(Daniel 2: 31-45; Daniel 3: 57-61; Luke 21: 5-11) What do Christians do in times of chaos and fear?
The news these days strikes fear in the heart: terrorism in Paris and in Mali, the responding statements of world leaders and would-be leaders, fear reactions of people across nations and peoples—all for TV viewers to see again and again. It is frightening.
What is a Christian to do? The readings today and throughout this last week of the church year offer us some anchoring guidance. In today’s first reading Daniel, the prophet, gives King Nebuchadnezzar the bad news that, glorious as his kingdom is, it will fall. Not only that, the kingdoms which follow will rise and fall, too. Jesus, in a selection of conversation with his disciples in the last week of his life, predicts the fall of Jerusalem and the resulting destruction of the temple.
How is this anchoring? How does it help? Well, first, we heard in yesterday’s readings how God protected and guided the lives of Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah so they ended up working in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. From this position Daniel was able to prophesy and speak Truth in the middle of the chaos of the ending of the Babylonian empire. All four also gave great witness of fidelity to the Jewish faith and to Yahweh, the God of Israel, the one, true God. Their courage and fidelity inspired the Jewish people as the world fell around them.
Likewise, recalling Jesus’ words must have been reassuring as Christians witnessed the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 AD—about the time that the last of Jesus original followers would have died. Those words must have been reassuring to Christians in the times of persecution in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
How? How are these predictions of war and terror reassuring and helpful? Daniel says today, “You, O king, are the king of kings; to you the God of heaven has given dominion and strength, power and glory.” Notice who is greater than Nebuchadnezzar: “the God of heaven has given…” And, in the prophecy, the God of heaven can take away. God, our God, the God is greater than the chaos.
I remember hearing in a scripture class that one of the great gifts to the world of the Jewish people and faith was a sense and understanding that history is governed by God. Until their understanding of their Babylonian and other captivities, there was no understanding among peoples that history is more than events of today (or yesterday or tomorrow) that change people and cultures. Things just happened!
If you listen to the news today, you can draw the conclusion that “things just happen.” Our Bibles and our faith tell us otherwise: God is in charge.
But what do we do in the chaos? What do we do if the terrorism of Paris or Mali come to our country? To our home town? Jesus tells us: “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.”
What do we do? We do not follow. We do not put our faith, our confidence, our choices with the chaos and fear around us. We do not succumb to survival of the fittest. We do not give up our Christian values because we are afraid. Chaos is not in charge. Does that refusal to get caught up in the chaos protect us from it coming to us?
No. It does not keep danger or chaos from coming. But it does remind us that danger, chaos, or evil do not have the final word. Our God is the God of history.
So what do we do? We speak Truth and live Truth as Daniel did. We speak Truth and live Truth as Jesus did. We make our primary allegiance to our God whose nature is goodness and who is in charge of history.
This speaking Truth may or may not protect us from physical harm, political harm, war, terrorism, or even martyrdom. There were Christians in Auschwitz. There are Christians in the Middle East, in Africa, in Latin America, in Asia TODAY, now, at this very moment who are very much in harm’s way. Some who read this today may be among them.
But Christ is King—eternally. As scriptures show us today, earthly kingdoms come and go. History happens. But when we live our Christian values we LIVE IN the Kingdom of God NOW—no matter what is going on in the world around us. We bring the Kingdom of God into our hearts and our lives when we choose to live the Beatitudes in the moments of our day today. Such choices are made with our wills, which remain free, as Daniel’s will was free, as Jesus’ will was free. And every time we use our wills to choose fidelity to the God who is faithful through chaos and history, we live in the Kingdom of God. As Jesus says in another passage, “The Kingdom of God is among you.”
The psalm today is taken from the book of Daniel. After Daniel prophesied the end of the Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom Nebuchadnezzar “worshipped” Daniel and gave him a high position because he thought he could outsmart the prediction. He made a great golden statue to serve as a god for his people and ordered everyone to worship it. Neither Daniel nor his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would worship it. So into a fiery furnace Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went. (Winds of politics change fast!)
Prayer
In Daniel 3:52-90 we have the beautiful hymn they sang from the fiery furnace. Find the words HERE. Pray it now for our world today and the fiery furnaces of terrorism, disasters, war, and violence. Pray it for all in harm’s way today. Pray it that the goodness of God’s way may overcome evil. Pray it that the Kingdom of God may come into your life, your chaos TODAY.
