Why did Nebuchadnezzar set up this golden image? Why did he require it to be worshipped? Isn’t it amazing that the people who
complained that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t worship the image were “certain
Chaldeans”? None of these would have
been alive if it hadn’t been for Daniel.
They would all have been put to death.
Perhaps they knew better than to say anything about him but were jealous
of his countrymen’s positions in the kingdom.
The men prove they have faith in God alone, no matter the outcome of the
fiery furnace. They will not bend the
knee to another god as there is only one. Were they thinking of and counting on
resurrection? We may be in a situation
where we have to make choices and I only pray that we will have the faith of
these three men when we do.
John was a man full of the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego. Herod was a Jew by birth and
his marriage to Herodias was a violation of Jewish law. Herodias was a social climber
who divorced her husband to marry this Herod.
John spoke truth to power not to antagonize but in keeping with his
mission of preparing a people. Herod was
in sin, sin that needed repentance if he were to survive the judgment John thought
coming. It was an act not of rebellion
but of love to speak this truth, to call the king out of sin and back to
righteousness. Such is our own mission
to the world. Speaking of sin these days
is frowned upon as a means of evangelism but if we are to reach the world with
grace we must also proclaim truth. John’s
mission was to Jews, he was attempting to turn them back, to prepare them for
judgment. When we speak to brothers and
sisters in sin, we begin with truth. Faith
calls us to truth in communication no matter the consequences. Eternal life is at stake.
John gives two tests for the children of God: they practice
righteousness and they love their brothers. The Pharisees practiced righteousness but they
didn’t love their brothers. We are to
practice righteousness in that we are to keep ourselves from sin. The practice of righteousness is partly
knowing what to say “no” to but it certainly isn’t all. The ten commandments were partly negative
statements about conduct, “don’t do this”, but there were always ethical
obligations like not gleaning the fields, not reaping the edges, laws about
treatment of slaves, the Sabbath and Jubilee years and certainly the commandments
regarding justice and mercy that were part of the definition of
righteousness. The Sermon on the Mount
and the statements John made in yesterday’s Gospel reading tell us about
righteousness as well as parables like the Good Samaritan. The commandment to love is the highest
command regarding righteousness.
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