For me, one of the most blissful situations in the world are those where – no matter what happens – I’m pretty much guaranteed to be happy with the outcome. For example, when my wife and I were expecting our child, I knew I would be happy regardless of if we had a boy or a girl (albeit, I realized, for different reasons). Similarly, when we had considered expanding our family, I did so knowing in my heart that I would ultimately be fine with our family the size it was or if we were blessed with a new addition to the household. As a slightly more involved example, when my wife and I lived outside Philadelphia the first year of our marriage, our options were either 1) find jobs that would enable us to live in the area we were at, or 2) move to Indianapolis, where – even if we were still out of work – we’d at least be six hours closer to my wife’s family. We ended up moving, and we’ve been thrilled ever since (especially once we both found jobs!).
One of those examples of being content no matter what appears in today’s readings. In today’s first reading, from Daniel, we hear the bulk of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were threatened with being tossed into a white-hot furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar for not renouncing their beliefs in the Lord and worshiping Nebuchadnezzar’s deity. The three men justify their refusal by saying, “If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue that you set up.”
Sure, the three men had a preference . . . but they were also perfectly understanding that – if God didn’t answer their prayers in the way they would like – they were still going to be true to themselves and to their Lord, which was preferable to denying their beliefs in pursuit of Earthly relief.
This is often one of the central comforts that those of faith often find themselves when praying for someone who is sick or suffering (or when sick or suffering themselves): If the person recovers, then fantastic! Thanks be to God. But if the Lord determines that isn’t to be, we firmly believe that we’ll spend the afterlife in Heaven with Him. Whenever the “Plan B” of a situation is “Heaven with the infinitely loving Father,” that’s a pretty solid win-win proposition! (Of course, that gives us a strong incentive to do what we can to ensure our readiness for Heaven, thanks to the Sacraments, our prayer lives, and acts of mercy and charity.)
Really, the notion that we can’t lose if we’re with the Lord should permeate every aspect of our faith. Regardless of what hardships befall us in this life, Christ has promised us eternal life . . . how cool is that?! What shall we then say to these things? As Paul’s Letter to the Romans says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
In contrast, today’s Gospel selection from John shows what happens from the opposite side of view, where those who refuse to listen to God, stubbornly believing in their own incorrect rightness in the literal face of God. And Jesus tries mightily to persuade them: “[Y]ou are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father.”
And despite their protestation that they do follow God, Jesus knows the truth of their hearts: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
By refusing to believe, they have placed themselves in a can’t-win situation; how can you wait for the truth when you refuse to accept the truth? How can you claim to serve God if you won’t listen to His only begotten Son when he’s right there in front of you?
Ideally, an adherence to our faith should give us the calm and certainty of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; we know that God is with us, so what do we have to fear? With God in our hearts and lives, how can we not be happy? Or, as the popular hymn succinctly puts it, “How Can I Keep from Singing?”
Today’s readings: Dn 3:14-20,91-92,95; Dn 3:52,53,54,55,56; Jn 8:31-42
