GOD'S WORD IN DAILY LIFE
24 November/Wednesday/34th Week in Ordinary Time,
Dan 5,1-6.13-14.16-17.23-28/Dan 3,62.63.64.65.66.67/Luke 21,12-19
By Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD
First Reading Daniel 5:1-6,13-14,16-17,23-28
The writing on the wall
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his noblemen; a thousand of them attended, and he drank wine in company with this thousand. As he sipped his wine, Belshazzar gave orders for the gold and silver vessels to be brought which his father Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the sanctuary in Jerusalem, so that the king, his noblemen, his wives and his singing women could drink out of them. The gold and silver vessels looted from the sanctuary of the Temple of God in Jerusalem were brought in, and the king, his noblemen, his wives and his singing women drank out of them. They drank their wine and praised their gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared, and began to write on the plaster of the palace wall, directly behind the lamp-stand; and the king could see the hand as it wrote. The king turned pale with alarm: his thigh-joints went slack and his knees began to knock.
Daniel was brought into the king’s presence; the king said to Daniel, ‘Are you the Daniel who was one of the Judaean exiles brought by my father the king from Judah? I am told that the spirit of God Most Holy lives in you, and that you are known for your perception, intelligence and marvellous wisdom. As I am told that you are able to give interpretations and to unravel difficult problems, if you can read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be dressed in purple, and have a chain of gold put round your neck, and be third in rank in the kingdom.’
Then Daniel spoke up in the presence of the king. ‘Keep your gifts for yourself,’ he said ‘and give your rewards to others. I will read the writing to the king without them, and tell him what it means. You have defied the Lord of heaven, you have had the vessels from his Temple brought to you, and you, your noblemen, your wives and your singing women have drunk your wine out of them. You have praised gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone, which cannot either see, hear or understand; but you have given no glory to the God who holds your breath and all your fortunes in his hands. That is why he has sent the hand which, by itself, has written these words. The writing reads: Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin. The meaning of the words is this: Mene: God has measured your sovereignty and put an end to it; Tekel: you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; Parsin: your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.’
Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:62-67
Sun and moon! bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Stars of heaven! bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Showers and dews! all bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Winds! all bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Fire and heat! bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Cold and heat! bless the Lord.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Gospel Acclamation Luke 21:36
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 21:12-19
Your endurance will win you your lives
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’
Reflection
The First Reading recounts an event during the Babylonian exile involving Daniel and King Belshazzar, who is said to be the son of King Nebuchadnezzar. There is no historical evidence to his having been made king. Biblical scholars hold that he may probably have been a commander of one of the battalions of the Babylonian army that fought the Medians in Opis. The setting of the story is a banquet which is presented as a very big event by mentioning that a thousand people were invited to the feast. The feast in itself would not have attracted much narrative attention were it not for a decision of King Belshazzar to make use of the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the sanctuary in Jerusalem. These vessels were used for divine worship so they should have been preserved only for that purpose. The conquest of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar and the looting of the Temple placed these sacred vessels in the hands of people who did not worship Yahweh, the God of Israel.
The use of the sacred vessels for a profane purpose like a banquet showed disrespect for God. King Belshazzar went beyond limits in putting the sacred vessels to such a mundane use. The character of the feast indicates a victorious or peaceful moment but this peace was to be disturbed by a strange phenomenon. A hand appears and writes on the wall where the banquet was taking place. In this way, the provocation of King Belshazzar was countered by the power of God. If King Belshazzar thought he was all powerful, God showed that he was Almighty and all kingdoms serve as his footstool. At times, leaders become too full of themselves that they fail to acknowledge a Supreme Power that is over and above them. They begin to behave like gods and want people to believe that they are almighty. However, as is often the case, such people are very fragile and even afraid of their own shadows. That is why they do not entertain any opposition to their authority and are ready to kill or murder to remain in power.
The writing on the wall disturbed King Belshazzar especially that he could not understand the meaning of what was written. His eagerness to know the meaning of the writing is portrayed in the reward he wanted to give to Daniel if he could interpret the writing for him. Leaders who are not sure of their position or who know that they are in power by false means and not the will of the people and of God are ready to offer all they can to retain their position. The refusal of Daniel to accept the reward promised him indicates that Daniel was not interested in material wealth. As a man of God, his primary goal was to do the will of God and proclaim his message without fear or favour. Jesus calls on all of us to have a similar attitude when he says in the Gospel Reading that when we are faced with persecution and drawn before kings, we should consider it an opportunity to witness to him. Nothing should deter us from the proclamation of the truth. We should always remember that the God we serve is greater than all human powers and would never abandon us.