Daily Catholic Mass Readings for November 23, 2024
First Reading: Revelation 11.4-12
4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.5And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.6They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.7And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,8and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.9For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,10and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
Psalm 144
1Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;2he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.3O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?4Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.5Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them!7Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners,8whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.9I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.12May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace;13may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;14may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!
Gospel: Luke 20.27-40
27There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,28and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.29Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.30And the second31and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.32Afterward the woman also died.33In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."34And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,35but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,36for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.37But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.38Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."39Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."40For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter powerful imagery and profound teachings about the ultimate triumph of God and the nature of eternal life. The first reading from Revelation presents the two witnesses, symbolic figures who prophesy in the face of opposition and persecution. Despite their eventual martyrdom, they are resurrected in a dramatic display of God’s power, ascending to heaven while their enemies watch in awe. This passage reminds us that even in the darkest moments, God’s victory is assured, and His truth will ultimately prevail. The second reading from Luke’s Gospel finds Jesus engaging with the Sadducees, who question Him about the resurrection. Using a clever and complex scenario involving seven brothers and their widow, they seek to challenge the concept of an afterlife. Jesus responds by revealing that life after the resurrection is fundamentally different from life on earth. Marriage, as we know it, will no longer exist, for we will live in a state akin to the angels, free from death and united with God.
These readings are connected by their focus on the resurrection and God’s ultimate triumph over death. In Revelation, the two witnesses embody the enduring power of God’s Word, even in the face of opposition. In Luke, Jesus emphasizes that the resurrection is not merely a continuation of this life but a radical transformation. Together, they invite us to reflect on our understanding of eternal life and our place within God’s plan. Both readings challenge us to live with hope and trust in God’s promises, even when faced with suffering or uncertainty.
As we apply these readings to our daily lives, we are reminded to persevere in faith, knowing that our struggles are temporary and that God’s victory is eternal. Let us strive to live in a way that reflects our ultimate citizenship in heaven, where death and suffering will no longer have power over us. May we embrace the hope of the resurrection, trusting that God will bring us through every trial into the fullness of life with Him.