34th Week, Thursday, Nov 30
Daniel 6:12-28 / Luke 21:20-28
Daniel is thrown into the lions' den; God rescued Daniel.
King Darius liked Daniel very much. One day the king appointed Daniel to a high office. When other public officials heard about this, they grew jealous of Daniel. Together they conspired to get the king to outlaw prayer for a period of time, knowing that Daniel would ignore the ruling. The rest of the story we know from the reading.
The point of the story of Daniel's being thrown into the lions' den is that God will rescue Israel in their present hour of persecution, just as he rescued Daniel from the jaws of the hungry lions.
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Do we turn to God to give us strength and keep us cool when people grow jealous of us and deliberately try to hurt us? "O Lord, help me to understand that you ain't going to let nothing come my way that you and me can't handle together.” Author unknown
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Today’s story of the first reading is not historical but edifying. It applies again to Antiochus IV “Epiphanes,” who obliged the people in his kingdom to pray only to his god, Baal-Zeus, of whom he pretended to be the manifestation. Of course, the Jews (Daniel) contested this order.
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To be thrown into a lion's den is to be in a place or state of extreme disadvantage, antagonism, or hostility. And usually, it is not the strong and mighty who are thrown into the lion's den, but the weak and the innocent. And no doubt about it, not many have survived and come out alive of the lion's den. Death is almost certain and a horrible death at that. The prophet Daniel was thrown into the lion's den by his accusers who were actually just jealous of his high rank and he also enjoyed the king's favour.
So, they laid a trap under the guise of religion and the king unsuspectingly signed the decree, and which he could not revoke. So, it can be said that the conspirators were more vicious and inhumane compared to the lions in the den.
But once again, God came to the help of the innocent and those who are faithful to Him; God rescued Daniel by sending an angel to seal the lions' jaws and saved Daniel from certain death. There will be many lion's dens that we might be thrown into by those who are against us for some reason. Like Daniel, let us remain innocent and faithful to God's ways and trust in the Lord's saving help. In doing so, we will survive the lion's den and live to proclaim the mighty and marvelous works of God.
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The destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of disaster in nature are for us signs of the trials of the Christian life and of the difficult coming of God’s kingdom among people. But let us not forget that we ourselves too, delay this kingdom, by our selfishness, our hunger for power, all the evil we cause one another. Yet, our meager efforts will help to bring salvation nearer. With the help of Christ present among us, we can grow in love, forgiveness, compassion, and peace. We should keep our heads raised in hope.
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Prayer
Lord our God, we are your people on the march who try to carry out the task of giving shape to your kingdom of love and peace. When we are discouraged and afraid, keep us going forward in hope. Make us vigilant in prayer, that we may see the signs of your Son’s coming. Let Jesus walk with us already now on the road he has shown us, that he may lead us to you, our living God, forever and ever. Amen
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Saint Andrew, Apostle
Feast Day November 30
St. Andrew was a fisherman who lived in Galilee during the time of Jesus. He often followed John the Baptist and listened to his teachings. One day, John saw Jesus walking along the road. John said to his followers, “Behold the Lamb of God.” He told his followers to go and talk to Jesus. He wanted them to know that Jesus was the One for whom they had been waiting. Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus and spent an afternoon with him. Early the next day Andrew found Simon Peter, his older brother, and told him, “We have found the Messiah.”
Both men gave up their work as fishermen to become apostles of Jesus. Andrew was one of the first to be called. He seemed to take delight in bringing others to Jesus. Andrew was the one who told Jesus about the little boy who had the loaves of bread and the fish, the beginning of a meal that fed more than five thousand people. It was Andrew and Philip whom the Greeks approached when they wanted to see Jesus. These events indicate that Andrew was a man who was easy to approach, a man you could trust.
Like the other apostles, Andrew became a missionary. He preached about Jesus in the area around the Black Sea. Tradition tells us he preached in northern Greece, Turkey, and Scythia (now the southern part of Russia).
Andrew died as a martyr. Tradition says that in Patras in Greece, he was tied to a cross shaped like the letter X. Ever since then, a cross in the shape of an X has been called St. Andrew’s cross.
The name “Andrew” is a Greek name meaning “courageous” or “manly.” St. Andrew lived up to his name.
