Ingathering of the Faithful

Homily for Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s passage from the Book of Revelation presents two scenes, both depicting the judgment of God upon the earth in imagery taken from the prophet Joel. As a symbol of God’s judgment, this harvesting may connote both negative and positive meanings.

In the first scene, the one who performs the harvesting is “one like the son of man,” the same description used of Christ in the first chapter. He waits for the command from God to begin reaping, a command that is delivered by the Angel who comes from the heavenly temple. The language used in this first scene is reminiscent of the language of the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of St. John who appends a comment about the harvest being ready in the episode with the Samaritan woman at the well.

The second scene, however, is somewhat different. It seems to have a negative connotation. The image of the winepress is called the winepress of God’s fury. Whereas the harvest of the wheat can be likened to the ingathering of the elect by Jesus, this image seems to be an image of punishment for the wicked. While the lectionary reading does not include the last verse of this chapter, it reads in part, “The wine press was trodden outside the city and blood poured out of the wine press.” This last verse reminds us that executions took place outside the city walls as was the case with the crucifixion of Jesus. Finally, this image of the winepress is another reference to the Hebrew Scriptures which use it as an instrument of judgment against the wicked.

The passage from St. Luke’s Gospel that we read today is about the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. For the people of Jesus’ time, the image of the destruction of the temple was unthinkable. We might have the same feelings about the harvesting of which we read in the Book of Revelation. Both images are fearful and frightening. However, it is important for us to remember that when Jesus returns, he will return as a judge who separates the sheep from the goats. Once again, we remember that apocalyptic literature is meant as a warning to be alert, to be ready, to be found by Jesus as people of faith so that we will be gathered up by Jesus with the elect.