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OVERCOMING THE ENEMIES OF THE KINGDOM THROUGH
WATCHFUL PRAYER
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Daniel 7:15-27 ©
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I, Daniel, was deeply
disturbed and the visions that passed through my head alarmed me. So I
approached one of those who were standing by and asked him to tell me the truth
about all this. And in reply he revealed to me what these things meant. “These
four great beasts are four kings who will rise from the earth. Those who are
granted sovereignty are the saints of the Most High, and the kingdom will be
theirs for ever, for ever and ever.” Then I asked to know the truth about the
fourth beast, different from all the rest, very terrifying, with iron teeth and
bronze claws, eating, crushing and trampling underfoot what remained; and the
truth about the ten horns on its head – and why the other horn sprouted
and the three original horns fell, and why this horn had eyes and a mouth that
was full of boasts, and why it made a greater show than the other horns. This
was the horn I had watched making war on the saints and proving the stronger,
until the coming of the one of great age who gave judgement in favour of the
saints of the Most High, when the time came for the saints to take over the
kingdom. This is what he said:
‘The fourth beast
is to be a fourth
kingdom on earth,
different from all
other kingdoms.
It will devour the
whole earth,
trample it underfoot
and crush it.
As for the ten horns:
from this kingdom
will rise ten kings,
and another after them;
this one will be
different from the previous ones
and will bring down
three kings;
he is going to speak
words against the Most High,
and harass the saints
of the Most High.
He will consider
changing seasons and the Law,
and the saints will
be put into his power
for a time, two
times, and half a time.
But a court will be
held and his power will be stripped from him,
consumed, and utterly
destroyed.
And sovereignty and
kingship,
and the splendours of
all the kingdoms under heaven
will be given to the
people of the saints of the Most High.
His sovereignty is an
eternal sovereignty
and every empire will
serve and obey him.’
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Canticle
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Daniel 3:82-87 ©
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Sons of men! bless
the Lord.
Give
glory and eternal praise to him!
Israel! bless the
Lord.
Give
glory and eternal praise to him!
Priests! bless the
Lord.
Give
glory and eternal praise to him!
Servants of the Lord!
bless the Lord.
Give
glory and eternal praise to him!
Spirits and souls of
the virtuous! bless the Lord.
Give
glory and eternal praise to him!
Devout and
humble-hearted men! bless the Lord.
Give
glory and eternal praise to him!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt24:42,44
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand
ready,
because you do not
know the hour
when the Son of Man
is coming.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying
at all times
for the strength to
stand with confidence
before the Son of
Man.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:34-36 ©
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Jesus
said to his disciples: ‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with
debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung
on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the
face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive
all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of
Man.’
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OVERCOMING THE ENEMIES OF THE KINGDOM THROUGH WATCHFUL
PRAYER
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As we
come to the end of the liturgical year, the theme of today’s liturgy is that we
must stay awake at all times. This theme seems to be repetitive during
these last weeks. If the Church appears to be repetitive of this theme,
it is because many of us are still not hearkening to the invitation of the Lord
to be prepared for His coming.
We can
never be too sure or confident that our life will be well taken care of and
things will continue run smoothly for us. We may have no worries and
enjoy a blessed life. Our family may be united in love and are children
are doing well in their studies and careers. Yet, the peace and security
we have are never guaranteed. Life is always unpredictable. Without
warning and often suddenly, we might one day find ourselves struck by the death
of a loved one, an accident, a misfortune, an illness, a broken marriage,
unemployment or a business failure, just when we think everything is going well
for us.
Of
course besides all our fears and anxieties, we can also be overwhelmed by our
own sins and worldly concerns. Our hearts are weighed down by greed,
lust, gluttony and all kinds of worldly pursuits. We are all addicted to our
sinful habits and unable to free ourselves from our disordered passion for
pleasures. Many of us are too preoccupied with the cares of life. The
gospel advises us to be watchful of the signs and the presence of the
kingdom. Many of us are asleep. As a result, life passes us
by. We live a barren life and a life that is ruled by sin. We drift
from day to day without any sense of direction.
That is
why Jesus warns us not to take all these things for granted. He said,
“’Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and
drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly,
like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the
earth.” If we are not prepared, we can be so weighed down by the
inconveniences, setbacks, failures and disappointments in life. We can
also be crushed by our sins and our mistakes in life. Some of us cannot
accept these passing things and events of life. We cannot forgive
ourselves or those we blame for the situations we are in, or simply cannot
accept the situation itself. Some of us are resigned to the difficulties
of life, but are not trying to transcend or overcome our problems. Others
try to drown their sorrows by escaping into drinks, or engaging in vain and
useless activities. Instead of confronting the way they live, they want
to numb their senses and their conscience.
So
without exception, besides contending with our internal enemies, we also have
to contend with external foes in our lives that threaten our peace and
joy. Who, then, are our external enemies? The first reading from the
Prophet Daniel speaks of the forces of evil in the world. Daniel had
earlier interpreted that vivid dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, about a terrifying
statue symbolizing four kingdoms. Historically, we know that these
kingdoms were the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians, and the Greeks. (Cf Daniel 2) The four beasts in Daniel’s own
dream in Chapter 7 probably corresponds also to these same four kingdoms.
