The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, in the final days of the Church year, challenge us to consider what the triumph of God over the darkness and death of worldly abuse of power means to our choices.
The reading from the Book of Daniel describes visions of the Four Beasts and judgement before the Ancient One.
* [7:1–27] This vision continues the motif of the four kingdoms from chap. 2; see note on 2:36–45. To the four succeeding world kingdoms, Babylonian, Median, Persian, and Greek, is opposed the heavenly kingdom of God and the kingdom of God’s people on earth. The beast imagery of this chapter has been used extensively in the Book of Revelation, where it is applied to the Roman empire, the persecutor of the Church.
* [7:2] The great sea: the primordial ocean beneath the earth, according to ancient Near Eastern cosmology (Gn 7:11; 49:25). It was thought to contain various monsters (Is 27:1; Jb 7:12), and in particular mythological monsters symbolizing the chaos which God had vanquished in primordial times (Jb 9:13; 26:12; Is 51:9–10; etc.).
* [7:4] In ancient times the Babylonian empire was commonly represented as a winged lion, in the rampant position (raised up on one side). The two wings that were plucked may represent Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. On two feet like a human being…a human mind: contrasts with what is said in 4:13, 30.
* [7:5] A bear: represents the Median empire, its three tusks symbolizing its destructive nature; hence, the command: “Arise, devour much flesh.”
* [7:6] A leopard: used to symbolize the swiftness with which Cyrus the Persian established his kingdom. Four heads: corresponding to the four Persian kings of 11:2.
* [7:7–8] Alexander’s empire was different from all the others in that it was Western rather than Eastern in inspiration, and far exceeded the others in power. The ten horns represent the kings of the Seleucid dynasty, the only part of the Hellenistic empire that concerned the author. The little horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 B.C.), who usurped the throne and persecuted the Jews.
* [7:9–10] A vision of the heavenly throne of God (the Ancient of Days), who sits in judgment over the nations. Some of the details of the vision, depicting the divine majesty and omnipotence, are to be found in Ezekiel 1. Others are paralleled in 1 Enoch, a contemporary Jewish apocalypse.
* [7:13–14] One like a son of man: In contrast to the worldly kingdoms opposed to God, which are represented as grotesque beasts, the coming Kingdom of God is represented by a human figure. Scholars disagree as to whether this figure should be taken as a collective symbol for the people of God (cf. 7:27) or identified as a particular individual, e.g., the archangel Michael (cf. 12:1) or the messiah. The phrase “Son of Man” becomes a title for Jesus in the gospels, especially in passages dealing with the Second Coming (Mk 13 and parallels). (Daniel, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)
The response is from Daniel 3 of Friday December 1, 2023.
* [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.
* [3:25] Azariah: i.e., Abednego; cf. Dn 1:7. (Daniel, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus notes the Lesson of the Fig Tree.
* [21:5–36] Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired by Mk 13 but Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus found there. Luke maintains, though in a modified form, the belief in the early expectation of the end of the age (see Lk 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of the end from Mk 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the parousia. Mark, for example, described the desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mk 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Dn 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke (Lk 21:20–24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Lk 21:24). See also notes on Mt 24:1–36 and Mk 13:1–37. (Luke, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly reflects most today on the message of redemption in Luke 21:28. There are a lot of promises that bring us to this point. God promises us everlasting dominion and the coming of a Savior in the Old Testament, and Jesus promises that His words will not pass away even after Heaven and earth will pass away.
Jesus also promises us we can be confident that our redemption is at hand, enough so that we can stand erect and raise our heads, because we will be delivered of all the forces of sin and evil in this world. I pray today that we will all not only trust Jesus’s promises, but that we will remain confident in them until Jesus returns. It is a good spiritual practice, I think, to stand erect and raise our heads a bit each day amid all the sin and evil in this world. The beasts will not prevail. (Dilly, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “My words will not pass away,” by an anonymous author from the early Greek fathers.
"'This generation' refers both to those who suffer temptation and to those who cause it. It refers to sinners among men and to the demons who are at work in them. For neither group will cease being in the world until its consummation. For Christ said, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matthew 25:41). Moreover, it is necessary that the source of temptation be preserved as long as there is faith which needs testing. It is also possible, however, that 'this generation' refers to those mortal Christians who would not pass over into eternal life and be made immortal and impassible 'until' all the events about which Christ was speaking had taken place.
"'Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away' because heaven and earth were created to serve you, but my words were uttered to govern you. Both heaven and earth are subject to vanity, as the apostle said, 'Creation is subject to vanity' (Romans 8:20). Truth, however, is by nature unable to deceive and can never die." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 49, the Greek fathers). (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Daniel 7:2-14 (Meditation on Daniel 7:2-14, n.d.)comments that Daniel’s vision can bring us great comfort. We see disorder, chaos, and dysfunction all around us. People who do good suffer, while those who seek power, wealth, or fame seem to prosper. We may ask, Where is God? Are we all lost, adrift in a sea of selfishness and injustice? Not at all!
You are not lost to God. He sees through all the confusion; he sees you, his beloved child. And he promises that eventually all the books will be opened and his reign will never end (Daniel 7:10, 14). Jesus, King of kings, cares for you. The One who alone has everlasting dominion loves you with a love stronger than death. Nothing can separate you from that love!
“Jesus, you are Lord! You will reign forever and ever!” (Meditation on Daniel 7:2-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the various creatures in Daniel 7 that represent empires that have conquered the world. The “Son of Man” in Daniel originally referred to all the Jewish people and it became a reference to a messiah in Jesus' time. Incidents in our lives that remind us of our vulnerability remind us to live every second as precious.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, speaks of our universal mandate to live out the gospel in our lives. He notes that people who live their prophetic vocation are those who choose this life of love and transformation.
Without a constant infusion of the Holy Spirit, without a constant desire and trust—Lord, give me your Holy Spirit!—we all close down. We do! It’s the nature of life to circle around the smaller and smaller self, to take fewer and fewer risks, and to never go outside our own comfort zone of people who are just like us. Friends and siblings in Christ, don’t do that! We’re all going to be gone in a few years. We only get one chance to live this life of love. Every day is a lesson in love, learning how not to bind up ourselves and our neighbors, but in fact to free ourselves and others. What Jesus is saying here to Peter and to all of us is that he will back up what we do. We are Jesus’ emissaries. As Teresa of Ávila says, “We are the only hands and feet, the only eyes and ears that Jesus has.” [1] Jesus has handed over the mission and the mystery and the wonder of the realm of God to each of us.
Until we can live every day of our lives motivated by love, rather than by fear or people in authority, this Gospel will not work. It will not change you or me, and it will not change the people around us. Let’s begin anew. (Rohr, 2023)
We seek inspired response by the Spirit to our witness to daily destruction of the lives of people through armed conflict and the continued indifference towards the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
References
Daniel, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/3?
Daniel, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/7?2
Dilly, B. (2023, December 1). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/120123.html
Luke, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/21?29
Meditation on Daniel 7:2-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/12/01/840168/
Rohr, R. (2023, December 1). Knowing Jesus for Ourselves — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/knowing-jesus-for-ourselves/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec1
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