Let Bygone be Bygone, In Order to Win the Kingdom of God
Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28; Luke 21:12-19
History teaches us that kingdoms of the earth rise and fall: from the ruins of the Egyptian kingdom, the Assyrian kingdom arose; from the decay of the Assyrian kingdom, the Babylonian kingdom came to be, and so on and so forth. However, what history teachers do not remember to teach us, but which God is teaching us through the readings of today, is the fact that God intervenes at the point of collapse of every kingdom to save his own. Unfortunately, it is almost always the case that people spend more time trying to save a falling kingdom than listening to the presence of God and the message of God.
From a King, Jesus-Christ, silently hanging on the tree of the cross on Sunday, we come to a writing-hand on the wall that causes panic to a king – what is going on? The incident of our first reading teaches us that sin and all forms of corruption destroy kingdoms and human beings. The writing-finger tells the story of God’s judgment, making the Babylonian king to understand that there is a mightier or Almighty King above him: “This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Daniel was the voice of God, interpreting the message of God.
Today’s gospel tells of the “jeering,” “mockery” and persecutions Christians undergo for the sake of their faith, because of the kingdom of God. The gospel assures us, if we persevere, like our silent King on the cross, we will win Paradise, the Kingdom of God. The comparison between the gospel and the first reading are, at least, on three levels: 1) kings of the earth organize banquets and like merry making; the King of kings, Jesus-Christ, hangs on the cross in shame and humiliation. 2) Israelites, represented by Daniel in the first reading, were in an ignominious and humiliating exile in Babylon, and God decreed the rise of a kingdom (the Persian kingdom) that will liberate the sons of Israel from exile back to their home land (like the “good thief” that found Paradise on the cross). 3) The rulers and military that jeered at Jesus hanging on the tree, and the persecutors of Christians, are like the rulership of Babylon that couldn’t see the presence of God among them.
What is important is to let bygone be bygone, to let go of a collapsed and collapsing kingdom and embrace the new – like the good thief did. On an individual level, we cannot change/win salvation except we accept to let go of the past, to create a place for the new – Jesus-Christ, being “born-again”. This is the lesson we learnt from the “good thief”; he abandoned his attachment to the kingdom of the earth and requested a place with Jesus, Jesus’ kingdom, and Jesus said to him, “today, you will be with me in paradise”. The persecutors of Christians are still attached to this kingdom of the earth and need our prayers for conversation; and, persecuted Christians need prayers for perseverance. May God help us all!