Thursday, 28 November 2019

THE IRONY OF A GODLESS WORLD

20191128 THE IRONY OF A GODLESS WORLD

28 NOVEMBER, 2019, Thursday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Daniel 6:12-28 ©

Daniel in the lions' den

The presidents and satraps came along in a body and found Daniel praying and pleading with God. They then came to the king and said, ‘Have you not just signed an edict forbidding any man for the next thirty days to pray to anyone, god or man, other than to yourself O king, on pain of being thrown into the lions’ den?’ ‘The decision stands,’ the king replied ‘as befits the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.’ Then they said to the king, ‘O king, this man Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, disregards both you and the edict which you have signed: he is at his prayers three times each day.’ When the king heard these words he was deeply distressed, and determined to save Daniel; he racked his brains until sunset to find some way out. But the men came back in a body to the king and said, ‘O king, remember that in conformity with the law of the Medes and the Persians, no edict or decree can be altered when once issued by the king.’
  The king then ordered Daniel to be fetched and thrown into the lion pit. The king said to Daniel, ‘Your God himself, whom you have served so faithfully, will have to save you.’ A stone was then brought and laid over the mouth of the pit; and the king sealed it with his own signet and with that of his noblemen, so that there could be no going back on the original decision about Daniel. The king returned to his palace, spent the night in fasting and refused to receive any of his concubines. Sleep eluded him, and at the first sign of dawn he was up, and hurried off to the lion pit. As he approached the pit he shouted in anguished tones, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you serve so faithfully, been able to save you from the lions?’ Daniel replied, ‘O king, live for ever! My God sent his angel who sealed the lions’ jaws, they did me no harm, since in his sight I am blameless, and I have never done you any wrong either, O king.’ The king was overjoyed, and ordered Daniel to be released from the pit. Daniel was released from the pit, and found to be quite unhurt, because he had trusted in his God. The king sent for the men who had accused Daniel and had them thrown into the lion pit, they, their wives and their children: and they had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had seized them and crushed their bones to pieces.
  King Darius then wrote to men of all nations, peoples and languages throughout the world, ‘May peace be always with you! I decree: in every kingdom of my empire let all tremble with fear before the God of Daniel:
‘He is the living God, he endures for ever,
his sovereignty will never be destroyed
and his kingship never end.
He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth;
he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.’

Responsorial Psalm
Daniel 3:68-74 ©
Dews and sleet! bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Frost and cold! bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Ice and snow! bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Nights and days! bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Light and darkness! bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Lightning and clouds! bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Let the earth bless the Lord.
  Give glory and eternal praise to him!

Gospel Acclamation
Mt24:42,44
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
Or:
Lk21:28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Luke 21:20-28 ©

There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of vengeance when all that scripture says must be fulfilled. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!
  ‘For great misery will descend on the land and wrath on this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over.
  ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’

