Apocalypse 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9 / Luke 21:20-26
The book, A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution.
It was about two cities separated by the English Channel and with differing fortunes. One city was tranquil while the other was in turmoil.
We would often use the phrase "a tale of two cities" to mean similar entities but with differing fortunes.
The two readings of today mention about two cities - Babylon and Jerusalem. But Babylon was a symbolic name for the capital of the Roman empire which was persecuting Christians at that time.
Babylon was a great city, wealthy, prosperous and powerful and yet also a capital of sin and evil. As we heard in the 1st reading, it was to be destroyed.
The gospel mentioned about Jerusalem and the fate was awaiting her. The similarities about these two cities were that they were enjoying a good time and with that they had regressed into moral deterioration and decay. There was no respect for God and they had even defied God.
But the time of reckoning will come and evil will be punished and the just will be vindicated..
The tale of two cities can be said to be the story of our lives. We have sinned but the time for repentance will come and we must recognize it. When that time comes, we must stand erect and hold our heads high, because our liberation is at hand. It will be a time of healing and forgiveness.
Meanwhile, we will have which city we want to be in - the city of sin or the city of God. Let us stand erect and hold our heads high and head towards that city that will give us lasting joy.