20171128
THE PASSING KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Daniel 2:31-45 ©
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Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, ‘You have had a vision, O king;
this is what you saw: a statue, a great statue of extreme brightness, stood
before you, terrible to see. The head of this statue was of fine gold, its
chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of
iron, its feet part iron, part earthenware. While you were gazing, a stone
broke away, untouched by any hand, and struck the statue, struck its feet of
iron and earthenware and shattered them. And then, iron and earthenware,
bronze, silver, gold all broke into small pieces as fine as chaff on the
threshing-floor in summer. The wind blew them away, leaving not a trace behind.
And the stone that had struck the statue grew into a great mountain, filling
the whole earth. This was the dream; now we will explain to the king what it
means.
‘You, O
king, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power,
strength and glory – the sons of men, the beasts of the field, the birds
of heaven, wherever they live, he has entrusted to your rule, making you king
of them all – you are the golden head. And after you another kingdom will
rise, not so great as you, and then a third, of bronze, which will rule the
whole world. There will be a fourth kingdom, hard as iron, as iron that
shatters and crushes all. Like iron that breaks everything to pieces, it will
crush and break all the earlier kingdoms. The feet you saw, part earthenware,
part iron, are a kingdom which will be split in two, but which will retain
something of the strength of iron, just as you saw the iron and the clay of the
earthenware mixed together. The feet were part iron, part earthenware: the
kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. And just as you saw the iron and
the clay of the earthenware mixed together, so the two will be mixed together
in the seed of man; but they will not hold together any more than iron will
blend with earthenware. In the time of these kings the God of heaven will set
up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not pass
into the hands of another race: it will shatter and absorb all the previous
kingdoms, and itself last for ever – just as you saw the stone untouched
by hand break from the mountain and shatter iron, bronze, earthenware, silver
and gold. The great God has shown the king what is to take place. The dream is
true, the interpretation exact.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Daniel 3:57-61 ©
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All things the Lord has made, bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Angels of the Lord! all bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Heavens! bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Waters above the heavens! bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Powers of the Lord! all bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Lk21:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Rv2:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to die, says the Lord,
keep faithful, and I will give you
the crown of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:5-11 ©
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When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was
adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things
you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will
be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this
question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will
there be that this is about to take place?’
‘Take care
not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying,
“I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you
hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that
must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will
fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great
earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful
sights and great signs from heaven.’
THE PASSING KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Dn 2:31-45; Dn 3:57-61; Lk 21:5-11]
We all
endeavor to build our kingdom in this world. This has always been the temptation of
man since the days of old. Even Jesus, the Son of God, was tempted by the
Devil in the desert to build His own kingdom when He began His ministry.
(cf Mt 4:1-11)
He was tempted to use His power to seek the pleasures of the world when the
devil asked Him to change the stones into bread. He was tempted to show
forth His power by throwing Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple so
that people would fear and respect Him. Finally, He was tempted to glory
and riches when the devil “took him to a very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and
he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship
me.’” (Mt 4:8f)
We too are
tempted constantly like Jesus. Firstly, we desire more power to control
people. We
like positions and offices so that the people will respect us and think well of
us. We think powerful people are loved when they are often feared!
Of course, those of us who suffer from low self-esteem need to feel great and
powerful. That is why there are some who desire the power of
authority. Alas, the most powerful people on this earth are the
ones that need the most number of security guards. They lose their
freedom to go anywhere they like for fear of being recognized and be swamped by
their fans and paparazzi or attacked by their enemies.
Secondly, we
seek the glory, prestige and splendor of wealth and the things of this life. We desire money, gold
and the best things in life. We like to wear beautiful clothes so that
people will admire us. We think that with money there is security.
We think that with money, all will be well with us and we will not have any
more sufferings in life. Alas, the more money we have, the more insecure
we become. We have to worry about how to handle and make our money
grow. We will worry about being cheated, killed and robbed. We will
no longer have true friends because most of our friends will be fair weather
friends.
Thirdly, we
seek to live a life of pleasure. People think that eating, drinking and merrymaking is
what happiness is all about. We think that if we can eat and drink all
day, we will be satisfied and be happy. Alas, we fail to realize that
there is only so much we can eat, otherwise we will die of high cholesterol and
ill health. Furthermore, anything that is excessive becomes a routine and
loses its taste and colour. Then we need to start looking for better food and
better facilities for enjoyment because there is a saturation point when the
things of this world cannot satisfy us.
