Speak to the worldly empires

The proclamation from the canticle in the third chapter of the Book of Daniel” Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever” is shown in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary today to be a precept violated by those who profane the sacred traditions of the Jewish people in the text from the fifth chapter of Daniel. Friar Jude Winkler notes that even though the destruction of the Babylonian Empire is prophesied by Daniel, the text applies to the oppression of Jewish religious practice and desecration of the Temple by the Seleucid Empire about 200 years before the birth of Jesus. The Gospel from Luke tells of the great tribulation which will accompany the struggle of believers as we move toward the end time. The consequence of proclaiming the Good News may be rejection and persecution. The Vatican has released the first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, of the Holy Father, Francis. Like Daniel, Francesco speaks truth about some challenges of today’s world. He exhorts people to say “No” to many aspects of modern culture which are contrary to the Word and example of Jesus. He includes an economy of exclusion, idolatry of money, a financial system which rules rather than serves and inequality which spawns violence. Believers must go with the assurance of Jesus, expressed by Friar Jude as ‘they might kill us but they will never harm us’ and speak mene, mene, tekel, and parsin (Daniel 5:25) to the world.

Collapse of empire

The theme of destruction of the power structures in society comes from the texts today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The passage from the Book of Daniel is a prophesy of the destruction of the Seleucid Empire as God uses the Jewish people as a rock to smash the power of the conquerors. The IndependentCatholic News reports that Pope Francis had a private meeting in the Vatican with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. This was the fourth time the Russian leader has been to the Vatican. He met Pope John Paul II in 2000 and 2003 and had an audience with Pope Benedict in 2007. The Church today lives with political powers that have the ability to bring economic downturn, war and moral ambiguity to our societies. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the destruction of Jerusalem, as detailed by Jesus in the Gospel from Luke. He notes that the signs of the end (of Jerusalem or the world) are around us today. He advises that we live daily with “nothing left unsaid, nothing left undone”. The words of Harriet Beecher Stowe are similar “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone".  These statements need to be balanced by an awareness of words to have hurtful consequences. The Vatican is a place where diplomatic efforts to dialogue with world leaders are practiced. The gifts of the children of the light in dealing with the princes and principalities are uncertain. The believer needs to speak truth to power. Jesus reminds us that the truth which sets us free may come at great cost. 

Prudent and poison

The text today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary from the Book of Daniel, though set in the time of the Babylonian Exile was, according to Friar Jude Winkler and other authorities, written during the reign of Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV who defiled the Temple of Jerusalem in 168 BC, perhaps in an attempt to seize the temple treasure. The author of this text encourages the readers to reject the demand of the Greek conquerors to participate in Greek customs of worship and consumption of non-kosher food. This course of action was certainly not prudent or politically correct. The intention of the rulers was to assimilate the Jewish people into the political culture. The Gospel from Luke also challenges us to consider rejection of the prudent act in favour of acting out of love and trusting Providence. The culture in which we live does not support or understand the decision of the widow in the Gospel who gives all she has to the Temple treasury. We certainly could come up with a list of many modern values of responsibility, credit worthiness and even contribution to the economy which might be used to demonstrate the irresponsibility of her action. How can Jesus praise this gift?  Homilists like John Jay Hughes see Jesus recognizing the motivation behind the gift as Love. We may have the opportunity to be as loving in our contributions to others as the widow. This action will not only help increase the role of faith in our daily life, it will open us to be more generous in family life and in financial assistance to the destitute, as noted by MaryanneRouse of Creighton University. Decisions of Faith, which are not seen as prudent by the dominant culture, are a means to work against the constant pressure for assimilation into the culture driven by commercial gain which is losing Love based orientation.

