The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the connection between times when we have known redemption and the attitude of gratitude that many of our American cousins will ponder today.
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| Attitude of gratitude |
In the passage from the Book of Daniel, he is saved from the Lions.
* [6:8–11] The Jews of the second century B.C. could relate the king’s attempt to force upon them, under pain of death, the worship of a foreign deity to the decrees of Antiochus IV; cf. 1 Mc 1:41–50.1
Part of the Prayer of Azariah is our response today from the Book of Daniel.
* [3:24–90] These verses are additions to the Aramaic text of Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were probably first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, but are no longer extant in the original language. The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures.2
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus foretells the Destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the Son of Man.
* [21:24] The times of the Gentiles: a period of indeterminate length separating the destruction of Jerusalem from the cosmic signs accompanying the coming of the Son of Man.3
Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that we who have found ourselves in a lion's den of some sort, at one time or another, can cheer along with the King about our God's fidelity to us.
We might have sought miracles and were disappointed, but our God delivers us from so much - from fear, from anxiety, from a lack of courage, from a feeling of being alone. When we experience a peace that only our God can give, we can truly feel freed from a lion's den...
Jesus is preaching in the temple and warning of the temple's destruction... It is as though the temple falls apart under the Roman invasion, as much from the lack of faith of the people as from the force of the invading Roman army. But, Jesus seems to address his followers with words of hope and encouragement:..“stand erect and raise your headsbecause your redemption is at hand.” (Luke 21:28)4
Don Schwager quotes “The signs have been accomplished,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The signs given in the Gospel and in prophecy and fulfilled in us show the coming of the Lord... We know that the coming is near by the fact that we see the fulfillment of certain signs of that coming that have been accomplished... The signs that Christ told them to look for are listed in the Gospel of Saint Luke: 'Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the nations are fulfilled.' This has happened and no one doubts that it has happened... It is plain that there is no country or place in our time that is not harassed or humbled according to the words 'for fear and expectation of what will come on the whole world.' All the signs that the gospel describes in the earlier verses have mostly been accomplished." (excerpt from Letter 198)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Daniel 6:12-28 notes that over time, Daniel’s faithful witness gained the attention and respect of Darius. It didn’t happen all at once; it was the result of Daniel’s everyday faithfulness.
This is how evangelization usually starts. It mostly takes place in the course of everyday life and arises out of our day-to-day interactions. It’s hard for people to gloss over the witness of a life of faith. They will see the unique way you treat people—with respect and compassion. They will notice how your faith shapes the way you spend your time, the decisions you make, and even the clothes you wear. It all adds up and points people to the God you worship and his love and grace.6
Friar Jude Winkler connects the text from Daniel with mockery of “Antiochus IV Epiphanes” in the second century BCE. In Daniel and Luke clouds are a kind of deus en machina occurring with other end times signs. Friar Jude reminds that soon, in Advent, “Maranatha!” will be a key watchword and prayer to say Come Lord Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that as long as we operate inside any scarcity model, there will never be enough God or grace to go around. Jesus came to undo our notions of scarcity and tip us over into a worldview of absolute abundance. The Gospel reveals a divine world of infinity, a worldview of enough and more than enough. The Christian word for this undeserved abundance is “grace.” It is a major mental and heart conversion to move from a scarcity model to an abundance model and to live with an attitude of gratitude. Lynne Twist, co-founder of The Pachamama Alliance, writes about the reality of abundance, which she calls “sufficiency,” in her excellent book The Soul of Money.
We each have a choice in any setting to step back and let go of the mind-set of scarcity. Once we let go of scarcity, we discover the surprising truth of sufficiency...
When we live in the context of sufficiency, we find a natural freedom and integrity. We engage in life from a sense of our own wholeness rather than a desperate longing to be complete. We feel naturally called to share the resources that flow through our lives—our time, our money, our wisdom, our energy, at whatever level those resources flow—to serve our highest commitments. . . .
Sufficiency as a way of being offers us enormous personal freedom and possibility. Rather than scarcity’s myths that tell us that the only way to perceive the world is there’s not enough, more is better, and that’s just the way it is, the truth of sufficiency asserts that there is enough for everyone. Knowing there is enough inspires sharing, collaboration, and contribution. . . .7
Fr Richard wraps up by wishing on this holiday in the United States, when many of us pause to give thanks, let us consider how we can allow what we have in “sufficiency” to flow from us, no matter what it is—compassion, joy, humility, time, and yes, even money.
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