OPPORTUNITY FOR WITNESSING

November 24, Wednesday

THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

      The message of hope of the previous days continues in today’s readings. The Syrian king oppressed the Jews and declared himself “Epiphanes,” that is, “God become visible”; God will soon judge him and his kingdom will come to an end. He appears here disguised, under the name Belshazzar. On the other hand, the persecuted Christians will bear witness to God and to his Son, Jesus Christ, by their fidelity.

      Our baptism has made us witnesses of Christ. But it is not always an easy path, especially in times of great change, and even more so for missionaries. Difficulties will come from those closest to us. But we may rest assured that Christ is with us and that through his Spirit he will make us eloquent and give us the wisdom what to say and do. Do not be afraid!

 

First Reading: Daniel 5:1-6,13p-14,16-17,23-28

King Belshazzar held a great feast for his one thousand nobles. The wine flowed freely. Belshazzar, heady with the wine, ordered that the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God’s Temple of Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines, could drink from them. When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them. They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp-illumined, whitewashed wall of the palace. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away, he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits. His legs went limp and his knees knocked.

So Daniel was called in. The king asked him, “Are you the Daniel who was one of the Jewish exiles my father brought here from Judah? I’ve heard about you—that you’re full of the Holy Spirit, that you’ve got a brilliant mind, that you are incredibly wise. The wise men and enchanters were brought in here to read this writing on the wall and interpret it for me. They couldn’t figure it out—not a word, not a syllable.

But I’ve heard that you interpret dreams and solve mysteries. So—if you can read the writing and interpret it for me, you’ll be rich and famous—a purple robe, the great gold chain around your neck—and third-in-command in the kingdom.”

Daniel answered the king, “You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

You used the sacred chalices to toast your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone—blind, deaf, and imbecile gods. But you treat with contempt the living God who holds your entire life from birth to death in his hand.

“God sent the hand that wrote on the wall, and this is what is written: mene, teqel, and peres. This is what the words mean:

“Mene: God has numbered the days of your rule and they don’t add up.

“Teqel: You have been weighed on the scales and you don’t weigh much.

“Peres: Your kingdom has been divided up and handed over to the Medes and Persians.”

 

Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

“But before any of this happens, they’ll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.

“You’ll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you will be killed. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.

 

Prayer

God, our Father,
we believe that your plans for us
are for peace and courage, and not for fear.
Keep us open-eyed to the signs
of the constant coming of Jesus, your Son.
Help us to commit ourselves untiringly
to the growth of your kingdom among us
by carrying out your plans for peace and love
and for all that makes our world more
your world and the way to your home.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Respond to hatred with love, to offence with forgiveness

The Gospel passage for our reflection today is a continuation of what we have reflected on yesterday – about the end-things. Jesus predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem and there by an end to a religiosity that was centered on the Jerusalem temple. Catastrophes, wars, famines, riots and persecutions (vv. 9-12) are bound to happen.

Think of the many wars today, so many calamities today: A realistic look at the world around would tell us that all what Jesus speaks of in the Gospel are the happenings of our times too. We live in a world, marred by calamities and violence, by abuses and destructions that wound creation, our common home and also the human family that lives there, and the violence against the Christian community itself.

But then, there is the reassurance: “Not a hair of your head will perish” (v. 18). This is our hope. It speaks of the attitude that a Christian must adopt in living this history characterized by violence and adversity. It is the attitude of hope in God, which allows us not to be overwhelmed by tragic events. Indeed, they are an “opportunity to bear witness“ (v. 13).

Christ’s disciples cannot remain slaves to fears and anxieties; instead we are called to live with the certainty that the Lord’s action of goodness provides us with providential and reassuring tenderness. When our faith is put to test, when confronted with the tempests of life, remember that it is the sign that the world as God wants it, is approaching. It is He, the Lord, Who guides our existence and knows the ultimate purpose of things and events.

The Lord calls us to collaborate in the making of history by becoming peacemakers and witnesses of hope in a future of salvation and resurrection. Faith makes us walk with Jesus on the troubled roads of this world. The assurance of the Lord accompanies us that the power of His Spirit will bend the forces of evil.

Love is powerful, because it is God: God is love. The Christian martyrs are an example to us – our martyrs of Vietnam – St. Andrew Dung-Lac, and companions, 117 people who were martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862 give us an example of courageous witnessing to God’s love, even in the face of dreadful tortures. they were all canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.

Despite persecution, they give us an inheritance to preserve and imitate: the Gospel of love and mercy. The lives of the martyrs invite us to respond to hatred with love, to offence with forgiveness. May the Virgin Mary, through her maternal intercession, sustain our daily journey of faith, following the Lord Who guides history.

Video available on Youtube: Respond to hatred with love, to offence with forgiveness