With Great Power

A Reflection on the First Reading for November 21st, 2021:
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

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Daniel
7.13-14

I had a dream and visions as I lay in bed. As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the One who is Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
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The desire for power is one of those near-universal human desires, I think. It’s certainly the oldest one I know. I remember being a little kid and dreaming of growing up — all I wanted was power. Power to choose my own bedtime, to eat candy for breakfast, to never go to math class again. Of course, now that I’m an adult, I do my best to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, eat whole grains every morning, and master Excel formulas at work. It turns out having power also means learning how to wield it responsibly. 


Today’s reading is a prophecy from the book of Daniel, where he witnesses God the Father giving all the authority and power over earth to Jesus. In many ways, this is still a future prophecy for us — the day has yet to come when Jesus returns and the whole world is under His eternal dominion. Nevertheless, I know that God also has a message for me personally in this reading: to give Jesus eternal dominion over my life. 


That sets off the same reaction in me today that I had when I was a kid. I want to be in charge of my life, not anyone else! I don’t want to go back to the days of being told what to do and doing it grumpily. But when my parents set my bedtime, fed me healthy food, and sent me off to school, they didn’t do it to punish me. On the contrary, it was an act of love, knowing that being well-rested and energized would help me learn and grow into the best version of myself. And if my parents — wonderful people, but imperfect human beings like us all — always had my best interests at heart, how much more does God? 


I have the freedom to do whatever I want with my life. But I have a responsibility to serve God with it, even (especially!) when what He asks of me is hard or scary. When I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me toward a career change last year, I was terrified. I had my whole work life planned out through to retirement, and He was messing everything up! After much time in prayer and filing many formal complaints against God, I said yes and let Him guide me to a totally new job, which turned out to be the perfect fit, and brings me a deeper joy than I previously thought possible.


God doesn’t want power over my life to make me miserable. He wants me to give my life to Him so that He can make it better, more beautiful, more joyful. Like a six-year-old who doesn’t realize that her dream of candy for breakfast will make her feel sick all day, I have a bad habit of pinning my happiness to earthly goals and dreams that won’t truly satisfy. When Jesus is king of my life, it’s just better.




Jenna Young

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