Luke 21:34-36

Daniel 7:15-27

Daniel 3:82, 83, 84, 85, 86 87

Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy

from carousing and drunkenness

and the anxieties of daily life,

and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.

For that day will assault everyone

who lives on the face of the earth.

Be vigilant at all times

and pray that you have the strength

to escape the tribulations that are imminent

and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, may your name be hallowed, may your Kingdom come, and may your will be done. Grant me the earthly and heavenly bread I need. Forgive my sins and move my heart to forgive my brothers and sisters. Strength me to overcome temptations, trials, and tribulations. Deliver me from all evil so that I may come to enjoy eternal life with you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. God’s Timeline: We have just read the final readings for the Liturgical Year. They point us to the first and second comings (advents) of Jesus Christ. In the First Reading, the four beasts, like the four parts of the statue in Daniel 2, are interpreted as four kingdoms. All four of these will be surpassed by the Kingdom of God, instituted by Jesus Christ during his earthly life and awaiting perfect and glorious establishment at the end of time. In Daniel 9, there is even an indication about the time of the Messiah’s first advent or coming. It mentions 70 weeks of years: 490 years (Daniel 9:24). These 490 years correspond more or less to the period of time between the “going out of the word” (Daniel 9:25) to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 445/444 B.C. and the death of Jesus Christ in A.D. 30/33. The number 490 also indicates God’s mercy. The people of Israel were to celebrate Jubilee years of mercy every 49 years. 490 is a cycle of ten jubilee years. As well, when Peter asks how many times he should forgive, Jesus responds with “seventy times seven times,” once again indicating the perfection of merciful forgiveness.

2. Be Vigilant at All Times: Today’s Gospel is an invitation to vigilance. We need to be watchful at all times. Vigilance means guarding our senses and taking care in our thoughts and judgments, however, it also means being prudent and discerning God’s will for us. On vigilance, the Catechism states: “We must also face the fact that certain attitudes deriving from the mentality of ‘this present world’ can penetrate our lives if we are not vigilant” (CCC, 2727). Also, Jesus calls us, his hearers, to watchfulness in prayer: “In prayer the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him who Comes, in memory of his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second coming in glory. In communion with their Master, the disciples’ prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation” (CCC, 2616).

3. The Kingdom of the Son of Man: The Book of Daniel and the Gospel both mention “the Son of Man.” Jesus Christ is the Son of Man, the one who establishes God’s Kingdom. Jesus proclaimed at the beginning of his public ministry that the “Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). Before he enters into Jerusalem, he said that the “Kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21). At the Last Supper he appointed (covenanted) the Kingdom to his Apostles (Luke 22:29). In agony on the Cross, he was proclaimed King. During the forty days between his Resurrection and Ascension, he spoke to his disciples about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Jesus is the Son of Man who receives dominion, glory, and kingship from the Father, the Ancient One. By his obedient sacrifice, Jesus establishes a Kingdom that will never be destroyed. The Church is not the fullness of the Kingdom, for it is only its seed and beginning. The visible Church is on an earthly pilgrimage and will only enter the glory of the Kingdom through a final Passover.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my King, and my heart welcomes you. I ask that you reign today in my life and in my family. I stand at the ready to heed your life-giving word.

Living the Word of God: When I hear Jesus’ admonitions to “be vigilant and pray,” what immediately comes to mind? Where am I weak in my watchfulness? Where do I open myself up to temptation? Where does my prayer life need strengthening? For example, do I turn my thoughts to God at the beginning of the day or to the things of this passing world?