people gained with God and the Lamb. God has called all of us to consecrate ourselves to him by living according to his will revealed in his word. The degree of our responses to this vocation sets us apart from others.  Because God is self-dedicated to his word, anyone who lives according to his word attains communion in the divine life. The Psalmist explains that those who would climb the mountain of God must have clean hands and pure hearts: “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.” The hundred and forty-four thousand stood with the Lamb on Mount Zion because they consecrated their lives to doing the will of God. Consecrating ourselves daily to the word of God and following Jesus Christ every day separates us from the worldly who lie and cheat to acquire the wealth and riches of this world. The desire to gain the world traps so many souls in the snares of the devil and makes them lose their heavenly crowns. The prince of the world brands them with his name, in place of the Lamb’s, as belonging to him.

The widow Jesus praised in the gospel shows a unique consecration of a soul to God through faith. “As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them.” The poor widow gave her life to God through the two small coins, for they were her only means of survival. Thus, effective consecration demands our faith in God. Our consecration or sacrifice becomes purer each day as we believe the word of God more and build our lives on it. Hence, the hundred and forty-four thousand did not start following Jesus Christ after they departed this life but gained access to the divine company or presence while living on earth. They followed Jesus Christ closely on earth and continued that fellowship in heaven. We pray for the grace to proclaim the kingship of Jesus Christ boldly daily so that he may brand us with his name and his Father’s name as belonging entirely to God. Doing this entails fighting a thousand battles daily in our present world when more and more people are ashamed to be associated with Jesus Christ as the truth but bold and unashamedly professing evil and sin.

Let us pray: Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that, striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.