Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

“Belshazzar's Feast”
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1635

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Readings for Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
 
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,
with whom he drank.
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.
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 wine from them,
they praised their gods of gold and silver,
bronze and iron, wood and stone.
 
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, his face blanched;
his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook,
and his knees knocked.
 
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?
I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,
that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
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.”
 
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.
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.
 
“This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.
These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
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Commentary on Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
 
In this reading from the Book of Daniel, the son of Nebuchadnezzar (actually a crown prince), Belshazzar, profanes the spoils of the temple in Jerusalem at a huge party. In the midst of the revelry the vision of a hand writes words on the wall that none of the court scholars or wise men can interpret. At that point, Daniel is brought in and offered a huge reward to interpret the writing. He declines the reward and tells the prince how the words are interpreted.
 
The words written, Mene, Tekel, and Peres, according to scholars, are Aramaic names for weights and monetary values: “the mina, the shekel (the sixtieth part of a mina), and the parsu (a half-mina).” Daniel’s interpretation plays on these words. “Mene, (is) connected with the verb meaning to number; Tekel, with the verb meaning to weigh; Peres, with the verb meaning to divide. There is also a play on the last term with the word for Persians.” [4]
 
The underlying meaning we take from this story is the vision of the God of justice who, in the eyes of the faithful, rejects those who reject him, and that structures built upon such greed will not stand. In the full text of this chapter this meaning is punctuated by the death of Belshazzar who is slain the night of the party.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
 
R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
 
“Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
 
“Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
 
“Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
 
“All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
 
“Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
 
“Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
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Commentary on Dn 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
 
The selection from Daniel, used as a psalm response, is once more taken from the chant by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as they defy death in the furnace. This long hymn of praise (from verse 24 to verse 90) is broken into three litanies. This is part of the first.  It praises God's creation in the world.  Subsequent sections praise all that grows upon the earth and finally humankind in its various categories.
 
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Gospel: Luke 21:12-19
 
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.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
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Commentary on Lk 21:12-19
 
The apocalyptic discourse from St. Luke’s Gospel continues as Jesus, who has just predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, now tells the crowd that this does not mean the end time has come. He predicts the great persecutions that will take place. The subject of how the gospel message will divide families is once more brought up.  The Lord informs those present that persecution will take place within families as well as in society at large.
 
The gospel being proclaimed by the Lord's followers will result in persecution from every side for the early Christian community. Jesus foresees this time of intense persecution and asks for a steadfast response. By not preparing a defense, he is asking that those persecuted not recant the faith and promises them the reward of the martyrs. The passage concludes with a restatement of the promise of salvation for those who remain faithful: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
 
CCC: Lk 21:12 675
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Reflection:
 
The lesson from these Scripture selections is that the foundation of whatever we build in our lives must be securely grounded in our faith values.  If we examine what has transpired in the reading and psalm response from Daniel, we see a clear picture unfolding.  King Nebuchadnezzar is seen by the early Hebrews as being a destructive force that God allowed to capture and sack Jerusalem and the temple.  Essentially, he is viewed as an instrument of punishment for the faithlessness of the people. 
 
King Nebuchadnezzar’s actions, in the view of the authors of Daniel, go too far.  The spoils of the temple of Jerusalem are taken to the king’s son, Belshazzar, who profanes them by using the temple’s sacred vessels to toast the graven images worshiped by the Babylonians.  God’s hand writes the doom of this kingdom on the wall of the hall in which the celebratory party is being held.  Daniel’s interpretation is seen as the judgment of God upon those who hedonistically trample the sacred underfoot for human profit.  The Hebrew vision of the God of justice is fulfilled quickly as this story ends with the death of Belshazzar, which takes place that very evening, validating the truth of Daniel’s interpretation.
 
The moral we take away from this story is tempered by the New Covenant.  When the Lord came, he showed us a new vision of God.  Indeed, that was a major purpose in his coming.  He revealed a Father who is loving and merciful.  Through our new understanding we see Nebuchadnezzar as a godless barbarian whose cruelty and debauchery earned him the rewards of what was sown, as do all the servants of the Evil One.  Created with free will, Belshazzar established a moral environment in which his own death was assured.  But the lesson is not lost on us.  We see how important it is to stay firmly grounded in Christ.  If we fall prey to human weakness and profane that which is holy, we too walk in the steps of those who tread in darkness.
 
Today our prayer is that all we accomplish may be held up for God’s greater glory and that with great care, we will keep all that is sacred and holy safe from the poison of sin.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Belshazzar's Feast” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1635.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB footnote on Daniel 5:25.