Day 40

For Thy name’s sake do not give us up utterly, and do not break Thy covenant, and do not withdraw Thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham Thy beloved and for the sake of Isaac Thy servant and Israel Thy holy one, to whom Thou didst promise to make their descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the shore of the sea. For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins. And at this time there is no prince, or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make an offering before Thee or to find mercy. Yet with a contrite heart and a humble spirit may we be accepted, as though it were with burnt offerings of rams and bulls, and with tens of thousands of fat lambs;  such may our sacrifice be in Thy sight this day, and may we wholly follow Thee, for there will be no shame for those who trust in Thee. And now with all our heart we follow Thee, we fear Thee and seek Thy face. Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in Thy forbearance and in Thy abundant mercy. Deliver us in accordance with thy marvelous works, and give glory to Thy name, O Lord! Let all who do harm to Thy servants be put to shame; let them be disgraced and deprived of all power and dominion, and let their strength be broken. Let them know that Thou art the Lord, the only God, glorious over the whole world.” (This text appears in two places in Scripture. It appears in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3:35-45; and in the Revised Standard Version as an Apocryphal Book called “Song of the Three Young Men,” which consists of one chapter, of which these are verses 11-22)

Yesterday we outlined two of the three steps that Fr. Stavros shows are the path of Lent, the blueprint, if you will, of our Christian life. Today, we will look at the final step.

On Holy Saturday morning, one of the Old Testament readings that we hear is that of the three Holy Youths. In that reading we see three young men who are ordered to offer sacrifice and pray to a pagan idol. Believing in God, they refuse. In response the king throws them into a fiery furnace, one so hot that it burns up those throwing the three Holy Youths in. As they fall into the furnace they choose to pray. One of the three, Azariah, prays the song of the three Holy Youths. An angel (and image of Christ) appears and the fire becomes like cool dew upon them. They are then called out of the furnace and the king and his people accept and believe in God.

Yesterday we saw that the first step of our journey, our Lenten journey and the journey of our Christian life, was seeing the signs placed before us. The next step was committing to those signs, not just seeing them. This third step now is living those signs. The Christian life is a life of humility, repentance, forgiveness and love for those around us. To be sure, it can be a difficult journey at times. It certainly was a difficult journey for the three Holy Youths. But just as they confronted the difficulties they faced, so too must we:

  1. The King in this Old Testament reading represents those who hate Christianity, those who are ignorant of the truth of Christ. Sometimes that hate and ignorance is subtle. It is sold to us in the guise of love and tolerance. Other times it is palpable, as there are Christians that are still persecuted to this day.
  2. The fire of the furnace is an image of the world we live in, with all of its struggles, its temptations and even its rejection of Christ. At times, our fire may seem too hot to withstand. But just as God sent an angel and cooled the flames for the three Holy Youths, he protects and watches over us as well.

We are called to be Azariah, to stand up to the hate, the ignorance the subtle attacks and the temptations. If not us, then who? Christ is our shield and buckler. He is the one who will cool the flames and bring the hate to naught.

As we conclude our Lenten journey today and prepare to enter Holy Week, will we stand up like the three Holy Youths? As I said yesterday, we have the opportunity to participate fully in the Holy Week Services this year, and unprecedented opportunity. We have the opportunity to bring our faith into our homes, perhaps as never before.

And remember, this is a journey that has no end here on this earth. Our journey will end when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ. Will this opportunity change you? Will it renew you? And will it stay with you after we sing the beautiful hymn that Christ is Risen?

Stand up for Christ today and every day!

In Christ

Fr. David