THE IRONY OF A GODLESS WORLD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dan 6:12-28Dan 3:68-74Lk 21:20-28  ]
In the ancient world, human beings, especially kings and emperors were worshipped as gods.  This was true in many parts of the world, whether East or West, empires or tribal societies.  Even if they were not worshipped as gods, they were seen as God’s anointed, as in the history of Israel.  In China, the emperors were considered sons of the Heavenly God.  So it was not surprising that the king of Persia, and later on the Roman Emperor, could order the people to worship them.  Furthermore, the decree of the King was absolute and could not be revoked once issued.
Yet, deep in their hearts, all kings knew that they were not gods.  They were not all powerful, omnipotent and omniscient.   Like all other men and women, they were mortals and weaklings.  Indeed, none of us, whether president, prime minister, pope or bishop, should ever think of ourselves as all-powerful or even mini gods.  We are human beings constituted of flesh and blood with a soul.  We are embodied spirit.  However, we are not gods, although like all men and women, we share in the image and likeness of God.  By virtue of our office, we represent God in our relations with men and women so that all will live in harmony, peace and progress whilst always reflecting the love, mercy and compassion of God.
This was the realization of the king who had great respect for the prophet Daniel.  When he realized that he was trapped by the rules he himself had established for the kingdom, he was at a loss.   He could not even save Daniel, his trusted servant.  Indeed, “he was deeply distressed, and determined to save Daniel; he racked his brains until sunset to find some way out.”  Realizing his limitations and that he was not god after all, he said to Daniel, “Your God himself, whom you have served so faithfully, will have to save you.’  Even the king in the face of a dilemma could not pray to himself but to a Higher Being than him.  We read, “The king returned to his palace, spent the night in fasting and refused to receive any of his concubines.  Sleep eluded him, and at the first sign of dawn he was up, and hurried off to the lion pit.”
When he saw how God had saved Daniel from the lions, he declared that Daniel’s God was to be revered and honoured by all.  He “wrote to men of all nations, peoples and languages throughout the world, ‘May peace be always with you! I decree: in every kingdom of my empire let all tremble with fear before the God of Daniel: ‘He is the living God, he endures forever, his sovereignty will never be destroyed. And his kingship never end. He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth; he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.'”  Indeed, for many of us, how often have we come to realize that we are not all that powerful or almighty but merely mortal beings, only in the face of our mortality and helplessness.  We are not gods!
This message is equally applicable to our society today.  Instead of worshipping the king as god, today, everyone is his or her own god!  Now the world is claiming that we are all gods, a claim that comes from two apparently irreconcilable positions, that of the New-Age believer and the humanist.  
The New-Age believer claims that the entire creation, including human beings, is god.  God is in everything in this universe.  He is not a personal being but an energy or a force.  It is another form of pantheism.  In other words, all of us are gods.  We have the spiritual power within us.  All we need to do is to tap the spiritual energy in us.  Original sin is to forget that we are gods and we have the spiritual powers.  We do not need to depend on anyone but simply to get in touch with ourselves, with the spiritual world through meditation.
On the other hand, the humanist reduces man to mere matter.  He is just like the rest of creation.  There is no soul or spirit.  When he dies, he will just disappear from the world and be recycled as molecules for other creatures to be born.  Hence, there is no Absolute Spirit that we call God.  Man has intelligence.  With this knowledge, he can change the world, control the universe and determine his life.  He does not need any power from without because his intellect can solve all the problems and challenges of this world.  He knows everything and it is a matter of time before he discovers the solutions to the challenges and sufferings in the world.  He does not need anyone because only he can save himself and the world.  To depend on God is to insult his intelligence.  Although a humanist does not call himself god, he behaves like a god.  He is the one who has all the answers.  He is the center of reference.  He supplants the place of God.
When there is no God except human beings, the world has no center, no point of reference.  This is why relativism prevails in the world today.  Relativism leads to amorality, as there is no absolute truth, no right or wrong.  It depends on the circumstances, the time, the preference and the desires of man.  So life is about being pragmatic, making choices and decisions that affect us here and now.  As for the future of humanity and creation, well, it is not really the current generation’s problem because things will change.  At any rate, because there is no life after death, our actions will have no eternal consequences for the individual after his death.
The catastrophes and the sufferings in the world are largely due to the foolishness of men, their selfishness and self-centeredness.  The apocalyptic signs preceding the Second Coming of Christ are not so much signs that the kingdom of God is coming soon but to warn us of the eventual destruction that will take place if we do not heed the signs of the time.  ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.”  Indeed, all these signs we see today in our world, where there is so much division among peoples of the same country, divided and unable to agree on anything; nations trying to outdo and keep other nations in check lest they become too powerful and more prosperous than themselves.    Everyone is for himself, his business expansion and the profits he makes.  He is not thinking of the good of humanity, the importance of saving a nation from degeneration due to the unhealthy culture promoted in the world, promiscuity, pornography, prostitution, infidelity, sensual lifestyle, excessive drinking, smoking, drug taking, gambling and cheating.
The consequences for humanity and creation are frightening.  Human beings are on the verge of destroying themselves and each other.  We are also slowly destroying creation by abusing nature and its resources, making this earth uninhabitable because of climate change.  The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 when the Romans killed more than a million inhabitants was due to Israel’s refusal to accept the message of Jesus for non-violence.  We, too, will be destroyed if humanity does not take heed of the warnings.  We are living in such a fragile environment.  Our political leaders have become inward-looking and narrowly nationalistic to the point of denying the interests of peoples of other nations.
What can we do in the face of such impending disasters, wars, terrorist activities, economic hardships, climate change, and amorality prevalent in the world? We must remain steadfast in our faith in God, like Daniel.  We must in the face of opposition, continue to stay firm in our faith as Daniel did, disobeying the unreasonable law of the king to worship him.  Instead, Daniel worshipped God three times a day even though he had deep respect for the king.  He was not afraid of death, of physical death.  He was more afraid of eternal death.  (cf Lk 12:4f)  So as the Lord exhorts us, “when these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.”  The Lord will deliver us from death just as He did with Daniel.  Even if He does not deliver us from the hands of our enemies on earth, He will reward us with life eternal when He comes “with power and great glory.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved


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