First Reading - Daniel 6:12-28
Gospel - Luke 21:20-28
Sometimes faithfulness puts us in places where everything around us seems to push in the opposite direction. Today’s readings show what it looks like to remain steadfast when the world is shaking and when fear could easily take over.
In the first reading, Daniel finds himself the victim of a trap. His enemies know that the only way to accuse him is by using his faithfulness against him. They create a law that forbids prayer to anyone except the king, knowing Daniel will not compromise his devotion to God. Daniel does not protest, argue, or hide. He simply continues to pray as he always has. His relationship with God is not something he adjusts based on convenience or fear.
Because of this, he is thrown into the lions’ den. From the outside, it looks like faith has failed him. But in the darkness of the den, something remarkable happens: God remains with him. The lions do not touch him, and the king, who had been powerless to save Daniel, recognizes the power of Daniel’s God. Daniel’s faithfulness becomes a testimony—not just to those who accused him, but to those who had forgotten the living God.
Jesus in the Gospel speaks to His disciples about frightening events—wars, destruction, upheavals, and the fall of Jerusalem. He doesn’t deny the reality that terrible things will happen. Instead, He teaches them how to stand when everything around them seems to be falling. And He gives them a line that changes everything:
“When these things begin to take place, stand erect and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Jesus is not offering an escape from difficulty. He is offering a posture of hope. When fear tells us to bend, hide, or panic, Jesus tells us to stand tall. When circumstances darken, He invites us to look up, not down. When the world shakes, He reminds us that God is still moving, still redeeming, still drawing close.
Dear friends, both Daniel and the Gospel point us toward a faith that is not controlled by circumstances. Daniel prays even when prayer becomes dangerous. Jesus invites His disciples to trust even when the world becomes frightening. Faith does not promise a life free of trials—but it promises a God who is present in the den, present in the chaos, present in the future that seems uncertain.
And perhaps that is what we most need to remember: fear shrinks our world, but faith lifts our eyes.
We may not face lions, but we do face pressures that push us to compromise, to hide our convictions, to choose safety over integrity. We may not see the destruction of cities, but we do walk through moments where life feels fragile, uncertain, or overwhelming.
In those moments, Daniel teaches us to remain rooted in God no matter the cost. Jesus teaches us to raise our heads no matter the fear.
So today we ask for the courage to keep praying, keep trusting, keep standing tall. May our faith not be shaped by fear but strengthened through it. And may we recognize, even in the darkest moments, that our God is near—saving, guiding, and leading us toward redemption.
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