During his Wednesday General Audiences, Benedict has been examining the apostles, offering his usual brief, lucid catechesis. Today, in considering John, he turns to the Book of Revelation. The AsiaNews report:

The pope said that contrary to usual interpretation, the Apocalypse was not about an “overhanging catastrophe” or “enigmas to be resolved”. Rather it told about the persecutions suffered by Christians throughout history, aiming to instill the certainty of a “victory of the Lamb, slaughtered and yet standing upright”, becoming a comfort for Christians, especially those of Asia. The reference to Asia and persecution against Christians is above all literary: the Apocalypse, said the pontiff, “should be understood in the background of the dramatic experiences of the seven Churches of Asia (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) that at the end of the first century had to face heavy difficulties in their witness to Christ. John turned to them, showing animated pastoral sensitivity towards the persecuted Christians, who he exhorted to remain strong in the faith and not to identify with the pagan world.” But speaking then about the one of the symbols of the Apocalypse (the scroll no one could open that drove the apostle to tears, Apoc.5:4), he adds: “Probably this cry expressed the bewilderment of the Asian churches about the silence of God in the face of persecutions they were subject to then. It is a bewilderment that could well reflect our dismay in the face of serious difficulties, misunderstandings and hostilities that the Church still suffers today in several parts of the world. They are sufferings the Church certainly does not deserve, just as Jesus himself did not merit his torment.”

Teresa Benedetta at the PRF has her translation up, with the extemporaneous portions underlined. Do read Teresa’s translation – it communicates the warmth and immediacy of the Pope’s words in a way the AsiaNews report doesn’t quite convey:

One of the principal visions of the Apocalypse has this Lamb opening a book, which had been closed by seven seals which no one could undo. John is presented weeping because no one could be found worthy to open the book and read it (cfr Ap 5,4). The story remained indecipherable, incomprehensible. No one could read it.

Perhaps John weeping at the mystery of a story so hidden expressed the disconcertment of the Asiatic Churches at the silence of God in the face of the persecutions to which they were exposed at the time.

It is a disconcertment that could well reflect our own dismay at the grave difficulties, incomprehension and hostility which even today the Church suffers in many parts of the world. These are sufferings which the Church certainly does not merit, just as Jesus Himself did not merit His ordeal.

But these sufferings reveal both man’s wickedness when he succumbs to the temptations of evil, as well as the superior conduct of events by God Himself.

It turns out that only the immolated Lamb could open the sealed book and reveal its contents, thus making sense of a story that is often so apparently absurd. Only the Lamb could take from the book the instructions and teachings that Christians need for life, to which His triumph over death is both an announcement and a guarantee of the victory which even the beleaguered Churches would doubtless obtain. All the strongly imaginative language that John employs is aimed at offering this comfort.

In the center of the vision which the Apocalypse presents are the very significant images of the Woman who bears a male child, and the complementary image of the Dragon who has been cast from Heaven but remains very strong.

The Woman represents Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, but also represents the Church, the people of God through all time, the Church which, at all times and with great suffering, continues to give birth to Christ ever anew. It is always threatened by the power of the Dragon. It appears defenseless and weak. But while it is threatened, persecuted by the Dragon, it is also protected by the consolation of God. And the Woman triumphs in the end. It is not the Dragon that wins. And this is the great prophecy of this book which gives us confidence!

The Woman who suffers in the story, the Church that is persecuted, appears in the end as the splendid Spouse, the figure of the new Jerusalem where there will no longer be tears nor weeping, an image of the world transformed, the new world in which God Himself is the Light, whose lamp is the Lamb.

For this reason, John’s Apocalypse, although pervaded with continuous references to sufferings, tribulations and tears – that is, the dark face of history – is at the same time permeated by frequent songs of praise which represent almost the luminous aspect of history.

Thus, for instance, we read of an immense crowd which sings, almost shouts out: "Alleluia! The Lord has taken possession of His Kingdom – our God, the Omnipotent. Let us rejoice and exult, let us give Him glory, because the wedding of the Lamb is at hand, and His bride is ready" (Ap 19, 6-7).

We have here the typical Christian paradox, in which suffering is never perceived as the last word, but is seen as a point of passage towards happiness, and in itself is already mysteriously suffused with the joy that comes from hope.