Daily Catholic Lectio
Friday, 1 December 2023
Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Daniel 7:2-14. Luke 21:29-33
They don’t pass away!
Today is the first day of the new month, the first Friday, and the first Friday of the last month of the year.
The gospel reading is divided into two parts: (a) Jesus invites us to discern the unknown from that which is known. The budding leaf in a fig tree announces the advent of summer. The signs that happen around us point to the kingdom of God. (b) This generation – that which listens to Jesus – will not pass away. The words of Jesus will not pass away. The Prophet Isaiah says that the word of God remains for ever (cf. 40:8).
Jesus instructs his disciples on discerning the signs. The people of Jesus’ time forecast the events based on their observations of Nature. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras said that the entire Universe is guided by unchanging laws. The laws are logical, predictable, and firm. He said that from the cause, we could predict the effect. The signs in nature could predict the advent of the Son of Man.
What does this text tell us? (a) Discernment: being attentive to what goes on in front of us will help us discern what will happen later; (b) Cause-effect: natural events occur based on cause-effect law. The events that go beyond this law are called miracles. (c) The immortality of the word of God: Jesus tells us that his words will never pass away without being fulfilled.
In the first reading, Prophet Daniel sees the ancient one in a vision. The ancient one is preceded by four animals that come out of the sea. In the Hebrew mind, the sea represented the abode of demons. The four sea creatures are cruel and deadly. However, they are overthrown by the Son of Man, the Ancient One. The vision comes to Daniel during the time of Belshazzar. Among the four animals, ‘lion’ represents the Babylonians, ‘bear’ represents the Medes, ‘Leopard’ represents the Persians, and the ‘fourth one’ represents the Seleucids.
According to the Christian reading, ‘lion’ represents ‘the Babylonians,’ ‘bear’ represents ‘Medes-Persians,’ ‘leopard’ represents ‘the Greeks,’ ‘the nameless one’ represents ‘the Romans.’ The Son of Man, the Ancient One, is Jesus. Having dethroned all the kingdoms, he rules them forever.
Thus, the kingdom of God, the generation of Jesus, and the word of God – these do not pass away. The passing ones point to those which do not pass away.
#
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “in human life, signs and symbols occupy an important place. As a being at once body and spirit, human person expresses and perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, a human person needs signs and symbols to communicate with others through language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true for his relationship with God” (cf. n. 1146).
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
Leave a comment