January 24, 2022 — “Let the cat out of the bag” (Daniel 6:16-23)

“So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel 6:16-23

“Let the cat out of the bag”

The most reasonable historical explanation for this phrase actually ties into another one involving mammals and bagging — “a pig in a poke.” Dating back to around 1530, cats often served as sneaky substitutes for their piggy peers when shady businesspeople tricked their customers. Clever consumers who exposed the deception eventually spawned our familiar idiom, which retains a similar, albeit broader, meaning today.

I am sure that if any of us were to be thrown into a “lions den” today we would not have the same luck as Daniel. But it wasn’t luck that saved Daniel — for he knew that the Lord was with him. Why was Daniel thrown into the den? Well, as the story goes, Daniel was refusing to listen to a decree made by the king: “Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.” (Daniel 6:13-14) But, Daniel was beloved by King Darius — so much so he was soon to be set above all of the king’s administrators. This angered the administrators so much that they devised a way to trap Daniel into a “no win” situation — which is why he was given to the lions as the day’s dinner.

Look, we may not be tossed to the lions den figuratively, but if I may let the cat out of the bag, there are plenty of people in this world who would rather see anyone fail so that they can succeed — see others demoted so they can be promoted. But we need not worry about whether Jesus is with us or not — because he is always with us. The world may be against us — but G-d is for us — so much that he placed the Son on the cross so we might live into eternity.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you have let the proverbial cat out of the bag through your life, death and resurrection. We are not being tricked – we are being saved, through you – and for that we give you thanks. Amen.

Pastor Dave

January 23, 2022 – Epiphany 3C

^”Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
  because he has anointed me
   to bring good news to the poor.
 He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
  and recovery of sight to the blind,
   to let the oppressed go free,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:14-21

“Silence is the welcome mat for hate” Ann Van Dyke (PA Human Relations Commission)

It is true in the home, it is true in the work place, it was true 100 years ago, 50 years ago, and it is true today. And, it was true in Jesus’ day. Jesus was not going to remain silent—and neither should we. Fresh off his temptation in the wilderness experience, Jesus is still full of the Holy Spirit. Not only full of the Holy Spirit, full of the POWER of the Holy Spirit. My friends, not only does the Holy Spirit build faith in our lives, the Holy Spirit gives us POWER—fills us with POWER. What do we think of when we think of power? Power can mean several things:

Force—the ability to move something, lift something, like a powerful engine or a power lifter.

Influence—the ability to make things happen—to tell others what to do.

Wealth—power is often paired with wealth, those who have a lot of money often have or wield a lot of power.

So, Jesus is full of the POWER OF THE Holy Spirit, so what does that mean? Well, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus had influence over the Devil, he forces the Devil to bow to his will, and he has a wealth of knowledge to do battle because he is filled with the Word. So Jesus knows how to use his power. But people in our world who have power generally use that power to benefit themselves first—they act selfishly with that power. I mean, what good is power if you do not personally benefit from that power. However, the only time Jesus uses his power for himself is in His battle with the Devil. From that moment on Jesus “redefines” the human understanding of power. Oh, he does use force, and influence, and wealth—but in his own way, in his own time. Now, there is another aspect of this idea of power that I have not spoken about yet, and that is the power of silence. You see, people who have power like to keep the “powerless” silent. In our world, one of the most prevalent issues we have to deal with is the willingness of the silent majority not to wield their power. Too many people see injustice, or inequality in this world, and rather than speak out, they choose to remain silent. Jesus, today, models how we should respond in the face of a society who wishes to keep people down…..he does not remain silent. “Silence is the welcome mat for Hate, Injustice, and Bigotry”.

My friends, do you think silence has no power? We often see how sound carries power—at sporting events, at concerts, and at the launching of a space rocket. We know how sound has power. There are stadiums in this country who take the sound of the crowd and they amplify it so they seem much louder than what they really are. They pump that sound back into the stadium. The power of thousands of people yelling and shouting has tremendous power. If you have ever been to a rock concert, and have experienced the ringing of the ears when you leave, you know how sound has power. But silence can also have tremendous power. There are a few rooms across the world that are so sound-proofed people have trouble sitting in the rooms for more than a few minutes. We are so used to noise, but silence can make us crazy—and silence can have a huge impact.

You and I have been given power—not our own, but G-d’s power—even through our human weaknesses, G-d still empowers us through the Holy Spirit to be the people of G-d. And we are called to share that power with the world—especially the poor, oppressed, down-trodden and forgotten. When we lift others up, when we serve others, when we free others, we are lifted up, freed and empowered through Christ. It is for these reasons that we cannot remain silent.

Pastor Dave