The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

For wisdom because it establishes a foundation of humility, obedience, and worship.

Fearing God is knowing God, and this is where true wisdom lies.

people must submit to God’s will. By doing so, we acquire wisdom.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28*

(...) Under the influence of wine,

King Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken

from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines might drink from them. (...)

Suddenly a man's fingers appeared opposite the lampstand and wrote on the plastered wall of the king's palace.

Watching the hand as it wrote, the king turned pale. So terrified was he that his knees knocked and his legs gave way.

Daniel was brought in and questioned by the king, "(...) Daniel replied, "(...)

You praised the idols made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron and stones, (...);

 

but you never glorified God who has power over your life and all your fortunes.

So he sent the hand that wrote the inscription which read MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

And these words mean: MENE, God has numbered the days of your reign and put an end to it;

TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;

PARSIN, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians."

 

Dn 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67

Give glory and eternal praise to him.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Luke 21:12-19

Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you;

you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison,

and for my sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

So keep this in mind: do not worry in advance about what to say,

for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.

You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.

But even though, because of my name, you will be hated by everyone,

not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

Belshazzar, successor to Nebuchadnezzar and last king of Babylon before its capture by the Medes and Persians,

is unaware how precarious his position really is. Belshazzar is described in contemporary writing as a tyrant.

He is swollen with pride and blinded by wealth and success. Indeed, the power and success of the Babylonian Empire was immense.

One has only to look at the huge and lavish artwork in the British Museum to see remnants of a very powerful people.

And so, in his pride, Belshazzar throws a feast. The feast must have been very lavish indeed,

as the "festival" is mentioned in the writings of Herodotus and Xenophon as the cause for Babylon's capture, since all were distracted by the festivities.

 

The feast he gave is the ultimate act of defiance,

as he defiles the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem by using them for drinking and carousing.

But God judges Belshazzar for his arrogance and Daniel interprets the enigmatic writing on the wall as the end to the king's reign.

Pride can make us feel invincible, but God is greater. This is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10).