Clearly, the fourth beast refers to the Greek Empire, from which arose
Antiochus IV Epiphanes who was one of the generals who inherited part of the
empire of Alexander the Great after his death. He proved to be the
greatest persecutor of the Church. He was the horn that made “war on the
saints and proving the stronger … he is going to speak words against the Most
High, and harass the saints of the Most High. He will consider changing seasons
and the Law, and the saints will be put into his power for a time, two times,
and half a time.” Indeed, because of him, many Jews defected from their faith
and gave up the Covenant and the Law.
What
about our enemies today? Today our enemies are not so much physical powers or
internal enemies but spiritual forces at work in the world. I would
consider the four beasts in our time as secularism, relativism, materialism and
religious syncretism. Secularism denies the reality of God and puts God
out of the affairs of man. Relativism amoralizes all values so much so
that the objectivity of truth is no longer known. Materialism reduces man
merely to an animal like the rest of the creatures on earth, making him lose
his spiritual consciousness. Finally, there is religious and scientific
syncretism, which encompasses the New Age phenomena whereby science and
religions are eclectically fused together so that man comes to deceive himself
thinking that he is god. Whilst the first three are obviously
anti-religion, the last seems to be “religious”, but is in fact as insidious a
lie as it confuses our real identity and calling. Indeed because the New
Age phenomena looks so innocent, attractive and compatible with religions, even
many of our Catholics unwittingly have imported such New Age beliefs and
practices into their spiritual life and daily living. New Age philosophy
is basically pantheistic.
It is
therefore necessary for us, as Jesus said, to “Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with
confidence before the Son of Man.” We must continue to stand firm in the
face of the challenges in society where Christianity is no longer having the
kind of influence on the world as it had before. In fact, we are at a
critical stage of history when people are losing faith in the institutions, be
they political or religious. As Christians, we must continue to resist
the secularist, relativist and materialist approaches to life. We must be
firm in upholding true values that are rooted in the dignity of the human
being.
At the
same time, we must, in our fight against evil, be confident that we will
triumph in the end. We must not be pessimistic when we consider the
struggles we have to put up with. This is what the first reading is assuring
us. We read that in spite of the great persecution, evil has a limit “until the
coming of the one of great age who gave judgement in favour of the saints of
the Most High, when the time came for the saints to take over the
kingdom.” Prophet Daniel said “the saints will be put into his power for
a time, two times, and half a time.” In other words, for three and a half
years, which is a symbol of incompleteness. Evil can only reign temporarily.
It might appear to have the upper hand, but God is in control. The forces
of evil will ultimately be destroyed. Eventually, the Kingdom of God will be
established as the only reality. This kingdom has in fact already been
established in Christ Jesus.
This
prophecy about the “final and absolute destruction” of this king’s rule must
have been a great source of comfort to the faithful living at that time and to
us today. Hence, with the psalmist, we can truly praise God for His love
and fidelity to us. “Give glory and eternal praise to him.” Indeed, the
psalmist calls for sons of men, all Israel, Priests, Servants of the Lord,
Spirits and souls of the just and Holy men of humble heart, “bless the
Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.”
However,
this kingdom is only given to the saints, to those who have persevered against
the forces of evil. The tragedy is that many of us are still unaware that God’s
kingdom is already here. Truly, many of us are aware that we are not
being true to ourselves or to God. For this reason, today, Jesus urges us
to be awake at all times. We must live the life that is given to us
fully. Instead of running away from problems and troubles, we must seek
to face life and live it courageously. In this way, we can live without
regrets whatsoever and can face the Son of Man with a clear conscience, knowing
that we have done all that we could. Such a life is the only kind worth
living. By living in this manner, the kingdom of God also becomes a
reality in our lives. We will then know the promise of God that His reign
would be established in the saints is fulfilled, as prophet Daniel foretold in
the first reading. Together with Jesus, God’s kingdom will reign in us, a
kingdom that is eternal because the life of God is in us. We too must keep
ourselves awake at all times so that we can see the reality of the Kingdom of
God establishing itself in our lives even while we continue our struggles
against the kingdom of evil. In this way, the Kingdom of God will
gradually but certainly be established so that the prophecy of Daniel that His
kingdom will be established forever is fulfilled.
What
remains therefore is the question of how we can keep ourselves awake at all
times. The key to being awake is to pray at all times. This is the
advice of Jesus. For it is in prayer that we will find strength and
wisdom to direct and sustain ourselves in the face of trials and
challenges. Only in prayer, can we find the power of God to keep us firm
in our beliefs, convictions and visions. Without prayer, we will lose our
sense of direction, especially when we are too absorbed by the world’s
problems. We need to stand from afar in order to look at our problems
objectively and with the eyes of faith. Prayers enable us to do just
that. It is prayer that will give us the confidence that what we do is in
accordance with our conscience. Hence, we will be able to find great
strength and courage to do what we need to do. Consequently, we are no longer
fearful of death or of the Lord’s final coming because our conscience is
upright and hence we are able to “stand with confidence before the Son of Man.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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