“Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand.” – Luke 21:14
1ST READING
Daniel
again interprets the king’s dreams, not because he wants a reward for
doing it but because he can, and he does not see why he shouldn’t help
the king to prepare for the trying times ahead. The king recognizes him
as a man of integrity and, thus, appoints him as the one to prepare the
kingdom for the coming trial of famine. Daniel proves to be up to the
task and many of the surrounding nations will come to him for help.
Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, with whom he drank. 2 Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver
vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in
Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and
his entertainers might drink from them. 3 When
the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem
had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and his
entertainers were drinking 4 wine from them, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 5 Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king’s palace. When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, 6 his face blanched; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked. 13 Then
Daniel was brought into the presence of the king. The king asked him,
“Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile, whom my father, the king, brought
from Judah? 14 I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom. 16 I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties; if you are able to read the writing and tell me what
it means, you shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold collar about your
neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom.” 17 Daniel answered the
king: “You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else;
but the writing I will read for you, O king, and tell you what it means.
23 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. 24 By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down. 25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: 26 MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; 27 TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
P S A L M
Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
R: Give glory and eternal praise to him.
39 [Dan 3:62] “Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 40 [Dan 3:63] “Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 41 [Dan 3:64] “Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 42 [Dan 3:65] “All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 43 [Dan 3:66] “Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 44 [Dan 3:67] “Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R)
GOSPEL
Why
does Jesus tell them not to prepare their defense? It is probably
because the Holy Spirit will help us come up with better arguments than
we can find on our own and He does not want the clarity of His arguments
muddied by our own musings. At the very least, what we have here is an
encouragement to trust that the Lord will never abandon us in our time
of need.
Luke 21:12-19
12 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. 13 It will lead to your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
REFLECTION
PERSEVERANCE VS. PERSECUTIONS
Continuing from yesterday’s readings, we’re now even a notch higher in terms of the difficulties and trials previously mentioned. If yesterday, Jesus was hinting at wars and calamities, today He gives more direct warnings and prophecies on the persecutions we are to suffer.
We might as well ask, are these scare tactics from the Lord? Well, if
ever, an occasional jolt from God can be useful every now and then. And
in any case, why should we be surprised or shocked? “No pupil is greater
than his master... If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first... If they
persecuted me, they will also persecute you,” Jesus once said. If He
Himself underwent suffering and persecution, who are we, His followers,
to be spared of them?
We cling to Christ’s assurances, equally clear and explicit as the
warnings He gave. (So they’re not all scare tactics, therefore.) There
are at least three of such assurances in our Gospel reading:
“I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.”
“Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.”
“By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
With such consoling words from Jesus, what is there to fear
therefore? Everything will be provided for us — from the words for our
defense against accusing kings and governors, to even the hairs on our
heads! But the last of Jesus’ three statements stands out. Yes, we are
assured of our salvation, but at
the same time it is still subject to a condition, the fulfillment of
which depends entirely on us. Quite simply, we must persevere. In other
words, we must patiently endure all trials and sufferings.
If endurance, patience and determination are the keys to our triumph,
then so be it. Persecutions? Don’t worry, we have an answer to that:
perseverance. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
"Lord, thank You for Your
everyday protection. Send Your Holy Spirit to be my guide in managing
Your business here on earth. Cover me with Your armor of love always and grant me the grace to persevere when I am hated and persecuted by the world."
No comments:
Post a Comment