 |
“Daniel in the Lion’s Den” by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1615
|
For the Celebration of Thanksgiving Day (United States)
Commentary:
Reading 1: Daniel 6:12-28
Commentary on Dn 6:12-28
The story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den is one of the great tales from the Old Testament. We find the moral compelling: Daniel’s faithfulness to God and his refusal to abandon his faith and pray to King Darius is rewarded by God. Daniel is thrown into a deep pit where lions are kept. The pit is sealed so he cannot escape. The king is amazed at Daniel’s salvation through an angel of the Lord who came to seal the jaws of the lions so no harm would come to him. So miraculous was this salvific event that the King proclaimed that only the Lord is God and he alone should be worshiped throughout the kingdoms of Mede and Persia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Daniel 3:68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74
R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
Commentary on Dn 3:68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74
The selection from Daniel used as a Psalm Response is once more take from the chant of by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This long hymn of praise (from verse 24 to verse 90) is is broken into three litanies. This selection concludes the first. It praises God's creation of physical phenomena. Subsequent sections praise all that grows upon the earth and finally humankind in its various categories.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 21:20-28
Commentary on Lk 21:20-28
The apocalyptic discourse continues in St. Luke’s Gospel. The first part of this section deals with the destruction of Jerusalem (which actually took place in 70 AD). Since this event took place before the Gospel was published, Luke and his community look back upon the event. This provides the assurance that, just as Jesus' prediction of Jerusalem's destruction was fulfilled, so too will the announcement of their final redemption come to pass. The prediction itself is validated by the historical account of Eusebius of Casoria. When the Christians saw the approach of the Roman armies they recalled Christ’s prediction and fled across the Jordan.[4]
The second part of the reading provides a description of the actual events of the end times. The Lord assures his disciples that he will return and those who follow him should not be afraid, even as the terrible signs manifest themselves upon the earth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Sacred Scripture holds up Daniel’s faithfulness and Jesus’ assurance that those of us who are faithful will find redemption in him. How can we not be attracted to the story and example of Daniel at this time of year? The analogy is so apt.
Let’s set Daniel’s story in contemporary times: Daniel was a faithful Christian but was ordered by civil mandate that he must refrain from any mention of his God or faith publicly. One Christmas he decided he would erect a manger scene in his front yard. Some members of his community association ran immediately to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and demanded that they sue Daniel for violating this mandate.
The Judge did not want to try the case because Daniel was a well-respected member of the community and he (the Judge) too was a Christian (although a secret one for fear of the ACLU). Because the rules said so, he was forced to bring the case to trial. The attorney for the ACLU roared like a lion. “How dare Daniel insult the non-Christians by erecting the despicable symbol of a post-natal family gathering in a farm yard in his front yard, against the rules of his community association?”
But during deliberations, an angel of the Lord came (invisibly) to the jury and influenced them to find that the rules did not prohibit the display of religious symbols. So impressed were the members of the Daniel’s community that a proclamation went out throughout the neighborhood and all of the Christians decorated their yards and put up Christmas trees and God saw all this and thought it was good.
Pax
[2] The picture is “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1615
No comments:
Post a Comment