Wednesday: Reflection on the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Revised Common Lectionary Proper 24 Roman Catholic Proper 29
Complementary Hebrew Scripture from Daniel 6*
IIt pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. The men said, âWe shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.â
So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, âO King Darius, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.â Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, âO king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?â The king answered, âThe thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.â Then they responded to the king, âDaniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.â
When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, âKnow, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.â
Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, âMay your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!â A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, âO Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?â Daniel then said to the king, âO king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.â Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lionsâthey, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: âMay you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God, âenduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, âand his dominion has no end. He delivers and rescues, âhe works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel âfrom the power of the lions.â So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
*In Jewish Bibles, Daniel is grouped with The Writings. In Christian Bibles, Daniel is grouped with the prophets.
Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture Torah Lesson: Numbers 13:1-2, 17-4:9
The Lord said to Moses, âSend men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.â
Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, âGo up there into the Negeb, and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of the land.â Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.
So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Wadi Eshcol, because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down from there.
At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, âWe came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan.â
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, âLet us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.â Then the men who had gone up with him said, âWe are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we.â So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, âThe land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.â
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, âWould that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?â So they said to one another, âLet us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.â
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, âThe land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only, do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.â
Complementary Psalm 98
O sing to the Lord a new song, âfor he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm âhave gotten him victory. The Lord has made known his victory; âhe has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness âto the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen âthe victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; âbreak forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, âwith the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn âmake a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; âthe world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; âlet the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming âto judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, âand the peoples with equity.
Semi-continuous Psalm 63:1-8
O God, you are my God, I seek you, âmy soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, âas in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, âbeholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, âmy lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; âI will lift up my hands and call on your name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, âand my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, âand meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, âand in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; âyour right hand upholds me.
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New Testament Gospel Lesson: Matthew 17:22-27
There are parallel passages at Mark 9:30-32 and Luke 9:43b-45.
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, âThe Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.â And they were greatly distressed.
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, âDoes your teacher not pay the temple tax?â He said, âYes, he does.â And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, âWhat do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?â When Peter said, âFrom others,â Jesus said to him, âThen the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.â
Year A Ordinary 29, RCL Proper 24 Catholic Proper 29 Wednesday
Bible verses from The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All right reserved. Selections from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright 1985 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Image Credit: Coin for the Temple Tax Image from page 140 of "A pictorial commentary on the Gospel according to Mark: with the text of the Authorized and Revised versions" (1881), via Flickr.. This is a public domain image.
















