Our reading from the book of Daniel is a powerful apocalyptic description of the end of time and God’s final victory. Including a prophecy of the resurrection of the just and punishment of the wicked.
The prince “Michael” who is spoken of is Michael the Archangel. He was seen as the divinely appointed Guardian Angel of Israel. Michael is also a central figure in the book of Revelation where he leads the forces of heaven in campaign to cast out the devil and the other “fallen angels.” Through Christian history he has been seen as a protector and defender of God’s people and a spiritual patron of Police and Military.
In our second reading the author of Hebrews continues describing the freedom from sin that Christ brought us and the new freedom we have to approach the thrown of God in joy! Notice that this passage also talks about the end of time in terms of Christ defeating his enemies. Although these enemies are not named, the since of a final purging of evil from the world is unavoidable in this passage.
In our gospel reading, Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple, as the prophets Micah and Jeremiah had done earlier. This may not be the kind of prophecy that usually comes to mind. The Temple and the whole religious system that revolved around it were destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. This passage may be the reflection of the early Christians on their experience and Jesus’ condemnation of the abuses committed by the Temple authorities. It could be a way of giving comfort to those early Christians who were traumatized by the destruction. In essence the authors are saying that God intended things to happen this way.
Today we are drawing close to the end of the liturgical year (the new year begins with the first Sunday of Advent and concludes with next week’s celebration of Christ the King). That is why we have readings that focus so much on the “end of time” and God’s final battle. The Archangel Michael leading the charge is an image that is quite old. We know from the Qumran (Dead Sea) scrolls, that hope in this Divine intervention was wide spread in Jesus day. Christian writers picked up on the literary tradition and we see the same images in the book of Revelation.
The devotions to saints and angles is a piece of Christian tradition that has seen its share of excess and simple misunderstanding. Some went to the extreme of treating certain saints as if they were demigods. However, at its best, it fills the need we all have for heroes and heroines whom we can personally identify with and draw inspiration from. We all have our personal heroes and heroines. Such as that favorite aunt, uncle or grand parent who was a powerful and blessed influence in our lives. The saints stand as examples worthy of our imitation. We do not pray “to” the saints. We ask them to pray for and with us, just as we would ask each other. We can do this because we are spiritually united with all God’s servants through our oneness in Christ. Both through our baptism into the Mystical Body of Christ that Paul talks about - and as Eucharistic members in the Communion of all believers past and present.
My brothers and sisters let us not fear to draw on the best of this tradition for our inspiration and spiritual enrichment.
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