November 17, 2024. Texts: Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8.
Contrary to both history and popular imagination, Daniel was not a person. Or perhaps we should say, not a particular person. Daniel is the synthesis of an idea, a conviction, a message.
Daniel goes a long way back in history. The oldest known writing referring to Daniel comes from a Syrian scroll fragment in the Ugaritic language called the Tale of Aqhat. It was written fourteen centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. The story of Israel beginning with Genesis and coming to know God was not written until the tenth century BC four hundred years later.
Long before there were any commandments, Daniel became the template for certain civilizing virtues. Self-restraint. Wisdom. The practice of living justly and seeking justice for those utterly without voice or power. Reverence for, and deference to God.
Daniel then, is the character that people have evoked whenever times become frightening or difficult. Daniel’s name means God judges. The overwhelming message of Daniel is that a greater justice exists that cannot ultimately be evaded.
And to the degree that justice is subverted by human sin, arrogance, wealth, or power, it is temporary. Because all human empires come to an end. While God is eternal.
When times are good, peaceable, and comfortable the Book of Daniel may seem like an outlier. The ravings of a slightly tortured but very faithful believer. But when times are troubling, Daniel becomes an icon of hope through which God’s immutable justice is transmitted.
Daniel personifies the trust of all faithful people in God’s love and accompaniment. This core conviction is expressed in the bible many times. Daniel’s message is at the heart of the brief apocalypses found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Revelation to John.
There is a specific counsel to be found in apocalyptic writings. It is about how to be holy people in unholy times or circumstances. It is about not losing sight of what it means to be people of dignity and humanity. It is about finding in the midst of shadows the light of wise people, and following them through the night until a new day dawns.
As Jesus’s own end drew near, his teachings took on an apocalyptic tone. The temple would fall, as indeed it did many years later. There still would be future empires, all striving for glory. The earth would experience its own cataclysms.
The disciples wanted to know, when? As if this knowledge was what they needed to preserve themselves as everything went to ruins around them. But Jesus replied only that they should instead be watchful, resilient, steady, and thoughtful. And that they should look not for the end of their world, but for the beginning of something entirely new.
This was not a time to give up and hide. This was a time to shine with faith. To lead with love.
Because loving God is an act, not a belief. Do we trust God enough to walk the path of Jesus?
Hebrews captures the discipleship challenge of Jesus so well. “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering…And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds…” This letter was written during hard times, not easy times.
If we are intimidated by Daniel 12 and Mark 13 it is only because of our lack of imagination that something new may be born. Birth is messy and mysterious. The disciples did not know, and we don’t know what God is creating now.
So God’s people live by a feral hope. It’s not rational or tame in any usual sense. Our hope is untamed.
We are convinced that God’s horizon outlasts any human reach. When it comes to human tyrannies, God will be the final judge. And as we learned from Jesus, God will always deliver.
Amen.