A subversive faith
13 August 2026
During the last week of liturgical year C, we usually read the book of Daniel, one of most important books in apocalyptic literature. It tells us the story of a sage man, called Daniel, whose competence was widely recognized in Nebuchadnezzar’s empire at large. It happened that King Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, profaned the holy temple’s utensils. He had them transformed into their pagan ritual materials as they adored god of silver and gold. God’s temple has been seized. His place or his territory has been occupied. And again, he was undressed. That’s a portrait of wicked and despotic tyrant.
Human heart, as the most intimate place of God’s dwelling house, is somehow occupied by any kind of idols that could be a new tyrant, unprecedented and more powerful one. And I’m thinking of technological society as what pope Francis says in his first apostolic exhortation, the Joy of the Gospel: “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy” (The Joy of the Gospel no.7). Technology as a new idol has been occupying God’s last territory, human’s heart. But, it doesn’t mean that God has lost the battle.
The profanation resulted in a terrific experience of the king who saw the mysterious hands writing and leaving a strange message on the wall of his palace. The king felt that such a thing was an alert for what he was doing, but he didn’t understand what it really meant. Daniel, one of the wise men of his kingdom is the only person who could puzzle out the mystery.
That’s the word of God. God is present in our history, and manifests his life as person who auto-communicates. So He is the word that speaks and gives meaning. He doesn’t intervene in a magical way or in a way that goes against natural law. He is not magician like David Coperffield. God interferes in our history through his Word. By the same Word he has created the universe, and by the same Word he has redeemed the world and humanity, and by the same world he will bring the universe into her plenitude of salvation. In such a critical time, God continues to speak. He is not silent but needs those who could listen to him and also those who can understand it. Personally, I interpreted the release of Pope Francis exhortation as mysterious hand-writings on the wall of our post-modern society. Francis him self, could be as Daniel, called to interpret it for us today.
As the story goes on, Daniel, known as having intelligence and marvelous wisdom was called to come to kings’ aid in order to interpret such a bizarre inscription. For his job, he would receive a gift of a new promotion in his royal carrier. As a faithful man, Daniel was aware that the request was not only kings’ request but mainly God’s call to serve Him more than everything. So he did tell the truth. He didn’t want to be set up in king’s design and manipulate God’s word for his own security and interest. Finally, he told the truth that the empire was about to loose and have its immediate end.
Of course, that kind of interpretation was a direct subversive affirmation, but Daniel just told the truth. That’s exactly the very character of air faith. Jesus recalls Daniel’s courage to be a faithful witness of truth. Our faith, as Benedict XVI says in his first encyclical Deus est Caritas is never a collection of ideas or a kind of moral and ethic principles. It’s a personal encounter with God in our daily life. Since it is an encounter, it engages us to put into question any kind of tyrannical manifestations in our personal life and our social life as human being. Thus, this faith requires a choice, even a subversive one.
Jesus reminds us of the consequences of the choice. As Daniel and his friends, we risk to be persecuted, to be killed and even abandoned by the rest of the world, but as Jesus promises, “not a hair of our head will be lost”. His Word of life, if we listen to it faithfully and do it in perseverance, will keep our lives safe. God is in need of new Daniel in this time. He needs you and me to bring the joy of the Gospel, the joy that two disciples of Emmaus had, after they had encountered the risen Christ in the fraction of the bread: ” Did we not feel our hearts on fire as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” (Luk.24:32) I pray that the same joy may fire your hearts and mine. (fr. Reynaldo Fulgentio Tardelly,s.x.)
