Advent Devotions: Saturday, December 15, 2018

Daniel 6:14-28                                                       The Lions’ Den, Part 2

When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, ‘Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.’

 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!’ A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, ‘O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?’ Daniel then said to the king, ‘O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.’ Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

 Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: ‘May you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
   enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed,
   and his dominion has no end.
He delivers and rescues,
   he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
for he has saved Daniel
   from the power of the lions.’
So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

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Two years ago, I read an Advent devotional based on the life and works of Reverend Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran Pastor and anti-Nazi pacifist martyred by Hitler’s regime near the end of WWII. I won’t forget the somber nature of his writings on Advent, a liturgical season that takes place against the backdrop of holiday cheer and festive joy. As he wrote during his incarceration: “Life in a cell may well be compared to Advent: one waits, hopes…the door is shut and can only be opened from the outside.” 

 Advent is supposed to be a joyous time but too often, the month of December recalls painful loss. Joyful times since passed and loved ones who have died or are no longer involved in our lives. Israel was not buoyant in Daniel’s time. And yet, God delivers Daniel from the lions. Even if we must face death, the consequence of our sin, we hope for the promise of the life to come. When we too are in the lion’s den, hope is all we have. Hope is whispered in prophecies and dreamt in dreams. In the days of King Darius, no one knew hope would take the form of an impoverished barn-born child birthed in a far-flung outpost of an empire. Even today, we hold to hope in faith: that when the lions circle and the door shuts, a hand will open it from the outside.

Reverend Jacob Simpson is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and has been serving as the called Pastor of Trinity Lutheran in White Plains since May of 2018. He lives in Tuckahoe with his wife and son.