God is in Control

Homily for Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the ancient world, the time before Jesus Christ, the children of Israel were often dominated by neighboring countries with great armies. At different times, they experienced such domination from the Babylonian, Persian, Median, and Hellenistic kingdoms. The visions of Daniel, the hero of this book, are related to King Nebuchadnezzar, a great Babylonian king who ruled for 22 years. The first beast that Daniel speaks about represents the Kingdom of Babylon. The three successive beasts of this vision represent kingdoms that overcame Babylon. They all have one thing in common. They persecuted the children of Israel at various times in the history of Israel.

There is no question that the pictures of these beasts are unsettling and frightening. However, it is easier to read of them if we realize that these kingdoms are from the past and not from our present or future. Apocalyptic literature such as we read in the Book of Daniel, speaks of the reality of the times in which Daniel lived. Consequently, this tells us the first way in which we are to read this kind of literature; namely, we read it as the present reality of the author.

Toward the end of the reading, Daniel speaks of “one like a son of man” who comes on a cloud and is presented to the “Ancient One.” These two references speak of Jesus and God the Father. The ancient one presents Jesus with “dominion, glory, and kingship.” Next, we are told that the dominion will be everlasting. In other words, despite the terror and cruelty that is brought by the various kingdoms of the world upon Israel, God always succeeds in thwarting their reign. This is the second idea that we must keep in mind when we read apocalyptic literature; namely, God always wins in the end.

Though the word pictures that are drawn by the sacred author can be unsettling and frightening, if we approach them with these two ideas in mind, we realize that there is nothing frightening about them at all. God is in control. Though it may seem that for a time the worldly, human kingdoms are in control, ultimately, God is the victor.