Hope is Built
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King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue made. It was ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Now at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music. And whoever does not bow down and pay homage must be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—and these men have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage demanded that they bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected? Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We do not need to give you a reply concerning this. If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated. He ordered strong soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed by the leaping flames.But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace of blazing fire while still securely bound.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!”Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!”
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than serve or pay homage to any god other than their God! I hereby decree that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes the god of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.” Then Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Well, I have some bad news to share with you all this morning: We are going to die. I don’t mean “we” as in “you and I” - it’s not news to know that a bunch of individual humans are going to die some day. No, I mean “we” as in this church. This congregation.
Now, give me a chance to explain before you shut me out. See, there was this study published last fall, and it proved conclusively that “Conservative” churches are growing, while “Liberal” churches are “dwindling away.” Those are the exact words used in the headline of the article that first reported on this study. This study has been shared with me by well-meaning friends on at least a monthly basis. I’ve pretty much memorized it at this point.
And lest you think “oh, that doesn’t apply to us, we’re not a Liberal church!” let me assure you, by the understanding of the authors, we are. According to their report, we don’t take the Bible literally enough, as evidenced by the rainbow flags occupying various locations around this building, or the fact that most folks in this room have no qualms with scientific research regarding the evolution of life or the age of the universe. Those things alone make us liberal, and so we are going to dwindle away.
So, we have no choice. If we want to be able to live, we have to embrace theological conservatism. It’s the only way.
Except… except no, it’s not.
As we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I can only imagine the sort of advice the three of them were receiving. They were far from the only Hebrews in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Surely many of the others had made the pragmatic choice already. They’d read the research. They’d seen the studies. Not worshiping Nebuchadnezzar gets one thrown in a fiery furnace. Being thrown in a fiery furnace carries a strong correlation to death, and death is bad. Therefore, worshiping Nebuchadnezzar must be good.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, however, knew that there was an even greater good: the good of remaining steadfast in their convictions and commitment to God. They refused to be cowed by the evidence, relying instead on the deeper truth, and although they were indeed thrown in the furnace, they emerged unscathed, because God was with them.
The thing about furnaces is, they’re not stronger than God.
And the thing about studies is, they’re open to interpretation.
Remember when I said I pretty much had that study memorized? Well, let’s just say the articles about it are pretty misleading. It turns out, the people who did the study may have had an agenda. So they asked a few leading questions. And they shared the data which backed their desired conclusion.
What the study really revealed had nothing to do with conservative and liberal. Instead, it revealed what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew to be true: In the face of overwhelming odds, our best hope will always be in remaining faithful to God.
The declining churches in that study weren’t particularly liberal, but they did lack dedication. Their pastors rarely read the Bible. Their members weren’t really sold on the idea of prayer. Only about half the people attending their churches said yes when asked if they believed Jesus was resurrected in the flesh. They said society is changing, and there’s just not much need for church any more.
Those growing churches, on the other hand, weren’t especially conservative, but they were committed to Christ. They read their Bibles. They prayed. More than 9 out of 10 of them said Jesus is risen, and if I had to guess, the other 7% were probably skeptics who couldn’t help but come and check out this dedicated church. Above all, they were certain that God still had a purpose for the church, and they were going to do their best to fulfill that purpose.
On this first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Hope, we need to be reminded how to build our hope. It has to be built on the foundation of knowing that God has a purpose for us. That so long as we draw breath, God can use us. And if we remain committed in our faith, our prayers, our study, and our actions, then we can - and will - thrive.