The stories from the book of Daniel we have heard this week have been so vivid, appealing to our sense of imagination and wonder. Monday we heard the story of Suzanna. Today, we hear the wonderful story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, of how they put their faith into action. What we need to make note of is that the angels were not present with these young men when they first courageously stood up to King Nebuchadnezzar. The angels were not present when they were forced into the fiery furnace. They trusted, even though they did not know how God was going to save they. They were willing to die for their faith.
God showed up to help Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in their time of trouble, He does the same for us. In a literal sense, we might not be asked to choose between a false idol and a hot furnace, but we are forced to make real choices about our faith at different points in our lives, aren’t we? We are being put to a test in many ways in our lives right now, and we could all probably say that we are currently having to make choices about our faith as well. The plans we had for Lent probably have not fit into our new reality. And probably, with many kept in their homes and away from their parish and away from the many ways they lived out their faith, we are forced to come up with new routines and new ways to live out our faith and to maintain our relationship with God. We have real choices to make right now in our journey of faith, whether we realize it or not.
After mass this evening, Deacon John and I will be having in a discussion in another video about books that have impacted our lives of faith. Even in the midst of my busy life, I made a goal to read more good books this year of 2020, and I am proud to say that I have read 22 books so far this year and I am in the middle of reading several books right now. With books you can download from the internet, even on the FORMED website we have, making time to read books that help feed us spiritually is a choice we can make in our current reality that can have a huge impact on our faith life and on our relationship with God. I hope you will join Deacon John and me for this conversation on FACEBOOK LIVE right after mass this evening.
As we reflect upon the faith these three young men had in the power of God and in his power to save them, let us pray today that God may save us from the blindness we often have in failing to recognize the way God is present in our midst. May God open our eyes to his mighty works as they are present in our day-to-day reality.
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