The first
reading warns us that all these do not last. As soon we attain power,
glory and pleasure, we will lose them. Prophet Daniel’s
interpretation of the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar shows that no matter how
powerful and rich you are, the power and glory you have cannot last. The
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar was the golden head of the statue (606-539
B.C.) His empire began to disintegrate after his death. After
him, the silver chest and two arms represented the Medo-Persian empire, which
conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. The third kingdom, symbolized by the belly
and thighs of bronze, represented Greece and Macedonia, established by
Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. Finally, the last kingdom, symbolized by
the iron legs, represented Rome, which conquered the Greeks in 63 B.C. This was
the most powerful kingdom that subdued the world beyond what other empires ever
did. Yet, in spite of its power, the Roman Empire was eventually broken
up because the territory that Rome ruled was a mixture of weak and strong
nations, symbolized by the feet of clay and iron mixed together.
The stronger nationalist states resisted the Roman rule and managed to last a
longer time but the weaker ones fell.
Such is the
reality of history, the vicissitudes of joy and sorrow, failure and success,
triumph and disgrace; of life and death. Regardless how powerful we
are, kingdoms will rise and fall. No earthly kingdom can last
forever. We have seen this at work in history. Yet, we never learn from
history. We deceive ourselves into thinking that our achievements, power,
glory and wealth will last forever. This is utterly not true.
Our wealth does not stay with the family for more than three generations.
All the hard work and accumulation of our wealth will be spent by ingrates who
care nothing for the pains and sufferings we went through to make the
money. Our health will not last either. We will not always be
strong and alert. We too have to give up power and our offices, and if we
live long enough, we will suffer from dementia or some other illnesses and be
cared for like a child.
Even what we
build will be undone by future generations regardless how beautiful it is. A case in point is the
Temple of Jerusalem. “When some were talking about the Temple, remarking
how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All
these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single
stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’” Jesus prophesied
the destruction of the Temple which historically happened in 70 A.D. by the
Romans. It is significant that this Second Temple that was built by Ezra
after the return from exile in the sixth century B.C. was further expanded by
King Herod over a 46 year period. Even such a majestic monument of great
beauty could not survive the ravages of war and history. So let us not
think too highly of our achievements. As Qoheleth remarked, “all is
vanity and a chasing after wind.” (Eccl 1:14)
Indeed, after death, we would just be a name in history, if ever history
remembers us. History will continue to move relentlessly forward to the
goal that God has set for the world.
The greatest
tragedy is that we never learn from history. “What has been is what
will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new
under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is
new’? It has already been, in the ages before us. The people of long
ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come
by those who come after them.” (Eccl 1:9-11)
We are so blinded by our daily pursuits and problems, fears and anxieties that
we do not see the truth of life. We continue to chase after the wind.
What will
last is the Kingdom of God. This was what God revealed to Daniel. “In the time of
these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed, and this kingdom will not pass into the hands of another race: it
will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms, and itself last for ever –
just as you saw the stone untouched by hand break from the mountain and shatter
iron, bronze, earthenware, silver and gold.” God’s kingdom will
withstand the end of time. God’s kingdom will come at a time when we
least expect. This is what the Lord is teaching
us. The Kingdom could come upon us suddenly when we die or it will
come at the end of world history. It will come but it is beyond the
control of man. No one can prevent its coming because no man can
escape death.
So let us not
be too worried when we hear of evils and sufferings or the success and
prosperity of evil men. They will eventually be destroyed. Those who do evil
will be overcome by evil at the end. Neither should we be worried
too much about the happenings of this world, the tragedies and the wars.
They are part of the whole process of purification of humanity in love.
So let us remember that all things are passing. All evils will be
conquered by Christ and death included. “The last enemy to be destroyed
is death.” (1 Cor 15:26)
So what will
last? The Constitution of the Church in the Modern World says,
“Enduring with charity and its fruits, all that creation which God made on
man’s account will be unchained from the bondage of vanity. Therefore, while we
are warned that it profits a man nothing if he gain the whole world and lose
himself, the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather
stimulate our concern for cultivating this one. For here grows the body of a
new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of
foreshadowing of the new age. For after we have obeyed the Lord, and in
His Spirit nurtured on earth the values of human dignity, brotherhood and
freedom, and indeed all the good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will
find them again, but freed of stain, burnished and transfigured, when Christ
hands over to the Father: ‘a kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth
and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.’ On this earth
that Kingdom is already present in mystery. When the Lord returns it will be
brought into full flower.” (GS 39) Indeed, God is in charge of this
world because He is our creator of heaven and earth. “All things the Lord
has made, bless the Lord. Give glory and eternal praise to him!”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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