20191126
THE
PASSING WORLD
26 NOVEMBER,
2019, Tuesday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
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 interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream
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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The destruction of the Temple foretold
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
WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dan 2:31-45; Dan 3:57-61; Lk 21:5-11 ]
All kingdoms of the
world cannot last for long, and definitely not forever. Trying to keep the kingdom powerful
forever is a vain ambition that cannot be realized. The history of
humanity has proven time and again that kingdoms will rise and fall.
Powerful kingdoms in the ancient world, whether in the Ancient Near East or in
India and China, did not last for long. One dynasty was followed by
another. Even in the Middle Ages, powerful kingdoms like Spain, Portugal
and Britain lost their glory. The United States claims to be most
powerful country in the world today, and is trying hard to maintain its
influence in the world. So are other countries and nations, all
seeking to be the most powerful nation in the world.
Chasing this illusion is
the cause of much division in the world. Instead of genuine cooperation and mutual help
in making everyone prosperous and economically stable, countries are trying to
outdo and suppress each other. Military wars are fought over space and
territory. Economic and trade wars are fought to prevent others from
developing economically so that the powerful can control them and make use of
them to their own advantage. It is not about the common good of all
peoples but only for the people of a particular country. It is strange
that when we talk of selfishness, it is not just limited to individuals.
Why are the lives and well-being of citizens of some countries more valuable
than that of other countries? Protectionism, exclusivity and
individualism breed division, hatred and wars.
This is precisely the
vision of the Prophet Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar. He reminded
the King of Babylon, who was a great king that even his powerful kingdom would
not last. He
revealed to the King, “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.” Indeed, historically, we know that the great
empire of Babylon eventually fell into the power of the Medes. This was
followed by the Kingdom of Persia and then Alexander the Great came into the
scene and conquered the world. Even then, upon his death, Alexander’s
empire was divided and eventually also collapsed.
So let us not deceive
ourselves into thinking that history will not repeat itself. It is a
matter of time before our kingdom will also fall. History will unfold itself and show
us that this earthly kingdom of ours is a passing reality. Nothing lasts
forever in this world, not our wealth, power, status, health, life and our
kingdom. Like all the previous generations and kingdoms before us, we,
too, will be like them. Even if it is not due to military wars, when
people become affluent, they become arrogant, proud, self-reliant, complacent
and inward-looking. They are so taken up and bewitched by the beauty of
the world that they lose the sense of the Sacred, the Transcendent, and
eventually the loss of virtues and morality.
Even so-called great and
respectable Educational Institutions in the world have lost all sense of what
is right and wrong.
Many of them teach amorality and advocate values that destroy authentic
relationships, marriage and family. The weak and vulnerable, the value of
human dignity and human life, from conception to death is no longer protected.
When citizens of the world lose all moral values, are unable to distinguish
between right and wrong, what hope is there to save the world? This
explains why many people, including large Corporations, do not take seriously
the need to protect the earth and its resources. We are indiscriminately
destroying and using the resources of the world for our convenience and wealth
without sparing a thought for the generations of tomorrow, when the planet becomes
unlivable.
Indeed, not only do
political kingdoms not last, even all we have will not last. In the gospel, “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.'” This prophecy of Jesus which came true in A.D 70 when the
Temple was ravaged and destroyed by the Romans was unthinkable during the
people of Jesus’ time because it took them 83 years to rebuild that
Temple. It was such a magnificent and majestic Temple and no one could
imagine how such a beautiful Temple could be destroyed a few years after its
completion. But precisely, no matter how beautiful our monuments
are, how much we try to preserve them, they will be burnt down and destroyed in
time to come. Even the great and beloved Notre Dame Cathedral in France
was almost burnt down.
If that is true for
National Monuments and powerful Empires, what about us? What about our
own personal wealth, status, power and position in life? We are even more vulnerable. We will
eventually have to let go of all that we accumulate in life, be it our wealth,
possessions, property, power, office and even our friends and loved ones.
As we grow older, we will find our peers gradually leaving us. That is
why those who live long lives have to deal with loneliness since all their
friends and peers would have already left them. And whatever we have, we
will have to hand over to others because by then we would not be able to even
manage or enjoy them because we are too old, unable to see, read or remember
anything. So why cling on to something that we cannot keep forever?
So what should we do?
Should we despair in the light of these realities? Nay, Jesus told His disciples,
“Take care not to be deceived 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.'”
Indeed, such things will
happen but they will be permitted to happen because they are signs of God’s
mercy and judgement.
God will allow us all to suffer the consequences of our sins and the sins of
others. The wars, revolutions, famine, natural disasters are mostly due
to man’s selfishness and sins because we have failed to protect creation and
humanity. Many will die because of wars, epidemics, floods,
drought, and diseases simply because man only cares for himself and not for
others. More importantly, because of amorality and the failure to protect
the human institutions like marriage, family, gender, healthy values like
purity, honesty, integrity, generosity and selflessness, humanity will degenerate.
But if we see all these positively, they are means that God will use to awaken
us and purify us.
There are warnings of
greater evils to come if we do not step up and change the direction of the
world, especially for political, economic, corporate and religious
leaders. Daniel
reminded the King that he was the 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.” God has
entrusted to us who are leaders in the world, in society, in community and the
workplace, the responsibility to use our resources well for the good of the
world and humanity.
We must not allow the
world to destroy itself but we must cooperate with the grace of God to prepare
for the everlasting Kingdom where God lives in us all and we in Him. Daniel prophesied, “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 forever.” This kingdom is the one established
by Christ where all are called to share in the life and love of His Father by
living out the gospel life.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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