20211127 DEFEATING THE EVILS OF THE WORLD
27 November, 2021, Saturday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Daniel 7:15-27 © |
His sovereignty will be an eternal sovereignty
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.’
Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:82-87 © |
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!
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: | Lk21:36 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 21:34-36 © |
That day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap
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.’
DEFEATING THE EVILS OF THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dn 7:15-27; Dn 3:82-87; Lk 21:34-36]
The vision of the Prophet Daniel on the power of evil in history is indeed frightening. The vision of the four beasts attacking the world without mercy and relentlessly is what is happening in the world today. We are living at a moment in history where it appears that evil has been unleased on society. Values and ideologies that are destructive to marriage, family, society, nations and humanity are being promoted. Under the guise of protecting the rights of the individual, evil is given free rein in the name of freedom and democracy, relativism and pragmatism.
Yet, if we examine the moral, cultural, economic, spiritual and political trends of the world, they are masked in hypocrisy and inconsistency. Morally, the world seems to champion the rights and dignity of the human person. They proclaim the right to live and to speak freely. They champion the rights of the oppressed. But on the other hand, they are not protecting the lives of those who are weak and vulnerable. They kill innocent babies in the name of freedom simply because they want pleasure without responsibility. On other hand, many countries are facing depopulation and are encouraging their citizens to have children. They destroy embryos kept for IVF in order to have a baby. They produce a new life at the expense of other embryos. On one hand, the world champions the removal of the death penalty. On the other hand, they advocate euthanasia, which is becoming a social pressure for those who are old and no longer productive to end their life. Suicide is becoming a common reality not just among the old but the young as well because they cannot tolerate the sufferings of life. It has become an accepted norm.
The world advocates freedom of speech but does not condemn fake news or distorted news or even the use of abusive words, slander and calumny to destroy the lives of others. Freedom of speech at all costs, but the innocent and the ignorant are also misled and often hurt in the process. The world allows those who rebel against the establishments to manipulate and twist words, to distort truth, to insult religions and make a mockery of them through satire, musicals, dance, dressing, all in the name of art and creativity. Believers are helpless because the license of freedom means that anyone can say or express anything they want, using whatever words they choose, irrespective of whether they are insulting the feelings and sensitivities of others. In some countries, whilst restrictions are placed on Christian religious activities on campuses and institutions, they permit Satanic Cults to proliferate and be promoted. Some countries are even recognizing Satanism as a form of religion. Evil is masked in institutions so that evil can be permeated through inculturation.
Again, when it comes to gender, family and marriage, there is so much irony in today’s world. There are those who promote transgender. But any reasonable person will know that natural law makes man and woman differently. They are not the same physically, physiologically, biologically and even emotionally. Again, there are those who advocate “marriage” between same-sex couples. Today, marriage is reduced to mere companionship. Even then, we cannot call same-sex marriage a real union, because physically it is not possible. The male and female organs are meant to complement each other, not that of the same sex. At any rate, the primary purpose of sexual union is more than pleasure and love-making; it is meant to lead to procreation. The separation of procreation and sexual pleasure demeans the original intention of creation. Children are not made in the factory of the wombs of women as in surrogate motherhood or test-tubes in the laboratory, but they must be “made” out of the love between the couple so that their love can be given to the children. And whilst same-sex couples cannot produce children, they want to adopt children the way we adopt dogs and cats.
Even in the political and economic arena, there is so much hypocrisy and inconsistency. Politically, the world speaks of justice and fair play but powerful and rich countries often bully the weaker and smaller countries into submitting to their national agenda if they want to get aid and trade. Economically, the powerful corporations are dictating what values and ideology to promote in other countries. If the country does not cooperate, then they will withdraw investment and support for the country’s economic growth. On one hand, powerful countries speak of peace but they are producing armaments for sale and expansion. They are instigating people to revolt so that they could control other countries and weaken them. They do not see that the success of other economies and countries is their success. That is why, more and more countries are retrogressing from globalization and inclusivity to nationalism and protectionism. We are no longer one world and one human race because some races deserve to live more than others, deserve food and luxury whereas others deserve to die or starve to death.
In the face of such events happening in our world, do we lose hope and give up fighting for the truth, or are we silenced by the hostility of the world against the gospel message? Although there will be opposition and persecution, we are assured that God will be victorious over evil at the end of the day. “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.” God’s reign will be secured and there will be justice, peace and happiness.
In the meantime, what must we do? We must collaborate with the grace of God to win the battle for Christ. It calls for alertness to the deceptions of the Evil One. Jesus exhorts 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.” Many of us are slowly desensitized to what is wrong through cultural conditioning by society. Divorce, abortion, suicide, adultery, drug consumption and homosexuality were always frowned upon and condemned by society. But gradually these have become accepted through propaganda, especially by the media, entertainment, movies, social media endorsing them as accepted norms in society. What is evil and immoral today has become accepted and seen as the norm of society even!
So what has caused us to lose our consciousness over what is good and bad? It is when we live a life of debauchery and drunkenness. Living a decadent and a depraved life will make us blind to what is true and good. Indeed, when we sin, our minds are dulled and darkened. “For though they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (Rom 1:21) St Paul wrote, “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practise every kind of impurity. (Eph 4:18f)
Hence, the only way to stay awake, as the Lord asks of us, is to pray “at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.” There is no other way than to strengthen our faith in Christ and our union with Him in prayer. In silent meditation on the Word of God and in contemplation of His love, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit to discern the wheat from the weeds. Hence, St Paul advises us, “Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.” (Eph 6:13-18)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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