Throughout human history, public walls have been used to
communicate various ideas from political dissent to love messages to purely
artistic endeavors. Our own culture has
expanded and enhanced this age-old art form we commonly refer to as “graffiti.” [Please don't take up your spray paint and go about saying Deacon Joe thinks graffiti is an art form and an appropriate way to get your message across to the public.] The word finds its
origin in ancient Rome. It is the plural
of graffito, which
means “to scratch” and commonly refers to drawing on a wall in such a way as to
be seen by the public to communicate a particular message. The word “graffiti” finds its roots in writing on the walls of the
ruins of ancient Pompeii and Rome around 50 B.C.
Graffiti is a worldwide phenomenon. Communicating messages around the globe. Who of us can forget the tearing down of the Berlin
Wall in 1990? As we watched it come
tumbling down, we noted it was full of graffiti on its western side. For years this 15-foot high, over 100-mile
long, wall had borne messages to the world of a long hoped-for freedom.[1]
Today’s first reading evokes this saying: “We better care about the future; we will be spending the rest of
our lives there.” Daniel cares a lot about the future and as a
prophet he declares the truth. The
tragic truth Daniel needs to tell King Belshazzar is his Babylonian empire is ending.
The “writing is on
the wall” literally.
The story is a profound lesson in humility, underscoring the
foolishness of idol worship, offering a glimpse into the expectations of a God
who embodies the Babylonian empire with its power, influence, and domination.
The “writing is on the wall” for all of us as well.
Many generations after Daniel, Jesus dramatically reinforces this
message of humility, this lesson of putting material things and ego things in
their proper place. God and neighbor
come first. Do the big choices—and even
the little choices we make every day—demonstrate we have our priorities
straight? It’s only human to want what
we consider “the good things in life.” But our faith gives us new and challenging
definitions of just what those good things are.
We are living in a pluralistic culture that tells us there
are many paths to God. In light of
eternity what is the kingdom of Babylon, what is the United States of America,
when compared with the kingdom forfeited by men and women without Christ, men
and women who will be “weighed on the scales and
found wanting”? (Dn 5:27)
“Mene, Tekel, and Peres.” (Dn 5:25) God’s graffiti. The handwriting is on the wall!
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