The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 362: The Woman Clothed with the Sun (2024)
Fri, 27 Dec 2024
Fr. Mike continues to interpret the symbols within Revelation. He compares story of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the woman in Revelation. Fr. Mike provides context to the letter to the Hebrews, a letter that makes the case for Jesus, explaining who he is and the beauty of what he did for us. Today’s readings are Revelation 12-14, Hebrews 1-4, and Proverbs 31:19-22. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 2: How does the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe relate to Revelation?
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all God's angels worship him. Of the angels, he says, who makes the angels' winds and his servants' flames of fire? But of the Son, he says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.
Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades. And you, Lord, founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain." Chapter 2 Warning to Pay Attention Therefore, we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
For if the message declared by angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will. Exaltation through suffering. Now, in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.
As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him, but we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will proclaim your name to my brethren. In the midst of your congregation, I will praise you.
And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here am I and the children God has given me. since therefore the children share in flesh and blood he himself likewise partook of the same nature that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death that is the devil and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to life-long bondage
For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned, but with the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Chapter 3 Moses, a Servant, Christ, a Son Therefore, holy brethren who share in a heavenly call, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. He was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in God's house. Yet Jesus has been counted worthy of as much more glory than Moses, as the builder of a house has more honor than the house.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of the letter to the Hebrews?
He sees the temple, the Ark of the Covenant, and a great sign appeared in the heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was with child, and she cried out in her pangs of birth in anguish for delivery. Another sign in heaven, a red dragon.
Remember, seven heads, ten horns, seven diamonds upon the heads, signifying power and signifying some wisdom, signifying some influence here. Let's go back to the woman, though. There are at least three images of who this woman is. One image is the woman is ancient Israel. It's faithful Israel. And that is legit.
Another image is that this is the church, which makes sense too, because here is this image of Satan, again, waging war on the church, on the children of the church, the bride of Christ here. The third image, of course, is Mary is the woman because Mary gave birth to the only begotten son of God. Now, all of those images are valid.
We can see all of those and say, yeah, there's a way in which all of them represent. So here's a secular example. It might be helpful, but in the book series, The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien, he has a number of figures of Christ, Christ figures. So one of them is Gandalf, right? He's the wizard. He's a Christ figure in the sense that he has wisdom and power and those kinds of things.
And at one point he dies and comes back, comes back transformed from Gandalf the gray to Gandalf the white. He's an image of Christ, the priest. You have Aragorn, who is the king, and he's going to take his throne at some point. He's exiled in many ways, but at some point he's going to take his throne. So here's an image of Jesus Christ, the king.
You also have Frodo, who's the hobbit, who carries the ring. And in Tolkien's work, he said that he actually, Tolkien said about the Lord of the Rings, he said that it's a religious and it's specifically Catholic work. So Frodo is the ring bearer and ring in Middle Earth and in the whole book series, the ring symbolizes the corruptive power of sin.
And so here's the one who's carrying the corruptive power of sin, carrying the ring in order to destroy it. In the process, it costs him something. So here is Frodo, the ring bearer in terms of like, you know, here's Jesus, the cross bearer.
So you can see that in that work of fiction, there are three images or three ways you can see, oh, this is a Christ figure, this is a Christ figure, this is a Christ figure.
In a similar way, you have this book of Revelation chapter 12, this woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head with a crown of 12 stars, who gives birth to this child as, yeah, the faithful remnant of Israel, the early church or the church itself, as well as Mary, the mother of God. And so all of those are legitimate interpretations of this.
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