"...and you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
What will the truth set you free from?
In today's first reading we encounter the three Jewish youths, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, who refuse to bow down and worship the idol.
They are being threatened by a white-hot furnace of fire and destruction if they do not comply with the request of King Nebuchadnezzar.
The circumstances do not look good, are not in their favor and the question is what would we do in a similar situation?
Would we sell out in order to save our skin, pretending everything was going to be fine as along as we just go along and just get by?
Or would we stand our ground and be thrown into the fire knowing full well that our life might be ended but at least we were faithful and honored God by the choice we make?
What would you do?
This reading sounds a lot like the "worse case scenario" trivia game. The game is ordered around different scenarios in life. There are different questions and the teams have to guess the right answer, the answer that will keep them alive given the particular situation.
A question might be: what do you do if you are being chased by a black bear?
a) play dead b) climb a tree c)turn and fight
Your group has to pick the answer that is correct and get points and move on.
The game is set up on the hypothesis that the circumstances of each situation determines your course of action.
Life's action is determined by the circumstances you are in!
The three young men in today's first reading free us from that reality. They show us that when it comes to faith, our faith life is never determined by the circumstances we are in.
The truth of faith sets us free from slavery to circumstances.
The circumstances should never dictate our faithfulness, but rather our faithfulness leads us through all circumstances.
The outcome will always be the same regardless of the circumstance: "There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If our God whom we serve can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue that you set up."
The truth will set us free from our faith being dictated by the circumstances that surround us.
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