Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Our 3-year-old, Lillian, has developed quite the imagination. She has a fascination with pretending to be the monster or assigning mom and dad to be the monster in the stories she develops for playtime. At other times, she will call us back to her bedroom (when she is supposed to be sleeping) to tell us that she is scared of her closet--I can only assume it is one of the monsters. In today’s first reading, Daniel explains a vision he had, with four terrible beasts. He provides graphic detail of their horrible and terrifying appearance with horns and tusks, multiple heads, extraordinary strength, devouring and crushing. I’ve recently started watching the Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime; these depictions that Daniel describes are eerily similar to awful Trolloc creatures from the tv series. Then, he describes the Ancient One coming on his throne, destroying the beasts and casting them out, making way for the son of man to receive dominion, glory, and kingship.
One of our children’s favorite VeggieTales episodes perfectly captures our readings for today in their song:
“God is bigger than the boogie man,
he’s bigger than Godzilla and the monsters on TV,
Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man
And he’s watching out for you and me.”
The delivery of the VeggieTales message might be designed for children, but it also calls on us to reflect on this reality in our daily lives and the world around us. Although the beasts in Daniel’s story with four heads and ten horns are fictional, there are plenty of “beasts” in our society today that are very real. Violence, hunger, greed, racism, poverty, addiction, disease, judgment, abuse, anger… the list goes on and on… very real beasts affecting very real people in our world every single day. It’s one thing to help our kids get over their fear of Godzilla, the boogie man, or the closet monster. But what do we tell them about the real monsters in the world? How do we acknowledge that despite the danger of these very real beasts, we still have to go out each day, put one foot in front of the other, and be our best selves? How do we make sense of this for our kids? How do we make sense of it for ourselves?
As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we have read all about the wrath, judgment, and the terrible calamities that will come upon the earth. However, today Jesus tells us to notice signs “that the Kingdom of God is near.” Perhaps we can also see God’s kingdom in real ways in our lives. Our God is a God of hope. Jesus offers hope for peace, forgiveness, love, respect, health, and enough abundance for all to thrive. We can hold onto hope; we believe that the second part of Daniel’s dream carries truth. Daniel sees the son of man coming--His dominion is forever and shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed. As we face these beasts in our world, Jesus brings hope to our lives, to our communities, and to our families. Let us believe in this hope. May we bring this hope to our world each and every day giving glory and praise to our good God.
Blessings,
Brandon & LeeAnn Meyer