November 16, 2025
Revised Common Lectionary
Isaiah 65:17-25 or Malachi 4:1-2a
Isaiah 12 or Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Luke 21:5-19
Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Malachi 3:19-20a
Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 (see 9)
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19
Relentless reports of warfare and armed conflict in the world today can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Digital media brings the horror of wars in Ukraine and Gaza into our homes daily, while conflicts rage in Yemen, Myanmar, and the Sahel. Occasional threats of nuclear strikes raise the specter of Armageddon—that chilling biblical reference to the final battle between good and evil.
It seems that little has changed since the time of Jesus. In today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, the disciples are admiring the beauty of the Jerusalem Temple, but Jesus steps in and warns: “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down” (Lk 21:6). He then speaks of wars, earthquakes, famine, and plagues—warning his followers what to expect. All this talk of destruction, insurrections, natural disasters, and persecutions can leave us feeling uneasy if not alarmed. Where’s the good news here?
Jesus points to these events not to frighten but to reassure us. He counsels us not to be terrified by calamity nor frightened by rejection. God promises redemption through and beyond these trials—a new world beyond conflict and destruction where love proves stronger than hatred.
Christ pledges to be with us when we are criticized or attacked for our beliefs and for our efforts to promote justice, equity, inclusion, and peace. He tells us to hold fast in the face of any difficulty: “By your endurance you will gain your souls” (Lk 21:19). This isn’t passive resignation but active, faithful persistence. The prophet Malachi, who centuries earlier predicted disaster and cataclysm for an unfaithful nation, nonetheless articulates the same promise with these words of reassurance: “But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2a).
In his Second Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul addresses a community where there was widespread anxiety about the coming of the end times. His advice in today’s reading offers another crucial perspective. Not only should we trust in God’s promises and let go of our fear, but we should continue to go about our work. We are called to await Christ’s coming actively, attending to our own needs to the extent possible and doing good for others. Indeed, we are told, “do not be weary in doing what is right” (2 Thess 3:13).
Even amid fears of a new Armageddon, today’s Scriptures invite us to keep our focus on God’s rule and God’s justice. Instead of speculating about disastrous events or surrendering to fear, we are called to be faithful disciples by taking on our share of the work. Faced with apocalyptic anxiety, what does this faithful living look like? These words of John Wesley offer a practical answer:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
In a world still marked by conflict and catastrophe, this remains our calling: to trust God’s promises, resist fear, and persistently do good.
A Hymn for Today: “New Songs of Celebration Render”
The Lectionary’s selection of Psalm 98 along with today’s other Scripture readings helps to identify the good news that is expressed among images of destruction and persecution. In this jubilant psalm of praise, we rejoice “at the presence of the Lord, who is coming to judge the earth. God will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity” (Ps 98:9). The psalmist expresses trust in God’s promise to bring justice in the end.
British scholar, minister, and hymn writer Erik Routley, FHS, became well known in North America, lecturing here frequently from 1955 forward and spending the last seven years of his life as Professor of Church Music at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. Routley created this paraphrase of Psalm 98 in 1972 for inclusion in an ecumenical collection of hymns, Cantate Domino, published by the World Council of Churches in 1974. Routley uses vivid language to express the psalm’s spirit of jubilation at the coming of God’s rule. He wrote this text for the tune RENDEZ A DIEU, which matches well its joyful character. Listen here.
New songs of celebration render
to God who has great wonders done;
love sits enthroned in ageless splendor;
come and adore the mighty One.
God has made known the great salvation
which all the saints with joy confess.
God has revealed to every nation
truth and unending righteousness.
Joyfully, heartily resounding,
let every instrument and voice
peal out the praise of grace abounding,
calling the whole world to rejoice.
Trumpets and organs, set in motion
such sounds as make the heavens ring;
all things that live in earth and ocean,
sound forth the song; your praises bring.
Rivers and seas and torrents roaring,
honor the Lord with wild acclaim;
mountains and stones, look up adoring,
and find a voice to praise God’s name.
Righteous, commanding, ever glorious,
praises be sung that never cease;
just is our God, whose truth victorious
establishes the world in peace.
Text: Erik Routley, 1917-1982, alt. © 1974, Hope Publishing Company. Used by permission under OneLicense #A-729857
Tune: RENDEZ A DIEU
Image Credit: Sun of Righteousness, Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
“Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection” is written by the Executive Director of The Hymn Society, Rev. Dr. Mike McMahon. For his full bio, click here and scroll down to the “staff” section.
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