20191128 THE IRONY OF A
GODLESS WORLD
28 NOVEMBER,
2019, Thursday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Daniel 6:12-28 ©
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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.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Daniel 3:68-74 ©
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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!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt24:42,44
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Stay
awake and stand ready,
because
you do not know the hour
when
the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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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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Gospel
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Luke 21:20-28 ©
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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 6:12-28; Dan 3:68-74; Lk 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
