The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of what in life is permanent and can be relied upon as a guide for our journey.
 |
| Journey continues |
The apocalyptic reading from Daniel 7 presents visions of the four Beasts and ultimate judgement before the Ancient One.
* [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).1
The prayer of Azariah is the response from Daniel 3.
* [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
Jesus teaches the Lesson of the Fig Tree in the Gospel of Luke.
* [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.3
Scott McClure reflects on what it means to be Christian – to act in a Christian way as love, kindness, community, patience, and similar words come to mind… as characteristics of this way… Beyond “Because these are good ways to act” what is the reason for our striving to act in this way, as Christians?
Our answer lies in today’s psalm: Give glory and eternal praise to him! (Daniel 3). How timely a message as we enter the season of Advent! We are called to glorify and praise God; to worship God. This requires a consciousness of the transcendent, an eternal realm that ensures, as Jesus, himself, says: my words will not pass away (Lk 21:33). Those present at the nativity had such an awareness.4
Don Schwager quotes “My words will not pass away,” by an anonymous early 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).5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Daniel 7:2-14 comments that Biblical scholars say Daniel’s vision is a creative interpretation of Israel’s past and present, ending with the promise that God’s justice will prevail. But that doesn’t keep us from wanting to look for predictions of the future in the cryptic symbolism Daniel uses.
As Pope Francis proclaimed at the inaugural Mass for his first World Youth Day, “The ‘dragon,’ evil, is present in our history, but it does not have the upper hand. The One with the upper hand is God, and God is our hope!”
Even Daniel’s bizarre-sounding tale ends with the everlasting dominion of the Ancient One. That’s what we have to hold on to in times of turmoil, confusion, and fear. Take heart; hold on. Christ is in you, and he is victorious!6
Friar Jude Winkler traces the series of pagan empires represented by beasts in Daniel 7 to Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes in the 2nd century BCE. Jesus self reference to Son of Man is also connected to being the Suffering Servant of Second Isaiah. Friar Jude reminds of the sign that grey or white hair is of our own end time.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that most of Jesus’ teaching is what we call nondual, for example: “Let the weeds and the wheat grow together” (Matthew 13:30); “My Father’s sun shines on the good and the bad” (Matthew 5:45). But there are some areas where he’s absolutely dualistic, either/or—usually anything having to with the poor or with money! I believe Jesus is dualistic on these topics because he knows what most of us are otherwise going to do, that most of us will serve mammon. We’re wired to focus on short-term, practical gains. And, of course, money often does solve our short-term problems.
But I hear Jesus saying that a long-term solution is to seek relationship over money. I saw this at work most clearly when I was able to preach in many “poor” countries that don’t have the same kinds of infrastructure and safety nets that so-called “developed” countries do… In her book, The Soul of Money, Lynne Twist points out that modern science is discovering a similar truth in nature. She writes:
The idea that scarcity and competition are just the way it is is no longer even viable science. Respected evolutionary biologist Elisabet Sahtouris notes that Nature fosters collaboration and reciprocity. Competition in Nature exists, she says, but it has limits, and the true law of survival is ultimately cooperation. . . .7
As we approach the end of this liturgical year, we contemplate signs that remind us of our mortality and the permanent relationship we share with Christ.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment