OXYGEN

25 Nov – Memorial for St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin, martyr

Legends coming from a number of sources say that St Catherine was very outspoken at the time of the persecutions of Christians. She even protested openly to the emperor Maxentius who had her arrested, tortured on the wheel and decapitated in 305. St Catherine’s courage is a great challenge to all African Christians in their struggle for justice and peace. The witness of her life and her readiness to die for the faith encourages us to be brave witnesses to the Lord and to speak out on behalf of all those who suffer.
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Revelation 14:14-19

In my vision I, John, saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the sanctuary, and shouted aloud to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Put your sickle in and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the earth’s harvest was reaped.

Another angel, who also carried a sharp sickle, came out of the temple in heaven, and the angel in charge of the fire left the altar and shouted aloud to the one with the sharp sickle, ‘Put your sickle in and cut all the bunches off the vine of the earth; all its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel set his sickle to work on the earth and harvested the whole vintage of the earth and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God’s anger.

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Luke 21:5-11

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’

‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.’
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Refuse to join them.

Prophets of doom are not something that belongs to an ancient world. Even in our world today, we have many prophets of doom. We read of them in the newspapers and magazines, and we watch their performances on television, in the cinema, and on the Internet. Some of what they are saying today include the effects of global warming, overpopulation, and the threat of global terrorism.

While this reflection casts no judgement on the truth of such beliefs, both of today’s readings do tell us that there will come a Day of Judgement, a day when the harvest is ripe for the sickle. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the destruction of the Temple, Jesus’ response was “Take care not to be deceived.”

Jesus tells us that many things will happen before Judgement Day, but the end is not so soon. There will be many things that will happen, many things that will distract us from our mission, many things that will cause us to put our faith in something or someone other than God. “Refuse to join them,” Jesus tells us, because joining them will lead us away from our mission, from our God.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Daniel Tay)
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Prayer: We pray for all Christians who are involved in one movement or another to prevent tragedies from taking place in the world, that we may always remember that we are first called to be Christians in the world, that we each have a mission to fulfill first.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to all Christians who have not forgotten their God-given mission while going the extra mile to make the world a better place for all.

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Upcoming Readings:
Wed 26 Nov – Revelation 15:1-4; Luke 21:12-19
Thu 27 Nov – Revelation 18:1-2. 21.23; Luke 21:20-28
Fri 28 Nov – Revelation 20:1-4. 11 – 21:2; Luke 21:29-33
Sat 29 Nov – Revelation 22:1-7; Luke 21:34-36
Sun 30 Nov – Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37; First Sunday of Advent