Articles

Thursday November 28

FAITH IN A SAVING GOD

Introduction

Today’s story of the first reading is not historical but edifying. It applies again to Antiochus IV “Epiphanes,” who obliged the people in his kingdom to pray only to his god, Baal-Zeus, of whom he pretended to be the manifestation. Of course, the Jews (Daniel) contested this order.
The destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of disaster in nature are for us signs of the trials of the Christian life and of the difficult coming of God’s kingdom among people. But let us not forget that we ourselves too, delay this kingdom, by our selfishness, our hunger for power, all the evil we cause one another. Yet, our meager efforts will help to bring salvation nearer. With the help of Christ present among us, we can grow in love, forgiveness, compassion, and peace. We should keep our heads raised in hope.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
we are your people on the march
who try to carry out the task
of giving shape to your kingdom of love and peace.
When we are discouraged and afraid,
keep us going forward in hope.
Make us vigilant in prayer,
that we may see the signs of your Son’s coming.
Let Jesus walk with us already now
on the road he has shown us,
that he may lead us to you,
our living God, for ever and ever.

Reading 1 Dn 7:2-14

In a vision I, Daniel, saw during the night,
the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,
from which emerged four immense beasts,
each different from the others.
The first was like a lion, but with eagle’s wings.
While I watched, the wings were plucked;
it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet
like a man, and given a human mind.
The second was like a bear; it was raised up on one side,
and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks.
It was given the order, “Up, devour much flesh.”
After this I looked and saw another beast, like a leopard;
on its back were four wings like those of a bird,
and it had four heads.
To this beast dominion was given.
After this, in the visions of the night I saw the fourth beast,
different from all the others,
terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength;
it had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed,
and what was left it trampled with its feet.
I was considering the ten horns it had,
when suddenly another, a little horn, sprang out of their midst,
and three of the previous horns were torn away to make room for it.
This horn had eyes like a man,
and a mouth that spoke arrogantly.
As I watched,

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was snow bright,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

The court was convened, and the books were opened.
I watched, then, from the first of the arrogant words
which the horn spoke, until the beast was slain
and its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up.
The other beasts, which also lost their dominion,
were granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw

One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm: Daniel 3:75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
“Mountains and hills, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
“Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!”
“You springs, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
“Seas and rivers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
“You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
“All you birds of the air, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
“All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!


Alleluia: Lk 21:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Lk 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
know that its desolation is at hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Let those within the city escape from it,
and let those in the countryside not enter the city,
for these days are the time of punishment
when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days,
for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth
and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword
and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles;
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand."

Intercessions

– Lord Jesus, when we are confused and discouraged, tell us: “Stand up and raise your heads, because your salvation is near,” we pray:
– Lord Jesus, make us people of hope, not of fear, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, we pray for people who despair of themselves and of the meaning of life; give them courage and hope, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
as a pledge of your promises
you give us your Son, Jesus Christ,
in these signs of bread and wine.
We do not ask you for a life
without problems and risks,
but for your Son’s vision
of a world in which you are present
and for your Son’s courage
to answer with our own lives
your call to build up a new world
in Christ Jesus, our Lord,

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God, merciful Father,
you have spoken to us your word of hope
and renewed our strength
with the bread of life of your Son.
Free our faith from banality and routine
and send us out with your Son
to restore integrity and love
and the trust that with him
we can give shape to a future
beyond all human expectations,
for the future belongs to you, our living God.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

Keep your heads high in hope was the message of today. Keep hoping when there are wars and violence. Keep hoping when there is much injustice. Keep hoping when there is much hatred and discrimination. Keep hoping for there is a future. Christ is with you, and with him we can do away with evil in us and in our world. Keep your heads high, and may God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Commentary

Today’s first reading contains what is perhaps the most famous of the Daniel stories, his consignment to the lions’ den. However, it is a tale fraught with historical difficulties. There is no Darius the Mede known to secular history. The Persians conquered the Medes, and Cyrus was the ruler who took both the Medes and the Babylonians. The character of Darius in this chapter is perhaps modeled on Darius the Persian of the sixth century.
The apocalyptic view of the author of Daniel repeatedly sees four successive kingdoms: Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks, all of which play a part in his end-time worldview.
Ignoring the king’s mandate that no god is to be invoked by any citizen for thirty days, with all petitions being addressed to the king, Daniel ignores the decree and continues to invoke the God of Israel. Grieved that Daniel does not desist and faced with the irrevocable character of the decree, Darius places Daniel in the den of fierce lions, but God prevents the animals from doing him any harm. The king removes Daniel from the den and decrees that the God of Daniel be reverenced throughout the empire.
In Luke’s end-time discourse, there is a notable divergence here. The fall of Jerusalem had been seen as part of the eschatological scene. By the time Luke’s Gospel was written, Jerusalem was already destroyed and the end had not occurred. Hence, the fall of the city in this gospel is “de-eschatologized” and is simply placed in an historical setting. It is then followed by the end-time descriptions of the heavens, the seas, and the terrified population. But the elect should stand firm, for their redemption is close at hand.
While apocalyptic language is not always easy to understand, there is one over-arching message: the sovereignty of God. We really do not know what form the end of history will take, and, even less, the time of its occurrence. But we do know that God has an ultimate plan and that all unfolds according to his providence.

Points to Ponder

The beginning and the end: the hand of God
Human freedom and the right of worship
Standing upright in the faith.