Gospel: November 29, 2023
(Wednesday). 34th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)
Responsorial Psalm: Dn 3: 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
Give glory and eternal praise to him.
1st Reading: Daniel 5: 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his nobles; a thousand of them attended; and he drank wine with them. Under the influence of wine, he ordered that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in, so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines might drink from them. The gold and silver vessels taken from God’s temple were brought in; and the king and his nobles, his wives and concubines drank from them. While they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone.
Suddenly a man’s fingers appeared opposite the lampstand and wrote on the plastered wall of the king’s palace. Watching the hand as it wrote, the king turned pale. So terrified was he that his knees knocked and his legs gave way.
Daniel was brought in and questioned by the king, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father brought from Judah? I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods, that you have insight and extraordinary wisdom.
I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around your neck, and be appointed third in rank in my kingdom.”
Daniel replied, “You may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. Just the same, I will read and interpret the writing for you.
You have defied the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels from his temple brought to you, and, together with your nobles, your wives and concubines, you drank wine from them. You praised the idols made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron and stones, which neither see, nor hear, nor understand; but you never glorified God who has power over your life and all your fortunes. So he sent the hand that wrote the inscription which read Mene, Tekel, Pharsin. And these words mean: Mene, God has numbered the days of your reign and put an end to it; Tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; Pharsin, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”
Gospel: Matthew 21: 12-19Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for my sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
So keep this in mind: do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and 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 some of you will be put to death. But even though, because of my name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.
Reflection:“We will be judged by our witness and perseverance.”
In the first reading, the handwriting in the wall tells the king that he has been judged and found wanting. His failures will cost him his kingdom. Judgment can be a scary concept. Like the king, we fear being weighed, measured, and found wanting when we face God’s judgment at the end of our lives. We do not face the loss of a kingdom but the loss of eternal life.
By what standard will we be measured? The Gospel tells us. We will be judged by our witness and our perseverance. Our witness includes how we live what we believe. Being a witness requires perseverance, making a daily choice to take up our crosses and follow after Jesus. We follow Jesus by pouring out our lives in loving service of our brothers and sisters. If we see Christ in the people we meet and treat them as we would treat him, we will be good witnesses. May we not be found wanting when we are measured.
