Transformed for the time of struggle

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the tribulations of living today through the lens of our journey in life and the strength that comes from surrender to living as brothers and sisters of Christ.

Some tribulation on the path

The passage from the Book of Daniel encourages those suffering tribulation that the God  will be present to restore them to life.

* [12:2] Many of those who sleep: Daniel does not envisage the universal resurrection as later developed. Two groups are distinguished, one that rises to eternal life, the other to reproach and disgrace. Then “those with insight” (11:33–35) are singled out for special honor.

The Letter to the Hebrews declares the singularity of the offering of Jesus as High Priest to be once for all.

* [10:11–18] Whereas the levitical priesthood offered daily sacrifices that were ineffectual in remitting sin (Heb 10:11), Jesus offered a single sacrifice that won him a permanent place at God’s right hand. There he has only to await the final outcome of his work (Heb 10:12–13; cf. Ps 110:1). Thus he has brought into being in his own person the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 31:33–34) that has rendered meaningless all other offerings for sin (Heb 10:14–18).

In the Gospel from Mark, we are encouraged in the midst of tribulation, to seek the signs of the Presence of God.

* [13:26] Son of Man…with great power and glory: Jesus cites this text from Dn 7:13 in his response to the high priest, Are you the Messiah? (Mk 14:61). In Ex 34:5; Lv 16:2; and Nm 11:25 the clouds indicate the presence of the divinity. Thus in his role of Son of Man, Jesus is a heavenly being who will come in power and glory.

Juliana Claassens, Professor of Old Testament, connects the text from Daniel 12 to the struggle of those who are persecuted by powerful forces with evil intent.

Even in the most devastating of times (perhaps triggered by the attacks of Antiochus IV Epiphanus on Jewish identity, e.g., abolishing the Sabbath and sacrificing pork in the temple), the author can remind his audience of God's sovereign rule. The elevated role of angels who are employed as messengers and military officers fighting on God's behalf in these texts actually point to an increasingly bureaucratic view of God's rule that serves the purpose of countering the worldly power of any and every empire that threatens the faithful.

Reid Monaghan, graduate student in Applied Apologetics, cites Ben Witherington's commentary on Mark that features the account of Tacitus on the persecution of Christians in Rome as a continuation of first century conflict between the Roman authorities and the Jews of Jesus world.

First, the culture of early first century Galilee/Judea in 20-30 AD and second, the mid first century culture of Rome in the 60s.[11]  It is an interesting fact that both contexts presented great difficulty for both the Jewish and early Christian communities. Galilee/Judea was under Roman occupation and rule where Jesus and his following appeared a religious-political threat to imperial power.  Rome in the mid 60s presented an intense, though brief, time of suffering and persecution under the maniacal leadership of Nero.

Andy Alexander, S.J, comments that Jesus consoling his disciples about the trouble to come for them is really important for us, as we face the troubles of our time.

Every other trouble we face is some kind of mini-death, which is difficult to face. The common effect of these experiences is that they can shake us. They can disturb our confidence and upset our sense of security.
What Jesus wants to do for us today is what he did for his first disciples. He wants us to not let our hearts be troubled. Jesus knows he will be with us in the midst of everything. He wants us to have confidence that we are never alone. And, he wants us to trust that he has won the victory over sin and death - over every sin; over every death.

Don Schwager quotes “My words shall not pass away”, by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).

"Nothing of this world is more durable than the heavens and the earth, and nothing in the order of nature passes away more quickly than speech. Words, as long as they are incomplete, are not yet words. Once completed they cease utterly to be. In fact they cannot be perfected except by their own passing away. Therefore he says: 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass.' As if he were openly to say: all that seems to you enduring and unchangeable is not enduring and without change in eternity. And everything of mine that seems to pass away is enduring and without change. My speech, that seems to pass away, utters thoughts (sententiae manentes) which endure forever." (excerpt from  HOMILIES 1)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 13:24-32 shares St. Francis different take on the subject of the end of the world.

Once, when he was working in the garden, a friar asked, “What would you be doing now if you knew that Jesus was coming back today?” Francis replied, “I would keep hoeing my garden.” Francis knew he was trying his best to be ready, and there was nothing more he could do.

Friar Jude Winkler connects the Scripture on the end of the world with the coming end of the liturgical year before Advent. The sense of becoming perfect in the Letter to the Hebrews is that of being consecrated to God, not perfectionism as understood today. The signs of grey hair and too many funerals tell us that our end time will come too.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, is inspired by Parker Palmer’s new book, “On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old”  wherein a quote from Thomas Merton helps focus on “How shall we understand nature’s testimony that dying itself—as devastating as we know it can be—contains the hope of a certain beauty?”

In the visible world of nature, a great truth is concealed in plain sight. Diminishment and beauty, darkness and light, death and life are not opposites: they are held together in the paradox of the “hidden wholeness.” In a paradox, opposites do not negate each other—they cohabit and cocreate in mysterious unity at the heart of reality. Deeper still, they need each other for health, just as our well-being depends on breathing in and breathing out. . . .

Andy Alexander, S.J, concludes for us that we can practice this faith - really exercise it and strengthen it, perhaps like a muscle we haven't used much - by simply practicing surrender. Not being so cautious becomes less scary and helps us to be more confident in loving. We can say, "Lord, I know that nothing can separate me from your care for me. Help me love this person with your own type of love, thinking less of myself, and more for the other person. Let me be bold and free." Let us be confident before the trials and tribulations of our day, placing our lives in his hands.

References

(n.d.). Daniel chapter 12 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/daniel/12
(n.d.). Hebrews chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/10
(n.d.). Mark chapter 13 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/13
(n.d.). Daniel 12:1-3 Commentary by Juliana Claassens - Working Preacher .... Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=425
(2007, August 29). The Gospel of Mark — Power of Change. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from http://www.powerofchange.org/blog/2007/8/29/the-gospel-of-mark.html
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved November 18, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Mass Readings .... Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/