(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
The sea of glass is a crystal sea. Crystal is a fierce quartz. Imagine a crystal sea mixed with fire. Imagine all the bravery and audacity of the fiery, crystal sea. Imagine further a huge throng crossing through this untamed sea in safety and see them now standing, safe, on the shore ready to sing a hymn to the God and the Lamb who have saved them. This is the image John gives us in this reading.
They sing the canticle of Moses, the canticle Moses sang after the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and the turbulent waves had overwhelmed the Egyptians. The new enemy, the beast and the followers of the beast, are conquered, vanquished by God and the Lamb.
Worthy now is God and the Lamb to receive honor, power and glory. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. The defeat of the beast is cause for thanksgiving. The power of God to save is worthy of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for this victory is what we always celebrate in the Eucharist.
In the Eucharist, we hear the word of God proclaimed in Scripture and we respond with the hymn of praise called the Eucharistic Prayer. The Greek word for thanksgiving is Eucharist.
We spend each week encountering the Word of God in our lives through the people God sends our way. Each week, because of these people, we can sing in our lives the thanksgiving hymn of the people on the shore. Then, when we come together on Sunday, we bring all this word of God and God’s many saving actions into the Sunday liturgy where we formalize the word and the praise through Christ our Lord, who is the Lamb of God.
When we associate other people in our Eucharistic celebrations this way, we are united more closely to the Father by Christ because we have recognized Christ himself in these neighbors and strangers. With all these many people, we are caught up that mighty tumultuous sea of crystal and fire in order to sing the song of Moses.
Crystal has it fierceness, its beauty, its strength. It reflects the fierceness, the beauty and the strength of God. We have passed through the crystal sea with its fire and stand safe in the fierceness, the beauty and the strength of God and of the Lamb. Let our lives sing.