WEDNESDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT
Dn 3: 14-20, 91-92, 95 Dn 3: 52-56 Jn 8: 31-42
CHOOSE CHRIST, OUR HOPE
Do you feel compelled to follow the world, even when it goes against your beliefs & principles? The world influences our understanding of good and bad, distorting it. How do you stand firm in your faith when everyone else seems to be bowing to the pressures of society? We turn to the Book of Daniel, to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to find out how they handled their choice. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego infuriated King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon by refusing to worship a golden idol. He had them bound and thrown into the fiery furnace heated seven times more than usual. In the furnace, they praised and blessed God. Even though the heat killed the men who cast them into the furnace, they remained unharmed and even walked around in the blazing fire.
Amazed at God’s deliverance, King Nebuchadnezzar brought the young men out of the flames. He called the Lord their God blessed, and promoted them to a higher office. Their example of being saved because of their faithfulness in the face of death is taken to a new level in Christ Jesus, who, being one with the Father, asks for that same level of faithfulness to save us from the fires of hell. The 3 friends chose to worship and bow to God alone. He was their only hope. The spiritual fire for God did not allow them to get burnt by the physical fire.
What about us? Are we being consumed by the lies of Satan, who distracts us from the truths of God? Or do we embrace the communion of the Holy Spirit who dispels the darkness of lies that holds us hostage and leads us into the light of the truth of God? The fire of the Holy Spirit does not consume us, but guides us to know Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And to know the Lord is to be free. We are pilgrims of hope with our eyes towards heaven, called to follow God even at the cost of our lives. Bow down then, not before the world and its false promises but before Christ, our Hope.
Response: You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!
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