20211125 BEING A GOOD CHRISTIAN CITIZEN
25 November, 2021, Thursday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
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.’
BEING A GOOD CHRISTIAN CITIZEN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dn 6:12-28; Dn 3:68-74; Lk 21:20-28]
In the first reading, we read of the fine example of Daniel serving the pagan kings when he was in exile. He was among those selected to serve in the royal courts, first the Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, then Darius, the King of Medes and Cyrus, the King of Persia. How could a staunch Jew serve in a pagan government, and hold such a high-ranking position? How is it that the kings held him in such regard and confidence as to entrust him with such powers even though he was a foreigner and a Jew in captivity?
At the beginning of this chapter, Daniel was presented not only as having exceptional skills and talents, wisdom and knowledge, but he was an upright and moral person, so much so that “the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” And of course, there was jealousy and fear. This kind of politics is everywhere, even in church. Human beings are insecure and always envious of each other. “At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”
Daniel was loyal to whichever king he served. He recognized the legitimate authority of the king as appointed by God. Indeed, Emperor Cyrus, as the Lord spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, was said to be “‘my shepherd, and he shall carry out all my purpose’; and who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'” (Isa 44:28) This was why St Paul urged the Christians, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.” (Rom 13:1-3) St Peter also wrote a similar exhortation, “Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. (1 Pt 2:12-14)
Daniel understood that he was living in a pagan land and so he and his fellow Jews must respect the customs and the laws of the land. This explains why he did not blatantly go against the laws of the country even when some laws infringed upon his religious beliefs. He was always tactful and diplomatic. Right at the outset, to avoid possible ritual impurity, without any show of resistance and rebellion, he quietly asked for vegetables for him and his friends instead of taking the food from the King’s tables. In today’s incident, he prayed quietly in his house, worshipping Yahweh. He had no intention of publicly going against the decree of the king. But jealousy among the political stakeholders resulted in his being exposed and brought before the King to be condemned to death. Daniel demonstrates how we can be faithful to the King or to the State and yet remain true to our faith. He did not compromise his beliefs and yet showed respect for the laws of the land.
God was faithful to Daniel for his fidelity to Him. He sent his angels to seal the lions’ jaws and saved him from being savaged by them. The king, too, was very impressed and edified by his faith in his God, as well as his sincere loyalty and humility in wanting to serve the king faithfully. Indeed, the king held him in high regard. He not only prayed for him but fasted for him as well. “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.” He was worried and anxious for the life of Daniel even though he had some trust in the God of Daniel. “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?”
As a consequence, the King killed Daniel’s enemies for falsely accusing him of deliberately going against the laws of the country. He even extolled his people to respect the religion of the Jews. “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 forever, his sovereignty will never be destroyed. And his kingship never ends. 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.'”
This event should urge us all to respect the State, the culture of the people, and to be obedient to the laws of the land, more so when the Christian Faith is a minority among the peoples of the land. We should learn to accommodate where possible and never retaliate. We cannot impose our values on others in a democratic country. Yet, at the same time, we should not compromise our faith and values. Governments should respect the freedom of the practice and worship of religion. If a government acts like King Darius and King Cyrus, there will be peace and harmony. It is through mutual respect and cooperation that we build unity, harmony and progress among our peoples. The Church and religions should play the role of advising and articulating their views on matters relating to morality, ethics and justice. However, it is not the task of religion to ensure justice and order because this is the work of the elected government. A clear distinction, not dichotomy, between religion and state serves the interests of peoples of all faith and cultures.
Hence, we must state there is no real dichotomy between State and one’s religion. Most of the values espoused by religions are universal values. They can help the State to promote values that bring about a greater unity, respect, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and generosity. There will be specific issues that are sensitive to some religions. This is where the State must learn to respect the religious sensitivities of peoples. At the same time, religions cannot impose on the policies of the State. Of course, religions, which promote justice, compassion and love, would have to articulate their views when human rights are violated, as religions have a moral voice in society.
Secular governments and organizations need not be fearful that if a Christian assumes public office, he might be influenced by his religious values and thus unable to act fairly and impartially in governing the people. Indeed, it is true that there will be moral issues where the individual would have to take his or her stand, regardless which religion he or she subscribes to, if any. All of us without exception have been conditioned by our upbringing, culture, religion and background. We cannot separate a man from his political, religious, cultural and educational upbringing. This is unavoidable because no one is a tabula rasa. Our values are shaped by our upbringing and past experiences. However, in a democratic institution, the leader must respect the majority voice of the people even when he or she is personally against it. And when it is not possible to evade, one can always abstain so that there is no conflict of interests.
Let us learn from the Jews during the time of Jesus. Our Lord had warned His countrymen of the disasters ahead of them. There would be destruction and famine. He had prophesied the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70 when the temple would be completely destroyed because the people rebelled against Rome. He said, “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 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.”
However, if they had repented of their political ambitions, Rome would have left them alone. All would have lived peacefully, coexisting with each other. Rome was not concerned with the religious beliefs of the Jews as long as they kept out of politics. But when they became political and subversive, this was when Rome responded with destruction. So too, let us practise our faith and yet collaborate with the civil authorities, showing ourselves to be good citizens, helping to contribute to the growth of the country, promoting dialogue among peoples of different religions and cultures, and most of all, fostering unity in the country. Religion and politics must coexist peacefully and support each other, but religion should steer clear of politics and political ambitions and politics should not make use of religion.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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