Word to the Wise
Monday, November 23, 2015 - Monday in the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
[Dan 1:1-6, 8-20 and Luke 21:1-4]MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 MONDAY IN THE THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20 and Luke 21:1-4] "Please test your servants for ten days. Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then see how we look in comparison with the other young men who eat from the royal table, and treat your servants according to what you see." [Daniel] Dietitians will stand and applaud! Daniel and companions wind up looking better than the carnivorous others at the royal table! Of course, the Book of Daniel is intended to have it that way because Daniel will be the hero, along with his companions, of this great story written to comfort Jews suffering under the rule of the descendants of Alexander the Great's generals. The Book of Daniel had a great amount of influence in its time and has in ours because of his vivid apocalyptic visions and his ability to interpret dreams. Since this is the last week in the liturgical year, it seems somewhat appropriate to consider "last things," if only to realize that the "Son of Man" who features in those visions will come in a very different way by being born in a stable! Today's passage concludes with the words, "In any question of wisdom or prudence which the king put to them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom." I'm not sure a vegetarian diet can accomplish all that, but it obviously didn't hurt! AMEN