Dear Friends
The world always offers us temptations to draw our worship away from the living God to something else. And the evil one, the ruler of this age (Ephesians 6:12), will use anything in his power to achieve it.
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was all-powerful. As heir, he had defeated the Egyptian Pharoah and as King brought about mighty victories throughout the Levant. His siege of Jerusalem ended with its conquest and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple and the captivity of many of the tribe of Judah. His defeat of the Jews appeared to show he and his gods were more powerful than the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. He had won and could live as the most powerful man on Earth.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. … Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
Daniel 3:1, 4–6
And it would have been very easy to follow the command, even for the Jews in captivity in Babylon. They had lost: the God who made a covenant with them had let them be sent into slavery in exile as they watched his Temple destroyed.
But there were three who would not. Whatever had happened, in whatever state they found themselves, they would remain faithful to the living God.
Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.
Daniel 3:17–18
Note their words carefully, God “is able to deliver,” not that he will. They know they cannot put the Lord to the test, cannot demand that act, cannot force his hand, but he is able.
You and I, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, are to do the same. We are to stand for God and for Truth despite the apparent might against us, despite the show of strength of the evil one. We are to stand knowing that God can deliver us whether he chooses to or otherwise.
And Nebuchadnezzar is enraged and has the furnace heated seven-fold so that even the soldiers who throw the three—known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Hebrew or Ananias, Azarias and Misael in Greek—into the flames perished. And yet, in the midst of the flames, Azarias is able to offer a penitential prayer.
For we have sinfully and lawlessly departed from thee,
Daniel 3:29–30 ʟxx
and have sinned in all things and have not obeyed thy commandments;
we have not observed them nor done them,
as thou hast commanded us that it might go well with us.
He takes the blame on himself rather than placing it on another. And in this the Angel of the Lord, Christ himself, honours them all and came with them into the flames.
Then the three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying:
Daniel 3:51–52 ʟxx
“Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers,
and to be praised and highly exalted for ever;
And blessed is thy glorious, holy name
and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever.
And we too may join together with this hymn; we too, having purified ourselves with repentance, may praise and glorify God “as with one mouth,” and pray “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers.” Because in Christ, in our baptism into his death and resurrection, in the Church, we have become the Israel of God and we have Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as our fathers: we have been grafted into the family of the faithful, the assembly of believers.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God is calling you to stand firm against the cares of this life and to worship only God. May the example of the Three Holy Youths be for us an encouragement against idolatry that we may be faithful and heirs of the promises given to our fathers.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
I have an infirmity which prevents me from being fully part of the community. And in my infirm state I seek out anything which would bring me wholeness and health. I know it to be true, I can feel it in my bones, but I am at a loss: how do I regain that which I have lost? So I spend what I have on anything and everything which claims to help but none of them do—my soul is still infirm.
And the Lord walks by. He is at another task though I know not what. He walks by at the behest of someone important, someone significant, someone with standing in the community. He walks by and in that very moment I come to understand that I only need to reach out and touch the hem, the very edge, of his garment and I too, as the woman with the issue of blood, may be made whole and complete.
“Who was it that touched me?” he said when the woman was healed. And to everyone else present this was a ridiculous question: Peter replied, “Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon you!” But as the Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one sheep who is lost (Luke 15:1–7, Matthew 18:12–14), so too does the Lord leave the pressing, the urgent, for her sake. Jairus’ daughter lay dying—and, to us, it would seem obvious that Christ should rush to her side—but the Lord knows how his Kingdom may be glorified and makes time for the woman to address her and honour her.
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Read last Sunday’s Sermon, The Lord walks by.
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Services this week
Friday 11th November
Discussion on the Apocalypse, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 12th November
Vespers, 6.30 pm
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Sunday 13th November
Divine Liturgy, 9.30 am
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We will be meeting at St Francis’ Hall, Nightingale Avenue, Eastleigh, SO50 9JA. Come and See.
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Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
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