Opening Prayer: Daniel 7: 13-14
Daniel 12:1 – 3
As we come to the end of the liturgical year – next Sunday is already the last Sunday of the Year when we celebrate the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – we remember it as Christ the King – we are given an opportunity to reflect on the end of time. All three readings speak of the end of the world and the final judgment.
This Sunday, we will first hear from the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Again, the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel. Let’s review our current understanding about this book; you may recall that we read much of it just six years ago as we reviewed the history of God’s revelation to his people as recorded throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. An uncritical reading of the book would lead us to conclude that it is a sort of biography written about an historical person who lived during the time of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the kings of Babylon, and his successors. But then, we look at the final chapters of the book and we have to critically examine it. We discover that this book is not named after its author, as is usually the case, but after its protagonist, who is presented here as living in Babylonia during the reigns of the last kings of the Babylonian Empire and their first successors, the early kings of the Medes and the Persians. This would place the life of Daniel (which means “my judge is God”; recall the Archangels Michael, which means “Who is like God”, Gabriel, which means “God’s Strength”, and Raphael, which means “God’s Remedy”) during the 6th century BC. This book is not, strictly speaking, a prophetic writing, but an apocalyptic book that also utilizes haggadah – הגדה – (i.e., a narrative story having little or no basis in actual history but told for the sake of teaching a moral lesson). Although through the ages he has been associated with various Daniels in the Old Testament (e.g., one of David’s sons – 1 Chr 3:1 – or one of the Jews who returned from the Babylonian exile at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah – cf. Ezr 8:2 – or the Daniel mentioned in Ez 14:14,20), we have no way of knowing whether the Daniel of this book is a real, historical character about whom popular legends gradually developed or whether he was simply a creation of Jewish folklore. Very few modern scripture scholars today would assert that the book is written about an historical character. Rather, they think that the book was probably written around 165BC – after Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple of Jerusalem in 167BC and before his death in 164BC. Its purpose was to encourage the Jews to remain faithful to their ancestral religion at a time when they were being tempted by the Hellenic culture and were being persecuted by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The author or Daniel is particularly concerned with demonstrating the superiority of God’s wisdom and power over human wisdom and power. It is also particularly significant because of its clear teaching on the resurrection of the body (12:2), unique in the Hebrew Old Testament. The three verses we will be hearing on Sunday comprise a magnificent poetic conclusion to the revelation given in chapters 10 – 11. Let’s read Dn 1:1-8 and then chapter 10 before reading the Sunday passage.
At Mass on Sunday, the reading will begin with this introduction: In those days, I, Daniel, heard this word of the Lord:
1 “At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.
Michael: the only other references to the Archangel Michael are in Jude 1:9 and Revelation 12:7; they’re both interesting so let’s look at them.
Written in the book: the book of life (cf. Dan 7:10, 10:21; Ex. 32:32-33; Ps 69:29, 139:16). These all refer to some written record of the events of the world and each person’s participation in it. Of course, the Hebrew does not speak of “book” but “scroll.”
2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
Many of those who sleep: The first Israelites who have fallen (Daniel 11:33-35) shall awake, that is, rise to live forever. A resurrection of the wicked, as is found in later, Christian teaching (John 5:28-29) is implied here if the others are included in the “many” mentioned here; but cf. Isaiah 66:24. Sleep is a euphemism for death (Jn 11:11-13; Act 7:60).
Shall awake: shall come back to life. This passage is remarkable as the earliest clear enunciation of belief in the resurrection of the dead.
live forever: this is the first occurrence of this term in the Bible.
3 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.
those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever: this reminds me of the powerful phrase in Wisdom 3:7: “In the time of their judgment they shall shine and dart about as sparks through stubble.”
Mark 13:24 – 32
This week, we continue to hear from Mark’s Gospel, picking up shortly after where we left off last week. The passages we skip, in which we hear Jesus speak about the destruction of the Temple (which is symbolic of his death and resurrection), the signs of the end, coming persecution and the Great Tribulation, is not proclaimed in the Liturgical cycle; we are familiar with these passages due to their similarity to passages in Matthew and Luke that are read. But, in order to understand the passage we will hear on Sunday, it will be helpful to read them first, so let’s read the first 23 verses of chapter 13.
