Rev. George Miller
July 10, 2022
Daniel 1:1-21
Last week’s message began with the statement “Into a world full of
darkness, get well soon.”
Today’s reading takes place in a completely dark world and a deeply dark
time in Israel’s history.
Daniel is a book featuring stories we often use to teach our children when
they’re in Sunday School.
Stories like Daniel in the Lion’s Den or Daniel in the Fiery Furnace.
Because, after all, what could be more appropriate for children than
stories about being torn apart by large cats or teenagers being burnt to a
fiery crisp!
The stories in Daniel are taught to our children like fairy tales…which
is basically what they are. Modern scholars
agree that Daniel, as a historical person, never existed.
If he did exist, there have been so many stories told over so many
centuries by so many different people in so many different languages that we
can no longer say what is fact or what is fiction.
If someone named Daniel did exist, he’s become the Johny Appleseed or Robin
Hood of the Bible.
In UCC terms, we would say that the Book of Daniel is not filled with “fact”,
but it is filled with what we call “truth.”
“Fact” is what can be proven as having actually happened; “truth” is more
like the lesson we can learn.
In other words, “The Wizard Of OZ” is not fact, but its “truth” is
timeless- “There’s no place like home.”
Even 300 years before Jesus, religious leaders didn’t see Daniel as “fact.”
They saw Daniel, like Dorothy, experiencing great “truth” that could
inspire people to hold onto even when the landscape was different.
Though Daniel is more fairy tale than fact, the world it takes place in
is very real, very scary, and very dark.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, the King of Babylon attacked Judah,
leaving the Holy City in ruins.
The Babylonian King stole the religious objects from the Temple, putting
them in storage to be used in unholy acts.
He kidnapped the people of Judah, taking them 600 miles away in chains.
The Israelites undergo humiliation and persecution. Their boys are given new names so they don’t sound
so “ethnic.”
Their holy scriptures and sacred texts are ripped up, burned to bits.
They are made to dishonor the Sabbath; some are forced fed the foods they
were forbidden to eat.
Mother’s who chose to circumcise their children are killed, as are the
ones who perform the circumcision.
The King of Babylon has taken away every bit of liberty, dignity, privacy,
and religious rights that the Israelites have.
The penalty of going against the King is death. The penalty of advocating for life, liberty,
and wellness, is death. The penalty of
worshipping God is death.
Can you feel the darkness that hovers over this story? It may feature teenagers, it may be taught to
our children, but it is dark, and its world is scary…and yet there is light.
Daniel is part of a group of handsome teen boys brought before the King to
be taught about literature, arts, and language so they can serve the palace.
This sounds so uncomfortable, with not-so-subtle hints of grooming.
To ensure the teens grow up big and strong, the King orders them to eat
the same rich, decadent food he gorges himself on.
Daniel declines. He lets it be
known that he won’t eat swine, he will not drink wine.
He asks a favor- give my friends and I a 10-day trial in which all we
have is vegetables and water. See how we
do.
10 days later, turns out that not only are they well, they are healthier
and in better shape than the others.
Daniel and his BFFs continue to keep kosher; their wisdom, skills, intuition,
and ability to dream increase.
The King of Babylon is blown away, pleased with Daniel and his gang. They receive a high place of honor in the
court. Daniel lives to see the Exile
come to an end.
Light comes into a world of darkness, but it’s light that comes at great
risk.
We can ask many questions about today’s text, make many assumptions.
Health food connoisseurs can say “see.”
Adventists will say “Praise the Lord.”
Dieticians probably eat this up.
This could be a story about food- what you put into your body makes a
difference.
This story could be about principalities- by declining to eat the same
food as the King, Daniel is basically saying “I refuse to be complicit in any acts
of injustice against my people.”
This story could be a testimony that when it comes to God and holding
onto our faith, we should all be willing to die cruel, painful deaths- but that
sounds a bit extremist.
What can be said about today’s reading is perhaps much more calm, subtle-
the almost silent, invisible way that God weaves Godself into the long arc of
history.
The almost silent, invisible way that God brings God’s light into the
darkest of places.
Here Daniel is, 550 miles away from home.
He is definitely not in Kansas anymore.
Yet, he finds a way to remember who he is, and to remember God.
Though Daniel has no access to a Temple, his sacred books are stripped
away, he’s given a different name, though he’s made to work for the enemy as a
house servant, Daniel finds a way, to hold onto his God.
By holding onto God, he holds onto his identity.
Can we hear how enslaved people from Africa and Indigenous Americans could
find kinship with Daniel and other characters from the Bible?
Daniel has been stripped of his name, place of worship, and familiar
foods, and yet he keeps on keepin’ on.
In doing so, he becomes an evangelist for God. All he does, says, every obstacle he faces
becomes a testimony to those around him.
The palace master who saw Daniel get healthy had a chance to learn about
God. The people who threw Daniel in the
lion’s den and saw him emerge, got to know about God. Those who tried to annihilate Daniel through
a fiery furnace, got to know about God.
Even the King of Babylon, who had destroyed the Temple, burnt their
books, and desecrated the religious plateware, had no choice but to witness the
majesty of God when Daniel stood before him, shining like a natural man.
Daniel may not be much on historical fact, but it is rich with truth-
Every event in life can be a moment where God is made known, every obstacle
can be an opportunity for God’s light to shine.
Does Daniel need to be a real person for us to learn this lesson? Does Daniel need to be all facts to inspire?
How much of Daniel’s story inspired Paul when he was in jail? How much of Daniel inspired those who endured
the Crusades and the Holocaust?
How much can Daniel inspire us, as we continue to discern who we are, and
what it means to live in a land in which our faith is being hijacked by those
who intend to hurt and want to hate?
Daniel, regardless if his story is fact or truth, has a lesson to teach
us.
Let that lesson be that into a world full of darkness, the light of God still
shines, and that light shines from us.
Let us give thanks, let us give glory to God.
Amen.
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