20211123 FACING THE INEVITABLE END OF EARTHLY GLORY AND POWER
23 November, 2021, Tuesday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Daniel 2:31-45 © |
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.’
Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:57-61 © |
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!
Gospel Acclamation | Lk21:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
Or: | Rv2:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to die, says the Lord,
keep faithful, and I will give you
the crown of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 21:5-11 © |
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.’
FACING THE INEVITABLE END OF EARTHLY GLORY AND POWER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dn 2:31-45; Dn 3:57-61; Lk 21:5-11]
Like the Israelites who were under persecution and oppression of foreign powers, we also wonder whether God is with us in our times when there is so much chaos, disunity among nations, hostile competition, threats of war, violence and terrorism. The situation in the world and even within each country is fragile because it is becoming more and more difficult to unite a polarized and fragmented society with different values. If we are losing hope in life or in the meaning of life, the scripture readings assure us that God is in control of history. He is in charge and His kingdom will never be destroyed. This was how the prophet Daniel comforted His people. “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.”
Conversely, it is a stark reminder to us all that all other kingdoms of this world cannot last forever, no matter how powerful a nation might be. History has seen the rise and fall of empires, and even super-powerful countries of today’s world will no less come to an end. It is a matter of life. This is the inevitable process of history. To think that a superpower can always remain on the top above all others forever is an illusion. To think that we can always be the most powerful nation, most successful CEO of a corporation, a leader in our organization, is an illusion as well. A time will come when success becomes failure, and power gives way to corruption, if not complacency. Unfortunately, most of us are like the Babylonian King. He was pleased to hear from the prophet Daniel that he was the “golden head” of this great statue in his vision. He felt comforted that he was the most powerful of all kings.
Alas, he did not pay attention to the entire meaning of the vision he had. He was living in denial, not facing the truth about himself and the future. The truth was that his kingdom would eventually come to an end. It would be replaced by other kingdoms. After him, the prophet Daniel said, “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.” Even this iron kingdom, so powerful, would also be destroyed eventually. “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 then away, leaving not a trace behind. And the stone that had struck the statue grew into a great mountain, filling the whole earth.”
The four kingdoms that Daniel spoke of could probably refer to the four great empires towards the last 600 years before Christ and another 400 years after Christ. “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.” There are two different views among scholars as to exactly which empire Daniel was speaking about. Some scholars suggest that the golden head refers to the Babylonians, the silver chest and arms refer to the Medes and Persians, the bronze belly and thighs refer to the Greek empire and the iron legs refer to the Roman Empire. Regardless which empire is assigned to the vision, the point remains that all these empires in their time seemed unconquerable, formidable and would last forever. But history has shown again and again, that no great empire no matter how powerful they are, no powerful man would last forever. A time will come, when the rich and powerful country will suffer complacency and decadence. Consumed by their power, they will be destroyed.
Alas not only will political, military and economic powers eventually collapse, even beautiful temples and churches would also suffer destruction, and some religions would also suffer setback whilst others disappear eventually from the face of the earth. “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.'” Indeed, let us not fool ourselves that what we have built and the achievements we have made will last forever. Nothing lasts on this earth.
Perhaps, like the disciples, we too are curious as to when all these things would take place. “They put to him the question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?'” Jesus replied, “‘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. 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.” In other words, there is no need to speculate. History will unfold itself. There will always be wars and revolutions. There will always be natural disasters, plagues and famines. All these remind us that our life on earth remains transitory. We should not be surprised by the upheavals in nature and in humanity because we are a sinful human race, deluded by our desire for power, glory, status and security. We are selfish and seek our own pleasures at the expense of others.
Instead of falling into despair, we must hold firm to our faith that God is in charge of the kingdoms of the world. This is what the prophet Daniel said, “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.” The Babylonian king failed to recognize that his kingship and power was given by God. Everything he had came from God and not from his own power and ingenuity. This was why St Paul exhorted 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.” (Rom 13:1f)
Indeed, when we fail to realize that our authority, power, success, talents, wealth and achievements come from God, this would be the beginning of our downfall. We seek to preserve our wealth and power. We become manipulative and conniving. Leadership is no longer about being good stewards of God’s gift, building the kingdom of God where all peoples are cared for, respected, justly treated and have a right to enjoy the world’s resources. When authority and power is reserved just for the enrichment of ourselves and even of our nation alone, whilst depriving the rest of the world of the earth’s resources and wealth, this is injustice and selfishness. All leaders have a responsibility not just to their people but the whole of humanity. If only we realize the futility of the power and wealth of this earth, we would not hold on to them for life. We will know how and when to let God.
Indeed, God is the revealer of mysteries. Only He can tell us the truth of the matter, the reality of the world. When the king asked Daniel, “Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days.” (Dn 2:26-28) Jesus who is the Lord of Lords comes to reveal to us the Kingdom of God as well. He will establish it by His death and resurrection. Only Christ can conquer sin and death, ushering us all into the kingdom of God that lasts forever.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment