THE STORY Daniel in Exile A sermon by Dr. J. Matthew Burton, Jr. Clemmons United Methodist Church October 25, 2015 *********************GET READY!!!******************* CLIP: Louis Armstrong Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego PLAY BEFORE THE READING OF SCRIPTURE Daniel 3:19-27 (NRSV) 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, 20 and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Because the king's command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, "Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?" They answered the king, "True, O king." 25 He replied, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god." 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. A KING AND THREE YOUNG MEN Many of us heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as children (Personally, I ve always thought they were great names for triplet boys. You could call them Shad, Shack, and Dingo ). The story, as you saw in the clip, has been put to music by Bluegrass bands, Jazz bands, and Gospel groups. There are reggae versions and a version done by the Beastie Boys and a song by Johnny Cash called, Fourth Man in the Fire.
It s a popular story but we need to understand what is really going on. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia is a strange, insecure, paranoid individual known for three things: 1. His military feats he captured and destroyed Jerusalem in 587 B.C. 2. His building projects he probably built the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 3. He was also remembered for his strangeness and insecurity. The Old Testament tells of his spells of madness he imagined he was an ox and would go out into the fields to eat grass! (An interesting aside is that the former dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, often compared himself to Nebuchadnezzar.) More important to the story is the fact that the glory days of the Hebrew people are gone. The Kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon is no more. The temple is in ruins. The people are in exile under the rule of a foreign king. In our reading of The Story, we learn that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were a part of King Nebuchadnezzar s staff. Nebuchadnezzar s plan was to integrate everyone, including the Jewish exiles, into his kingdom. Thus, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were a part of Nebuchadnezzar s court. At one point in the story, the King is disturbed by nightmares and, as it turns out, Daniel is a good dream interpreter. After Daniel interprets the dreams, the King tries to promote him but Daniel asks that the king instead promote his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That s when the political intrigue begins. There were others in the King s court called Chaldeans, as they were from the area of Chaldea, who didn t like it that the Jews were getting all
the favored positions. Their opportunity came to do the Jews in when Nebuchadnezzar built a golden idol in the province headed by the three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The command went out that all of the King s appointees (which included Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were to come to the plain of Dura where the idol was built and at the sound of musical instruments were to fall flat on the ground and worship the King s statue. Anyone who didn t obey would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Of course, the people of Israel, who are now living in exile, did not want to obey but most thought to themselves that eating a little dust is nothing compared to being barbecued in a fiery furnace. So when the instruments played everyone hit the dirt, everyone but three faithful young men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The jealous Chaldeans see there opportunity at this point to get back at the Jews and can t wait to tell the King. It all boiled down to petty nasty politics. Politics aside though, the King didn t like being disobeyed. So, he sent for the three young men and offered them a second chance. But they refused to bend. So King Nebuchadnezzar, in his anger, ordered the furnace heated to seven times its normal temperature. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were then thrown in. Much to the King s amazement, they did not perish but survived without a hair on their head being singed. WHEN THE HEAT IS ON It s quite the story that speaks of how God s faithful react when the heat is on. It s not about how times of crisis and testing build character as much as it is about how they reveal it. The lesson, as I see it, is that we need to deepen our faith in God before the crises breaks upon us, to name and face our fears before the shadows fall around us. There s no
doubt in my mind that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faithful to God long before there were confronted with the fiery furnace. I cannot help but think of the writer and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. When war broke out with Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer was in the United States. His friends begged him to stay until the war was over. They knew he would be safer in the states than in Germany. But he wouldn t stay. He knew, as he had written in one of his books that When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and joined the Christian underground against Hitler. He went back to a land filled with fiery ovens operated by the SS in Nazi extermination camps. Bonhoeffer was eventually arrested and sentenced to die. While in prison waiting for his execution, Bonhoeffer wrote this words: We used to think that one of the inalienable rights of man was that he should be able to plan both his professional and his private life. That is a thing of the past. The force of circumstances has brought us into a situation where we have to give up being anxious about tomorrow (Matt. 6.34). But it makes all the difference whether we accept this willingly and in faith as the Sermon on the Mount intends, or under continual constraint. For most people, the compulsory abandonment of planning for the future means that they are forced back into living just for the moment, irresponsibly, frivolously, or resignedly some few dream longingly of better times to come, and try to forget the present. We find both these courses equally impossible, and there remains for us only the very narrow way, often extremely difficult to find, of living every day as if it were our last, and yet living in faith and responsibility as though there were to be a great future: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land proclaims Jeremiah (32.15), in
paradoxical contrast to his prophecies of woe, just before the destruction of the holy city. It is a sign from God and a pledge of a fresh start and a great future, just when all seems black. Thinking and acting for the sake of the coming generation, but being ready to go any day without fear or anxiety that, in practice, is the spirit in which we are forced to live. It is not easy to be brave and keep that spirit alive, but it is imperative. 1 I apologize for the length of the quote but I thought it important to hear all these words as we think about what it means to remain faithful even in those moments of crisis and pain. As Bonhoeffer said, It is not easy to be brave and keep the spirit alive, but it is imperative. He also speaks of preparing yourself everyday as if it might be your last but also with the understanding that even if it is your last day, you still have a future. DON T GIVE IN Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn t cave in to King Nebuchadnezzar because they had been faithful to God all along. They didn t give in and so they were thrown into the fiery furnace. When asked how it was that they remained faithful, they gave testimony to God. That s why I think this is more than a children s story. It s an adult story that reminds us about steadfastness and faithfulness in the midst of the pressure of today s world. It reminds me of a church member a number of years ago who came to me with an ethical dilemma. A company had hired him to do promotion and communications. The church member desperately needed the job since he had been out of work for several months. 1Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (London, England: Simon and Schuster, 1997), 12.