Forgiveness and blessings from the King

  Today the psalmist in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary exhorts ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ (Psalm 122:1) The leaders of the ten northern tribes of Israel approach David in Hebron, the site of many important events in Jewish and Christian history, to go to Jerusalem and be the king of a united Israel. The Kingship of David according to Elna K. Solvang of Concordia College is expressed in the Book of Samuel as Israel's hope does not rest in a dynasty but there is hope that from the house of David will come forth trustworthy leadership, attentive to the voices of those in need, and in faithful service to God's goals for Israel and the world. Friar Jude Winkler examines the hymn of praise to Jesus in the first chapter of the Letter to the Colossians wherein Jesus is God truly present, who reigns over the spiritual entities of angels. This assertion is to address the theme in Greek philosophy which held that things spiritual were superior to things of the flesh. Today is celebrated in Roman Catholic and Anglican communities as the Feast of Christ the King. DrTaylor Marshall writes that Pope Pius XI promulgated an encyclical on Christ the King titled Quas primas December 11, 1925. The Holy Father issued it to mark the “sixteenth centenary of the Council of Nicaea” held in AD 325. The Council of Nicea in AD 325 defended the divinity of Christ from which flows Christ’s royal claims over humanity. Father Larry Gillick SJdraws us to consider the Eucharistic meal in comparison to the family meals which we celebrate at this time of year. The plan of God for people is proclaimed as a message of forgiveness and blessing from the King of the Jews on a throne of the Cross. Father Larry notes that the elders and the Romans saw their security in the death of Jesus. Linda Pepe understands the invitation of Jesus to stand with Him in Paradise as the kingship which brings the message to us about how far God is willing to go to free to the oppressed…. to ensure that the hungry are fed, and the naked are clothed and the poor are cared for and the sick are healed.

Look a little longer

Occasionally our interpretation of the events of life needs to be disturbed by taking a look from the point of view of the other. This is the presented in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the view of the author of the First Book of Maccabees about the death of the Greek Emperor who had sacked Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple. The deep depression which beset the ruler over these crimes leads to his death. The truth of our feeling at times that the death of some world leaders would bring such good as we would expect changes from oppression to freedom, starvation to health. The root causes of these situations are often deeper than one person. Nate Romano, S.J. ofCreighton University finds some words to share a more considered view of the Sadducees, the very conservative Jewish sect who did not accept resurrection from the dead, who challenge Jesus in the Gospel passage today from the Gospel of Luke. The method used by Jesus to change their frame of reference gives them room within their own paradigm to consider some a different bit of evidence from Moses. The little bit of light which is reflected from situations which we may initially see as completely dark is perhaps the Spirit encouraging patience and perseverance to discover the point of departure to another path.

Purify our plans

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary bring the themes of purification and cleansing to mind. These actions are presented in the episode from the Book of Maccabees where Judas and his brothers, the Hasmoneans, liberate the Temple which had been desecrated by Hellenistic worship during occupation of Israel by Seleucid invaders. The Gospel from Luke tells of Jesus zeal for the sanctity of the Temple as he drives out the merchants and restores teaching and respect. This action attracts the attention, according to Friar Jude Winkler, of the Roman occupying authorities who were always on guard for acts of rebellion, particularly during holiday times. Those with control or monetary interests, like the Pharisees, are alerted to the need to deal with Jesus as one who is interrupting their plans. The personal housekeeping that Carol Zuegner of Creighton University recommends involves finding more time for prayer and perhaps prayerful music, as the Church remembers St Celia today. The conflicts of the holiday season and western commercialism with our faith life and the maintenance of religious festivals to focus on the light of Chanukah, which introduces the greater Light of the Divine, and Incarnation of Jesus which brings the Light to humanity are like the initial attractiveness of Hellenistic culture to the Jews which eventually led to the need for purification and cleansing.

Two rebellions with modern lessons

The texts today in the RomanCatholic Lectionary from the Gospel of Luke and the Book of First Macccabees show us two rebellions against two conquerors of the land of Israel and give us an opportunity to consider what determines our course of action against the forces which may be opposing our Life in the Spirit. Some of the people in the time of the priest Mattathias, who out of zeal for the traditions of the people of the Covenant murders the offenders and begins a rebellion, looked at the adoption of Hellenistic rules and regulation about religion as a kind of modernization, according to Friar Jude Winkler. This acceptance of the regulation of the state of religious practice is too present in our so called modern time. The grief of Jesus over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans after another rebellion about 200 years after Mattathias is used by Andy Alexander, S.J. of Creighton University to recall the recent lament of Pope Francis at Lampedusa that the modern world is losing any ability to live the grief of those suffering because of our political, social and economic attitudes, processes and decisions. How will our zeal to live the invitation of Jesus to intimacy with the Divine present itself in the battle against forces which work on our indifference to the human cost of the way the modern world is conquering our sense of basic justice. Our zeal to provide the necessities of life to our brothers and sisters should motivate our action. The tension is between using the plough or the sword as it was for Isaiah (Isaiah 2:4) and Jesus. Let us begin in the model of Jesus with prayer and weeping.