Articles

Friday November 29

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR

Introduction

In the famous chapter 7 of Daniel, a mysterious “Son of Man” (a human being) is announced. Is he an individual or a community? He belongs to both earth and heaven and will inaugurate a kingdom that comes as a gift from God, not as an earthly conquest. Jesus will apply this title to himself and purify it. The empires built on power and godlessness are ridiculed: they are statues with feet of clay, or like monstrous animals. God will judge them.
The faithful should keep hope in patience: God’s kingdom is near. There are not only tensions and conflicts inside God’s people and from outside: there are also signs of hope, and we should see these signs.

Opening Prayer

God of the ages and of eternity,
you have entrusted to us, your people,
your project about people and the world.
Do not allow us to delay your plans
by our own limitations.
Make us aware that all we can do is
being a leaven, and a sign
that the seed you have sown will grow.
Keep us hoping in patience,
that integrity, love and justice
will come in your own good time
as a gift from you,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reading 1: Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

I, John, saw another angel coming down from heaven,
having great authority,
and the earth became illumined by his splendor.
He cried out in a mighty voice:

"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
a cage for every unclean and disgusting beast."

A mighty angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone
and threw it into the sea and said:

"With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down,
and will never be found again.
No melodies of harpists and musicians,
flutists and trumpeters,
will ever be heard in you again.
No craftsmen in any trade
will ever be found in you again.
No sound of the millstone
will ever be heard in you again.
No light from a lamp
will ever be seen in you again.
No voices of bride and groom
will ever be heard in you again.
Because your merchants were the great ones of the world,
all nations were led astray by your magic potion."

After this I heard what sounded like
the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying:

"Alleluia!
Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God,
for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

They said a second time:

"Alleluia! Smoke will rise from her forever and ever."

Then the angel said to me, "Write this:
Blessed are those who have been called
to the wedding feast of the Lamb."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (Rev. 19: 9a) Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

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

– That we may always look for signs of hope when life is difficult and our faith is tested, we pray:
– That we may always keep trusting the Lord Jesus, that he is with us until the end of time, we pray:
– That we may accept that it is difficult for the kingdom of God to break through and to bring justice and love to all, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God of the promises,
to destroy the powers of evil
your Son came not as a triumphant king
but as the suffering Son of Man.
In this bread and this wine,
we join our destiny to his.
May we learn from him
whose apparent failure led to victory
to accept the tensions of our time
and the slow growth of your kingdom
in patience and hope.
For we know that you keep your promises
of unending life and love and happiness
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord God of hope,
you have given us a beautiful dream
of your unending reign of love and joy,
but we are torn between discouragement and hope
because it is beyond our powers.
Thank you for reviving our expectations
through the body and blood of your Son.
Help us to grow into new people
through our tensions and struggles
by the strength of him to whom you have given
sovereignty and glory and kingship,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

It is sometimes said by non-believers that Christians look up to heaven because they cannot deal with the world. Christ tells us that we have to deal with the world and to change it, to work towards “a new heaven and a new earth.” Let us try to do so with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Commentary

The four beasts of Daniel’s dream, familiar to us by now, represent the four empires. The winged lion (Babylon), plucked wings (Kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar); the bear (the Medes); the leopard (the Persians); the beast with the horn (the Hellenists who gave rise to Antiochus Epiphanes). Offsetting this vision of destruction is the emergence of God himself (the Ancient One). All the kingdoms lose their dominion. Finally the Son of Man, the messianic figure, appears and is accorded full honors and an everlasting dominion.
Written in the second century BC, the book exemplifies the strong eschatological expectation that was present before the dawn of Christianity. The fact is that the reign of God appeared in a totally unexpected way, which many people found impossible to understand or accept. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the time of the kingdom’s emergence. When all the signs are present, just as the signs in nature point to the arrival of summer, so too the kingdom has signs of its forthcoming emergence. This is a kingdom that is present already in the person of Jesus. Perhaps we too yearn too much for the future without realizing what it means to be presently citizens of the kingdom. What a blessing! Jesus once said there was never a person born of woman greater than John the Baptist, but that die least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. That means each one of us.

Points to Ponder

The end of evil
The victory of the Son of Man
The permanent character of the word of God.