Sermon: Daniel 3 What do we stand for?

Sermon, Daniel 3-4  [3:13-30 NRSV]

Today’s chapters in Daniel include one of the Sunday School classics:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

King Nebuchadnezzar has created a golden statue,

larger than life (think sphinx and pyramids), 

and requires that everyone in the empire bow down and worship it.

Of course, the faithful exiles from Jerusalem, Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego, refuse.

They do not bow down, and they offer a very eloquent explanation,

stating that they will remain faithful to God

even if it costs them their lives.  

They are thrown into a fiery furnace, their arms and legs bound

so they can’t resist or escape, but they survive.

The “fourth man in the fire” unbinds and protects them.

When they exit the furnace alive, unharmed,

and not even smelling of smoke, the King makes it illegal

to speak ill of their God,

and praises God as the only one who could do such a thing.

The confession of faith of these three is amazing.

They are serving the most powerful monarch of the Babylonian

Empire.

He is probably accustomed to getting his way.

So being defied by three servants, and foreigners, enrages him.

They are sentenced to immediate death by fire,

yet nothing will persuade them to change their allegiance.

“If our God, whom we serve, is able to save us, he shall save us.

And if not, let it be known to you that we will not serve your god

and we will not worship the gold statue that you have set up.” 

Their statement of faith is not confidence that God will save them, no matter what;

they are not looking for reward for their faithfulness.

They simply say, “Whether or not God saves our lives,

God is God and that’s whom we serve.”

They stand up for what, or whom, they believe in, literally,

refusing to bow down to another.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not give in to any cultural

pressure, even threat of death, to betray God.

They recognized an idol when they saw it,

and refused to let it have any power over them.

It’s very easy for me to believe I would do the same,

not bowing to a golden idol,

not putting my trust in something besides God.

And then I think of the ways I already do that.

Idolatry is not absent from our world, our culture.

The first commandment, You shall have no other gods,

is about keeping our attention, our devotion, our love

focused on God.

The Israelites were forbidden from creating idols

(remember that Golden Calf incident?),

which includes statues, paintings,

or any human-made objects that represent God,

so that they wouldn’t confuse the object with God

or create God in their own image.

Even today, in a Jewish temple or synagogue you might see

images of Bible heroes or words, Bible verses,

but you will not see an image of God.

This commandment is meant to keep us from being distracted,

from wandering off like some toddler chasing something shiny. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw the king’s statue for what it was: 

an empty and powerless pile of gold,

nothing to worship;

certainly not the living God who made heaven and earth.

We might not have such blatant idols in our world,

but we have them, nonetheless—

things that take our attention and devotion away from God,

things that we trust more than we trust God.

Money, power, prestige, our personal security, our nation,

addictive substances, our own egos.

I think what keeps these three faithful is

they knew what they stood for.

They knew God, and they knew that God knew them.

In a strange land,

in impossible circumstances over which they have no control,

far from home or family or anything that was familiar,

their religious practice was the only thing they could do

that felt normal;

their faith the only thing that couldn’t be taken from them.

This summer Bible reading is important

(well, it’s important all year…)

because this practice keeps us learning about God,

so that we can recognize God at work in the world around us.

So that we can remember the God who knows us,

who sees us, who claims us,

and who expects us to come along for holy work.

This practice, reading the Bible, coming to worship, singing praise,

praying to God, eating with Jesus, serving others—

reminds us what we stand for:

God is faithful, no matter what we are doing,

no matter the situation we find ourselves in.

God’s love is bigger than the things we are afraid of.

God is God whether we live or die.

So what will we stand for, knowing whom we stand for?

Our news is filled with death and injustice every single day.

As people of faith, we do not believe in a God of death and injustice,

but a God of life and justice!

That’s what we will stand for,

justice and love for people who are killed, abused, dehumanized

because they are black or brown.

Justice and love for people who live on both sides of the border,

both sides of the wall.

Justice and love for people whose lives look very different from ours.

Justice and love for the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the dying,

the queer, the young, the elderly.

God is God whether we live or die,

but while we live our lives are tied up

with every other person whom God loves.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are in the “Heroes of the Bible”

category, I’d say.

In this case, they are not heroes because they saved anyone else,

like Esther did.

They are heroes because their faith is exemplary—

the way they live, and risk, their lives to be true to God

is a model for us all.

In the midst of danger and death, God’s people stand tall,

to see what God is doing to bring life into the world.

Amen.