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     The Book of Daniel was not written to be ignored!  Few books of the Bible receive as much attention as Daniel does.  (The Book of Revelations has to be close behind!)  It is full of vivid visions and dreams and symbols - just the sort of thing that scholars and non-scholars alike love to play with and interpret!  Daniel and Revelations are not the only examples of "apocalyptic literature" in the Bible (books about "last things") or  from their time.  They are simply the ones that the faith community found to be "inspired" and to be contained in the Bible.   The early Christian community found in today's passage words that helped them to give a bigger picture to the meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  More particularly, Daniel seems to give expression to the way in which Jesus' "second coming" would take place.  Later on, the Christian community would develop its own forms of apocalyptic literature, especially in the Book of Revelation.  

     Dreams and visions can be both comforting and disturbing but they seem always to need interpretation!  This is where the community of faith, especially that part of the community which is empowered to teach and determine what is compatible with the faith.  The Bible has to be seen as a whole and the Old Testament, for Christians, read in the light of the New.  Today's passage has been found by the Christian community to highlight the "cosmic" vision of Christ at the head of all creation.  His return in glory will no doubt dwarf any of our human efforts to describe it, even in visions.  But, if the Book of Daniel can help our faith in this reality, we should not ignore it!   AMEN