FIRST READING
They sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.”
A reading from the Book of Revelation (Revelation 15:1- 4)
I, John, saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy. All nations shall come and worship you, for your judgements have been revealed.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 98:1.2-3ab.7-8.9 (R. Revelation 15:3b
R/. Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God Almighty!
O sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation. R/.
The Lord has made known his salvation,
has shown his deliverance to the nations.
He has remembered his merciful love
and his truth for the house of Israel. R/.
R/. Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God Almighty!
Let the sea and all within it thunder;
the world, and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
and the hills ring out their joy.
At the presence of the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth. R/.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the peoples with fairness. R/.
ALLELUIA Revelation 2: 10c
Alleluia. Be faithful unto death, says the Lord, and I will give you the crown of life. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. ”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 21: 12-19)
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
Today’s gospel presents to us the cost of true discipleship. This entails persecution, imprisonment, betrayal by loved ones, hatred and even death. Anyone who wants to follow Christ must be ready for all of these. This is currently happening in the world. Christ foresaw this and prepared his followers beforehand. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity. St Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna in modern day Syria had this to say when he was asked to deny Christ at the age of 86 – “I have served him for eighty-six years and he never wronged me, I cannot now deny my Lord.” Many Christians suffer for their faith in different parts of the world today. We pray that God may give us the spirit of fortitude to remain faithful to the end.