The section we will hear on Sunday is an apocalyptic description of something that transcends the historical dimensions of the destruction of Jerusalem. It is comprised almost entirely of Old Testament imagery. Let’s read and examine it.
24 “But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
But in those days: a stereotyped expression that lacks any definite association (cf. 1:9, 8:1).
after that tribulation: this refers to the Great Tribulation of Old Testament and Apocalyptic writings.
sun will be darkened: cf. Is 13:6-10; Ez 32:7-8. These are images symbolizing divine judgment being passed on those so afflicted.
25 and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory,
Son of Man . . . with great power and glory: this is the crucial affirmation of this section: the vision of the Son of Man. Jesus cites this text from Daniel 7:13 in his response to the high priest, who asked: “Are you the Messiah?” at his trial before his crucifixion (Mark 14:61). In Ex 34:5; Lev 16:2; and Numbers 11:25 the clouds indicate the presence of the divinity. Thus in his role of Son of Man, Jesus portrays himself as a heavenly being who will come in power and glory to inherit his kingdom.
27 and then he will send out the angels and gather (his) elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
angels and gather (his) elect from the four winds: cf. Rev 7:1.
28 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.
30 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
of that day or hour, no one knows: for what will happen on that hour, cf. Is 2:12; Jer 46:10; Am 5:18-20; Zech 14:6-9. And, once again, we hear Jesus admit that even he doesn’t know the time of the Last Judgment; only the Father knows.
Hebrews 10:11 – 14; 18
We hear again from the letter to the Hebrews. As we heard last week, whereas the levitical priesthood offered daily sacrifices that were ineffectual in remitting sin (Hebrews 10:11), Jesus offered a single sacrifice that won him a permanent place at God’s right hand. There he has only to await the final outcome of his work (Hebrews 10:12-13. Thus he has brought into being in his own person the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 31:33-34) that has rendered meaningless all other offerings for sin (Hebrews 10:14-18).
11 Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins.
12 But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God;
13 now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
Until his enemies are made his footstool: Psalm 110:1 is again used (cf. Heb. 1:13); the reference here is to the period of time between the enthronement of Jesus and his second coming. The identity of the enemies is not specified; cf 1 Cor 15:25-27.
14 For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.
15 The holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying:
testifies: The testimony of the Sacred Scriptures is now invoked to support what has just preceded. The passage cited is a portion of the new covenant prophecy of Jer 31:31-34, which the author previously used in Hebrews 8:8-12.
16 “This is the covenant I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them upon their minds,'”
17 he also says: “Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more.”
He also says: these words are not in the Greek text, which has only kai, “also,” but the expression “after saying” in Hebrews 10:15 seems to require such a phrase to divide the Jeremiah text into two sayings. Others understand “the Lord says” of Hebrews 10:16 (here rendered “says the Lord”) as outside the quotation and consider Hebrews 10:16b as part of the second saying. Two ancient versions and a number of minuscules introduce the words “then he said” or a similar expression at the beginning of Hebrews 10:17.
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.
What do we learn from these readings? In the end, the Son of Man will return with great power and glory, placing his enemies under his feet. Those whose names are written in the book shall live forever in light and joy.
Both our first and third readings are apocalyptic and offer the faithful hope in the midst of distress. Most of us are old enough to remember the 60’s when many were building bomb shelters and we, as school children, were trained to duck and hide under our desks in the case of a nuclear attack. We all now know how futile this sort of behavior was. In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus warn against that sort of behavior. Instead, we are to be people of hope. Remember Gustavo Gutierrez’s definition of hope: “Hope is the conviction that God is at work in our lives and in our world.” Rather than optimism based on good odds or our own resources, the theological virtue of hope is the certainty that God can transform any situation into an occasion of grace. It is the conviction that, through Jesus Christ who, as we hear in today’s second reading, “by one offering has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated,” the war has already been won; we’re just continuing the battles and skirmishes to wipe out any dissident pockets. But, we must be vigilant because we don’t know the day or hour when our reckoning will come.