Today, our first reading comes from the book of Daniel, and the psalm actually does not come from the book of Psalms, but comes from the book of Daniel as well. The book of Daniel in the Old Testament does not take its name from its author, who is actually unknown, but rather from its hero, who was allegedly among the first Jews deported to Babylon in the 6th century BC. Even though Daniel is classified with the prophets in the Old Testament, strictly speaking, it does not belong to the prophetic writings but rather to a distinctive type of literature known as apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature has its roots in the older teaching of the prophets, who often pointed ahead to the day of the Lord, the consummation of history in the end times. The verses from the book of the Daniel in the psalm today come from a song that is sung by the men who are thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God protects them when they are thrown in the fiery furnace, as they are not eaten up by the hot flames, but rather they are able to praise God for saving them when they refuse to honor a pagan God instead of the one true God. And what about us: Are we able to stand up for the faith and praise the Lord in difficult circumstances? Are we able to stand up for the faith under peer pressure and in the midst of the values of the world that call out to us? In many ways, with the secular world around us, the pressure we are under sometimes can be as strong as the pressure that confronted the Jews who were in exile in Babylon. In a couple of days, we will celebrate Thanksgiving as a nation that is very divided in many ways. May we praise the Lord this day and every day, even in the midst of tension, division, and the values of the secular world around us.
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