20171202 STAYING AWAKE FOR THE COMING OF GOD’S KINGDOM
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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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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Responsorial Psalm
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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.’
STAYING AWAKE FOR THE COMING OF GOD’S KINGDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ DN 7:15-27; LK 21:34-36
]
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 is because life is unpredictable
since we live in a world of chaos and evil. Jesus warned us, “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.” Indeed, this kingdom is only given to the saints, to those who
have persevered against the forces of evil. “Those who are granted sovereignty
are the saints of the Most High, and the kingdom will be theirs for ever, for
ever and ever.” The citizens of heaven are those who have struggled
against evil and lived lives of holiness.
Nevertheless,
we are reminded that the forces of evil will ultimately be destroyed. “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.” Evil will reign
for a short while, “two times, and half a time.” Eventually, the Kingdom
of God will be established as the only reality. God’s kingdom can never
be overcome by the evils of this world, regardless how powerful they might be.
This kingdom
has in fact already been established in Christ Jesus. By His miracles and works of
deliverance, Jesus has shown Himself victorious over the Evil One. He has
come to restore order and the rule of God’s love in the world. By
forgiving sinners, eating and drinking with them, Jesus has reconciled us with
the Father. Jesus is the strong man that could destroy the reign of
evil. “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come to you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house
and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed
the house can be plundered.” (Mt 12:28f)
The tragedy
is that many of us are still unaware that God’s kingdom is already here. Many of us are too
preoccupied with the cares of life to be watchful of the signs and the presence
of the kingdom. Many of us are asleep and weighed down by the burdens and
anxieties of daily living. We are so taken up in our worldly pursuits and
ambitions that we have no time for God and even for others. Some of us
are so worried that we do not have enough money that we work day and night to
accumulate more and more money, failing to realize that wealth alone cannot
provide real security. Our hearts have become coarsened with our
preoccupations, achievements and success that we no longer feel for God and
with the suffering of our fellowmen. We only think about our success and
how to realize our ambition.
As a result,
life is passing us by. We drift from day to day without any sense of
direction. Some of us are resigned to the difficulties of life but do not try
to transcend or overcome our problems. For others, they try to drown
their sorrows by finding ways of escapism by getting themselves drunk or
engaging in vain and useless activities. Instead of confronting the way
they live, they want to numb their senses and their conscience. 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 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. 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
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 of life worth living. By
living in this manner, the kingdom of God also becomes a reality in our
lives. We will then know that 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.
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.
Secondly, we
must trust in God’s divine providence so that can we be freed of the anxieties
for the future which cripples us from living in the present. This is what St Peter
wrote to encourage the Christians, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he
cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion
your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pt 5:7f)
Prayers will help us to put aside our fear of the future, of tomorrow. We
are reminded of the words of the Lord when we are unduly worried about our
needs for tomorrow. “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’
or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles
who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt 6:31-33)
So long as we seek the kingdom of God, we can be sure that God will provide us
our daily bread.
The third way
is to continue to fight against evil, not with our own strength but that comes
from the Lord. This is what the prophet Daniel is exhorting us. We
fight with the beast of evil, symbol of the wicked leaders of society, with all
our strength and God will eventually judge in our favour. “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
tramping underfoot what remained; and the truth about the ten horns on its
head. 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.” In other words, the victory over sin
and the Evil one is not an easy victory but if we persevere, we will be
victorious in the end. God assures us that goodness and truth will
triumph. We should not be discouraged if we feel that the evil trends in
the world, such as relativism, fundamentalism and materialism are overcoming
the world. When evil appears to be on the upper hand, God will eventually
destroy all evil and show Himself to be the Lord and King over all creation.
Finally, we
must stand with confidence before the Lord. Many of us are fearful of
death or of the Lord’s final coming because our conscience is not upright and
hence we are unable to “stand with confidence before the Son of Man.”
Keeping a clear conscience is what gives us peace. “Little children, let
us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this
we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before
him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts,
and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask,
because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 Jn 3:18-22)
This was how St Paul lived his life. In his defense before the governor
Felix, he said, “I have a hope in God – a hope that they themselves also
accept – that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the
unrighteous. Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward
God and all people.” (Acts 24:15f)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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