By Colleen O’Sullivan
Daniel answered the king: “You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers, might drink wine from them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify. By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down. (Daniel 5:17a, 23-24)
Jesus said to the crowd: “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 because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute… By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Luke 21:12-15, 19)
Piety
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name! (Psalm 103:1)
Study
My mother never liked the end-of-the-church-year Scripture readings. Too dark, grim and frightening, she would proclaim every year. I suppose they can seem like that on the surface.
Both of our readings today constitute warnings. In the verses taken from the Book of Daniel, the handwriting on the wall tells us what happens when we don’t acknowledge or glorify God. King Belshazzar, a successor of Nebuchadnezzar, who carried the Jews off into exile, continues to hold them captive. Carousing at a wild party, he drunkenly orders the sacred vessels pillaged from the Temple in Jerusalem brought in. They are then desecrated by the guests. Praises to false gods ring out. The partying comes to an abrupt halt, however, when a hand is seen writing on the wall. The prophet Daniel interprets the writing for the king. The message is essentially that those who don’t worship the true God are found wanting and will not come to a good end.
In today’s Gospel reading, on the other hand, the warning is to believers. Your very faith may be the cause for persecution and suffering. Certainly this seems to be true today in other countries such as Egypt and Syria. Here in Northern Virginia, I find more disdain for my faith than any type of persecution. Acquaintances and friends who’ve left the Catholic Church sometimes sneeringly ask, “Do you still believe all that stuff?”
Yes, I believe. And, my mother’s opinion aside, there is good news in these Scripture readings. The Lord’s promise is that if we are faithful, if we are firmly rooted in him and our hearts are open to his presence in us, we have nothing to fear. This doesn’t mean that we will never be looked down upon, seized or even asked to give our lives for our faith. It does mean that when challenged, whether through persecution or disdain, Christ will give us the words to use in reply. Beyond that, our faithful perseverance means that we will live in Christ and He will live in us forever. I can think of no better news than that.
Action
What would the handwriting on the wall say about you and your faith?
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