Daniel 5:1-6,13-14,16-17,23-28
Luke 21:12-19
In today’s first reading, King Belshazzar got carried away with the banquet. He was so caught up in his party that he lost his senses and decided to make use of the sacred vessels from the Temple for his own pleasure. The handwriting is already written on the wall and it had to take them to bring poor Daniel to interpret this inscription on the wall,; Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. When someone decides to commit sacrilege, he has signed his death warrant. When worldly pleasure gets in the way of worshipping God, you have just enlisted yourself on death row. The Lord God created us to know Him, love Him, and serve Him. We were not made to cause violence but to serve humanity just has God has loved us in Christ.
In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us that it is not easy being a disciple. Being a follower of Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we will do in our journey through our life. It requires daily attention to what you are thinking, what you are saying, what we are doing and why we are doing it. It requires us to daily feed our spiritual life through our thoughts, words, and actions. We must travel in this life’s journey with Christ by our side, protecting us and guiding us on both the valleys and the hills; through roughs and plains. Amen.
Fr Joseph Osho