{"id":7578,"date":"2017-11-30T10:26:31","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T16:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=7578"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:40:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:40:27","slug":"in-this-time-of-great-distress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2017\/11\/30\/in-this-time-of-great-distress\/","title":{"rendered":"In this time of great distress"},"content":{"rendered":"

The book of Revelation is a profound example of resistance literature<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The author, a disciple named John, is responding to a crisis: the severe persecution of the Church in the late first century. He himself is in exile, in Patmos, a Roman penal colony and island located between Greece and Turkey.\u00a0The vision John receives and shares with us assures us that God has already triumphed, and will triumph, over the forces of evil. Revelation is a book of hope and consolation and challenge for believers to remain faithful \u2013 as God is faithful \u2013 to the end.<\/p>\n

The book of Revelation begins with a blessing, a special message for all of us: \u201cBlessed is the one<\/em> who reads aloud this prophetic message, and blessed are those who listen to it and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.\u201d<\/em> (Revelation 1:3<\/a>)<\/p>\n

This reading from Revelation refers to \u201cthe time of great distress.\u201d \u00a0We live in this time. Previous generations have too, but we can certainly claim it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll suggest a few signs of this \u201cgreat distress,\u201d but I also invite you to think about this reality from your own perspective and social location. A few examples: climate change and ecological destruction; mass migration and forced displacement (now involving 250 million people globally); violent conflicts and even the increasing threat of nuclear war; and the widespread presence of sexual violence, from body shaming to sexual harassment to rape, especially against women and girls.<\/p>\n

\"three-fists-#metoo\"<\/p>\n

The statistics are harrowing. I\u2019ll offer one as an example. How many girls alive today have experienced forced sexual acts? According to United Nations, 120 million girls. The #MeToo campaign has effectively spotlighted \u2013 in a personal and compelling way \u2013 how sexual violence affects those closest to us: sisters, daughters, friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the time of great distress.\u201d I have named a few examples. There are many more.<\/p>\n

I invite you to consider: What parts of the \u201cgreat distress\u201d touch your heart, your conscience? Whose cries do you hear?<\/em><\/p>\n

In Revelation, the destructive forces are symbolized by the four winds. We need no such symbol today. We know that this time of distress is our own making.<\/p>\n

In Revelation, the great multitude cries out \u201cSalvation comes from our God and from the Lamb.\u201d Our hope is in God. And God has mercifully shown us the path of salvation: it is the way of the Beatitudes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How must we walk together in the time of great distress? To be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, and clean of heart. To mourn, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to make peace.<\/em> It sounds like more resistance literature in our time of crisis.<\/p>\n

The saints walk this path. Some are canonized, many others unrecognized, even more living among us. I invite you to consider: Who is a saint in your life \u2013 among the living or the dead \u2013 who has taught you the path of the Beatitudes, and how to live as a faithful disciple amid the great distress?<\/em><\/p>\n

John describes<\/a> these saints as a \u201cgreat multitude,\u201d too numerous to count, \u201cfrom every nation, race, people and tongue.\u201d They \u201cwear white robes,\u201d and their foreheads are \u201cmarked with a seal.\u201d The seal is a mark of property, of belonging, and of protection.<\/p>\n

We are among this multitude. We come from many nations. In our baptism we are marked with the sign of the cross; our heads are anointed with chrism, the oil of salvation; and we are \u201crobed in white\u201d as a sign of our Christian dignity. In our baptism God claims us, we become children of God (1 John<\/a>), and we belong to God.\u00a0And each time we share in the Eucharist, we too are \u201cwashed in the blood of the Lamb.\u201d \u00a0We are made one in Christ.<\/p>\n

So, in this time of great distress, let us always remember our identity as children of God, sinners loved by God, called to walk the path of the Beatitudes, knowing we are among saints who cheer us on (Hebrews 12:1<\/a>). This is the path of resistance that we walk together.<\/p>\n

Note from the editor<\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>This blog post is a version of a homily that Father Luke Hansen, SJ, preached October 31, 2017 (<\/span><\/i>Vigil of the Solemnity of All Saints<\/span><\/i>) in Rome.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE RABBLE ROUSER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke Hansen, SJ<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Luke-Hansen-SJ\"Originally from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, Luke Hansen, SJ, has been a friend of Sister Julia\u2019s since 2004 when they met at an airport on their way to serve in the\u00a0Jesuit Volunteer Corps<\/a>\u00a0in California. Passionate about justice and peacemaking, much of his experience in ministry has been centered on serving adults and adolescents who are incarcerated. He now is studying in Rome at the\u00a0Pontifical Gregorian University<\/a>. (Photo credit:<\/em>\u00a0www.jesuits.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The book of Revelation is a profound example of resistance literature. The author, a disciple named John, is responding to a crisis: the severe persecution of the Church in the late first century. He himself is in exile, in Patmos, a Roman penal colony and island located between Greece and Turkey.\u00a0The vision John receives and...","protected":false},"author":14328657,"featured_media":7582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115341],"tags":[767653,5627950,64933,356021,10051,214,56456,91160789,6406728,20816,5792136,42369,42727,313914,56391,53752,798247,538],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-7578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-metoo","tag-apocalyptic-literature","tag-baptism","tag-beatitudes","tag-bible","tag-christianity","tag-end-times","tag-faith-and-resistence","tag-gospel-living","tag-hope","tag-john-of-patmos","tag-prophecy","tag-resistance","tag-saint","tag-salvation","tag-social-problems","tag-the-book-of-revelation","tag-violence","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/metoo.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

In this time of great distress<\/a><\/blockquote>