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Today’s Scripture reading is filled with intrigue, drama, subversion and plotting, deliverance, retribution, and conversion—all in just 21 verses! This is, as it were, an odd story, a metaphor where the king is afflicted by anxiety and the protagonist, Daniel, is not. I can’t say I’d share Daniel’s steadfastness if I were facing the king of the jungle, though I doubt that would be part of God’s plan for my life with the headline reading, “78-year-old woman eaten by lion at local petting zoo.” But we never know . . . .
Questions arise as to why Daniel was spared from becoming the lion’s dinner, and I can share two unlikely scenarios. I’d seen on Facebook—so it must be true—that Daniel had actually raised the lion from a cub and so the lion would not eat or harm him. The other idea is that King Dari’us had fed the lions himself so they would not attack Daniel, whom the king was trying to save from the consequences of disobeying the king’s edict. Then there’s the more likely interpretation of its being God’s direct intervention. Perhaps we’ll go with that one.
If St. Paul had written to Daniel, he might have used words from chapter 4 of his letter to the Philippians:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
It appears that Daniel already knew that. A captive from the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem, Daniel had served King Dari’us well and gained favor with the king. This favor fueled jealousy among the native counselors and led to their plot to entrap Daniel based on his religious prayer practices, which he did not hide from his enemies. Daniel did not suddenly develop hope. He had been faithful to God in his prayer life and in his trust in God. He would have been familiar with the words in Psalm 32, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance,” and those of Psalm 119, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” These are words he apparently lived by, even in his darkest moments. And his testimony of faith led to conversions of King Darius and his people.
It’s easy to dismiss some of today’s reading, chalking it up to pure metaphor. That, however, would leave us missing the point, since we ourselves do not live metaphorical lives, and yet we all experience personal lion’s dens throughout our lives—places where we cannot rescue ourselves and where we are nonetheless challenged to display our faithfulness to God. It is this faithfulness to God’s word that brings us to a place of hope and trust in God’s plan for our lives and the lives of those we hold most dear.
Dare I ask you to reflect for a moment on the lion’s dens from which you have been delivered or into which you are currently being thrust? For myself, I identify having blood cancer as a lion’s den experience. At other times in my life, the workplace and family dynamics have also left me feeling powerless and overwhelmed, save for the grace of God. It’s really quite comforting to realize I don’t have to have all the answers—that with God’s help I can live my way to those answers, trying, as they say, to love the questions themselves. I’ve shared before that my favorite prayer is from the blind man on the side of the road who, when asked by Jesus what he would like, replies,
Lord, that I may see.” When my faith is strong and my connection with God intact, I can walk into whatever lion’s den is in my path, and I do not have to fear, for I do not walk alone. And I know that my faithfulness to God pales by comparison to God’s faithfulness to me—and to all of us. It is that faithfulness that Daniel exhibited and that I can use to help me fight against injustice and darkness.
As we enter into the season of Advent, may we seek the light and BE that light for one another. So let us hear again Paul’s words that can sustain us as we await the coming of our Savior.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
And so we say, along with Daniel, “Amen!”
Amen, so I hope, so may it be.