The first Reading evoked three reflections from me. First, this is one more description of people in one time and place worshiping gods (gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone) versus God. This behavior is centuries old, across all cultures and places – and, continues today. Everyone reading today’s Readings can reflect on what are the gods in their time and place being worshipped rather than God. These gods might be things or activities.

A second reflection was the parallel between the king offering Daniel so many incentives and the devil offering Christ so many incentives – if they would only do certain behaviors, they could have certain gifts. Both the king and the devil used the incentives of power, money, and status to change behavior. Are those incentives being used in November 2007 to cause individuals in your place on the globe to worship a god?

A third reflection related to a panel discussion I heard this week following a short film. Someone at Creighton University facilitated a Native-American filmmaker to show a short film he made about the ethnic identity journey/struggle that young Native-Americans have. The movie was powerful – but, not nearly as powerful as the panel of about eight Creighton University Native-American students who told, quite openly, about their ethnic and spiritual identity journeys, struggles, and challenges. The room was packed with 200 plus Caucasian Creighton students and a healthy sprinkling of faculty and staff. The proverbial “you could hear a pin drop” atmosphere pervaded. It was a wake-up call to me, and, perhaps others, of all that goes on in the developmental lives of young adults in this country. Several of the panel discussants noted some differences between their cultural values and that of the mainstream United States culture, i.e., the latter is loud, boisterous, and activity-seeking. They are more comfortable with a culture that is more quiet and at peace with the earth. I reflect on how this relates to this Reading and how one develops and practices one’s spirituality.