Daily Reading
First Reading
Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
King Belshazzar made a great festival for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.
Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver[a] that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote. Then the king’s face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you.
But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.”
Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation.
You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored.
“So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, and parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Psalm
Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
Bless the Lord, sun and moon;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, stars of heaven;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
“Bless the Lord, all rain and dew;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, all you winds;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, fire and heat;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Gospel Reading
Luke 21:12-19
“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Reflection
Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord cautions us to expect persecution until the end of time: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors.” When will the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, and not before.
None of the saints lived a serene life, a life free of worry, threat, persecution. It always strikes me as odd that somehow it is assumed that those who believe in God expect their lives to be a bowl of cherries. Absolutely nothing in the Bible or in the great tradition of the Church should lead us to expect this.
Instead, the saints found courage in the struggle. The Lord himself promised to prepare them for their defense: “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” Their courage got them through the negativity. I’m reminded of a verse from an Eva Cassidy song: “No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I’m clinging. Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?”