“Idols and Freedom Don’t Mix” by Colleen O’Sullivan
King Nebuchadnezzar said: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up? Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?" (Later) Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God." (Daniel 3:14-15, 95)
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 5:19, 21)
Piety
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
All to Jesus I Surrender, Robin Mark
Study
Either you worship my god and bow down before the golden statue I have had erected or face being thrown into a fiery furnace. What a choice King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon sets before Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in today’s first reading. Do it my way or die. No one wants to be thrown into flames, but as horrible as that sounds, there’s no question about what would constitute forsaking the God who created us out of love. If only all the opportunities to stray into idolatry were laid out in such a crystal-clear fashion!
As I said in an earlier Tripod, I have been praying with a retreat called Into the Wilderness this Lent. Out in the wilderness or the desert, there aren’t a great many distractions. Maybe we begin to feel lonely or restless after a while. Perhaps we find ourselves suffering a kind of homesickness in the silence and dark of night. It struck me about a week ago that when we are praying in the desert and begin to feel that longing to be somewhere else or doing something else, we might discover something important about ourselves if we reflect on what or whom it is that we’re desiring. Is it Jesus’ presence and companionship we’re wishing for? Or are we thinking more about family and friends? Or our iPhones where we can immerse ourselves in FaceBook or SnapChat, text messages or emails. It could be that our minds go to solving work problems. None of these things are good or bad in and of themselves. Do we find ourselves looking to Jesus first? When something wonderful happens, do we turn to Jesus first? Do we thank our Lord? Or do we share it on social media or with friends before anything else? If we have a problem or are suffering for any reason, do we seek Jesus’ counsel first or turn to him for comfort before we look elsewhere?
Action
Not every idol is as obvious as a golden statue. In order to truthfully sing of surrendering everything to Jesus, we may need to look deep within and ferret out all the things we love more than we love our Lord. Only we know what we prize more than the freedom Jesus promises. Lent is a season for giving things up, including whatever separates us from the love of God.
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