A Reading from the Book of Isaiah (25:6-9)
On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of
well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow,
of well-aged wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over
all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over
all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will
take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited
for him, so that he might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have
waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his
salvation.
> Addresses Israel’s sufferings and the destruction of other nations.
> Plural of “peoples” to share the abundance of God.
> The Mountain — refers to Mount Zion where the temple was located.
> “Our God” once again refers to all nations and all peoples of the world.
> These verses are often used at funeral.
Psalm 24
1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, *
the world and all who dwell therein.
2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *
and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
3 “Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? *
and who can stand in his holy place?”
4 “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *
who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
nor sworn by what is a fraud.
5 They shall receive a blessing from the Lord *
and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.
8 “Who is this King of glory?” *
“The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.”
9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 “Who is he, this King of glory?” *
“The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.”
> These verses represent an image of God and all the earth — universality.
> It’s all about God’s kingship over all the earth.
> Lord of Hosts – related to the Sanctuary in Jerusalem.
> The term “King of Glory” is only used here in the Bible.
A Reading from the Book of Revelation (21:1-6a)
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
> These verses are patterned on Isaiah (65:17-19).
> This is an example of apocalyptic literature — a portrayal of victory over the Roman Empire.
> It portrays all peoples brought into God’s heaven and earth.
> Morals and peoples are listed in plural — meaning all peoples on the earth.
> Pictures all peoples being raised up at the end.
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (11:32-44)
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 4The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
> Emphasis on Lazarus being dead for four days as the spirit stayed around for three days, or so it was believed.
> This event became a driving factor as to why they had to arrest Jesus, which then led to his death.
> The Greeks thought of people in two parts – soul and physical body.
> The Jewish traditions was to think of a person having a “living spirit.”
> We have tended to adopt the Greek point of view.
> St. Paul emphasized the resurrection of the body.