The company arranged and put on large entertainment type events, mostly musical concerts. There was also a nice restaurant in the building where these events took place. One day after accidently seeing a large amount of cash in the CEO s safe and overhearing several conversations, he begin to realize that it was probably a money laundering operation for the mafia or some other illegal group. He knew the business was important to the community but was also concerned about possible shady business practices. The church member s visit to me was to show me a business plan he had written which called for honesty and integrity in the business. He was concerned that when he presented it to the CEO that he would be fired. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. The church member lost his job which immediately threw him and his wife into a financial crisis. It was more important to him, though, to do the right thing than to keep his job. We all face these kinds of decisions. We need to practice our faith today and everyday so we can face the crisis or ethical decisions that we might have to make with integrity and unwavering honesty. We need to think about who we are and what we represent to our family, community, and world. RADIATE GOD S PRESENCE Sometimes it s not easy to do the right thing. Doing the right thing for many down through history has meant the sacrifice of their lives as we see with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others. What the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego teaches, is that God is always there and God s constant presence should be radiated in everything we do and say. Here s the thing, we live in a world where everybody seems to be against something. As Christians, we need to decide what it is we are for. Those three young men who stood before King Nebuchadnezzar could have railed against the King, told him what a bad person he was,
even cursed him before they went to their death. But, instead, they decided to radiate their faithfulness. Bonhoeffer didn t curse his jailers. Christ didn t argue with Pontius Pilate as he sentenced him to death. I realize most of us will never be faced with these kinds of situations but were are faced every day with a decision as to whether we will give into negativity or embrace a positive attitude. The Catholic Priest Richard Rohr in one of his devotions this week suggested that The next time you are offended, consider it a teachable moment and ask yourself what part of you is actually upset. It s normally your false self (In simple terms: it s your ego or sin) If you move back to the big picture of who you are in God, your True Self, you ll find what upset you usually doesn t amount to a hill of beans! But you can waste a whole day (or longer) feeding that hurt until it eventually seems to have a life of its own and, in fact, possesses you. 2 Will we be possessed by our sin and will we radiate God s presence? LIVE AS THOUGH YOU HAVE A FUTURE Here s the thing, as I said earlier, we need to live everyday as if we have a future. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ends well with the three young men surviving. We all know that in the real world of injustice and military dictators that these kinds of stories don t usually end like this. We all know the stories. I ve been to the holocaust Museum in Jerusalem a crowd of Jews huddled in a shower, and the guard, following orders, pours cyanide pellets through a small hole in the ceiling. Then, in a few horrible, screaming, gasping moments, it is over. No divine intervention. No fourth figure. No survivors. 2Richard Rohr, Letting Go of the Pain-Body Richard Rohr s Daily Meditation, Monday, October 19, 2015.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could have ended that way; most of these kinds of stories usually do. The three young men give us the answer: If God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand. Let him deliver us. But if not be it known to you, O king: we will not serve your gods. 3 Their response is not based on some special knowledge that God will save them. They don t enter the fire thinking God will save them. They enter as faithful followers of God. The most important example they give us is a faithfulness to God not knowing whether they will live or die but in either event knowing that they have a future. All things given, I believe Nebuchadnezzar would have been filled with awe even if these three men had not lived. This begs the question, am I willing to serve to serve God by not giving into the gods of this world? Am I willing to radiate his presence even in the most difficult of circumstances? Am I willing to live as though I have a future with him? Am I willing to do these things, expecting nothing in return? Am I able to say to the conforming powers of this world, If the God whom I serve is able to deliver me from the furnace let Him deliver me. But if not, be it known, I will not serve other gods. Think about it in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. 3Daniel 3:16-17.