Home > Lenten Blog 2022

“Let Him deliver us”

April 6, 2022

Daniel 3:14–20,24–28 | John 8:31–42 | Canticle 13

These readings, at first glance, seem a little all over the place. They aren’t – but I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I have to say that the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego has been a favorite of mine since childhood. It’s not very long, and we don’t get much context, but the tale is told so vividly that it can’t help but grab you.

Nebuchadnezzer, King of Babylon (and all peoples, nations, and languages, of course) orders an image to be made of gold, and swears that anyone who does not worship it will be thrown into a furnace and their house turned into a dungheap! Yet, even in the face of dire threats, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship any god but God. The king is not amused. Into the furnace the three men go, except when the king sees four men in the flames, and none of them in any way harmed, he immediately orders them released and starts to praise God. As a kid, what I always took from this was that God will always protect those who do the right thing, and that message still rings true for me.

Yet today, when placed alongside the other readings, I see something else. In the gospel, Jesus gives the people of the crowd a stern talking-to. He points out their doubts and their plotting against him, and then contrasts that with their ancestor Abraham’s acts of faith. He doesn’t tell them to “do justly, love mercy, walk humbly” – all he asks is for them to accept the truth he brings. Have faith, and act accordingly. In Canticle 13, there are no questions, no pleas, just acknowledgment of God’s glory and power. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are ordered to worship the golden idol, they boldly respond:

“If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

They believe that God will save them, and He does. God does not ask anything of them. He does not ask us to fix all the problems of the world. He does not ask us to be perfect, either. All he asks is that we believe in Him, and live our lives accordingly.

Ben Lovejoy