Scripture Study for
All Saints
Revelation 7:2–4, 9–14 / Psalm 24:6 / 1 John 3:1–3 / Matthew 5:1–12a
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Understanding the Word
By Br. John R. Barker, OFM
As the Lamb breaks open the seals on the scroll, the world enters a prelude to the final divine judgment, in which those who have been faithful to God will receive their reward. In preparation for that judgment, an angel comes forth to sign and protect the saved from the impending disaster. The number 144,000 (twelve squared times one thousand) is symbolic of the saved of Israel, which is joined by a vast multitude from all the nations. The focus in Revelation is on those who have suffered for their faith, thus the imagery of white robes and palms that has become associated with martyrs. Those who have been saved offer eternal worship to the God and the Lamb who have saved them.
The central theme of the First Letter of John is the reciprocal love of God for humans, love of humans for God, and love of humans for one another. The love of God, which is primary, has been made manifest in Christ. Those who accept this love will love in return through obedience to God and care for neighbor. This love is what allows us to abide in God and in Christ, which in turn perfects us and makes us children of God. This is the unimaginable promise of what is to come. But, in addition to abiding in Christ, believers must also be wary of the “world,” that social reality that is hostile to God and which constantly seeks to draw us away from God.
Near the beginning of his ministry, Jesus presents the fundamental themes of his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Portrayed as the “new Moses” in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus stands as the definitive interpreter of the Law and of God’s will. The Beatitudes are a classic wisdom form, in which the ways of the righteous are laid out for those who would be “blessed” (or “happy”). Jesus’ version of this wisdom theme signals that his teaching and his ministry will focus less on perfection of religious observance (which one might mistakenly consider the equivalent of being “righteous”), and more on qualities associated with humility, vulnerability, and openness to God’s will and action in their lives.