The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today encourage us to look beyond the trials and tribulation of today to the Grace that calls us together for the common good.
Beyond the darkness
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel describes his visions and how they are interpreted.
* [7:25] The reference is to the persecution of Antiochus IV and specifically to the disruption of the Temple cult (1 Mc 1:41–64). A time, two times, and half a time: an indefinite, evil period of time. Probably here, three and a half years, which becomes the standard period of tribulation in apocalyptic literature (Rev 11:2; 13:5 [in months]; 11:3 [in days]; and cf. 12:14). As seven is the Jewish “perfect” number, half of it signifies great imperfection. Actually, the Temple was desecrated for three years (1 Mc 4:52–54). The duration of the persecution was a little longer, since it was already under way before the Temple was desecrated.1
The response from the Book of Daniel is from the Prayer of Azariah.
* [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 exhorts us to watch and be alert.
* [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 13:1–37.3
Jeanne Schuler comments that data about climate change brings an apocalyptic mood. The ice pack is melting. Ancient glaciers weaken and collapse. Seas are rising. Acidic oceans kill coral reefs. The permafrost is thawing. Mass extinctions are underway. Droughts and wildfires devastate farmland and forests. Nations go to war over fresh water. Faced with starvation, families migrate. Without vigorous global action, 50 million climate migrants are predicted by 2050. The drumbeat of dangers keeps sounding.
In Saving Us, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe finds apocalyptic moods numbing. Heaps of dismal data do not move us to act. She urges us to have conversations. Listen to what our neighbors care about. A planetary upheaval affects every aspect of our lives. Look for solutions that bring us together. “Whoever we are, we are human. And as humans, we have the power to connect with one another across many of the broad, deep lines scored across our societies and psyches … We have to start with respect, and with something we both agree on: bonding over a value we truly share, and then making the connection between that value and a changing climate … Rather than trying to change who someone is, it can become clear that the person you are talking to is already the perfect person to care about and act on climate change. (229)4
Don Schwager quotes “Drunkenness weakens both soul and body,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"'But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare.' You heard the proclamation of the eternal King. You learned the deplorable end of 'drunkenness' or 'intoxication' Imagine a skilled and wise physician who would say, 'Beware, no one should drink too much from this or that herb. If he does, he will suddenly be destroyed.' I do not doubt that everyone would keep the prescriptions of the physician's warning concerning his own health. Now the Lord, who is both the physician of souls and bodies, orders them to avoid as a deadly drink the herb 'of drunkenness' and the vice 'of intoxication' and also the care of worldly matters. I do not know if any one can say that he is not wounded, because these things consume him."Drunkenness is therefore destructive in all things. It is the only thing that weakens the soul together with the body. According to the apostle, it can happen that when the body 'is weak,' then the spirit is 'much stronger' (2 Corinthians 12:10), and when 'the exterior person is destroyed, the interior person is renewed' (2 Corinthians 4:16). In the illness of drunkenness, the body and the soul are destroyed at the same time. The spirit is corrupted equally with the flesh. All the members are weakened: the feet and the hands. The tongue is loosened. Darkness covers the eyes. Forgetfulness covers the mind so that one does not know himself nor does he perceive he is a person. Drunkenness of the body has that shamefulness." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 7.5-6)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 21:34-36 asks what if we looked at this reading more through the lens of Jesus’ love than through the lens of our fear? Maybe we could see that he is warning us not to become spiritually “drowsy” because he doesn’t want us to miss out on the privilege of living in his presence (Luke 21:34).
Every day is another opportunity to “stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36). Every day is a fresh chance to come into Jesus’ presence, let him teach you through his word, and let him form your heart. If you stay faithful to him every day, you’ll have nothing to fear on that final day when you stand before him once more—this time for all eternity. “Jesus, help me to wake up to your presence today.”6
Friar Jude Winkler notes how the text from Daniel points to the reign of the Syrian Empire in the 2nd Century BCE. The “half of the perfect time” description of the persecution is mirrored in the Book of Revelation about the Roman Empire. Friar Jude underlines the message of being ready in tribulation and testing for an encounter with Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, discusses how Carl Jung helped him to understand that dreams are a way for the unconscious to break through into our conscious life. He shares a practice inspired by Jung’s emphasis on dreams—keeping a dream journal.
Looking over a broad scope of dreams and dreamwork in our journal, we become aware of the immense power and scope of the world to which dreams are a gateway for us personally and as members of a believing community. We begin to see the call to holiness and wholeness as an exciting goal toward which our journey is leading us. We strive to bring into balance and harmony more and more aspects of our life and personality that are slowly being revealed, including what we naturally do well, what we don’t do well, what we like and what we don’t like.7
The Spirit prompts us to be aware of the path of our journey and alerts us to transformation that leads to fullness of life.
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