“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.

Pastor Dave

“Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” Luke 6:20-26

“Of course, first we have to recognize it. St. Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, you see, contains language that is just familiar enough to us that we can easily read or listen to it without really paying attention. We tend to hear it through Matthew’s better-known version, where the poor are poor in spirit, and those who hunger and thirst do so for the sake of righteousness. But not so in Luke. In Luke they’re just poor and hungry and hated — vagrant beggars who can’t sustain themselves, can’t provide for themselves or their families, are hard to look at, and are a drain on the system. In short, they’re losers. And yet Jesus calls them blessed. Why? Simply because God always reserves God’s most acute attention for those in need, those left behind by the powers that be, those left out of the lavish bounty of the world’s produce. Sometimes called God’s preferential treatment of the poor, at other places epitomized by recognizing that God is always on the side of the underdog, God’s unfailing and unflagging concern for the losers of this world is etched across the pages of Scripture in letters deep and clear enough for anyone willing to read.” (David Lose, Working Preacher website, October 28, 2013)

Jesus blesses the losers in the Sermon on the Mount, or at least he is telling those who have not made it in society that G-d has not forgotten about them. Have you ever seen a sign like that, a political sign where someone would say “I love the losers of this society”? Have you ever heard a politician stand up and say “I am here for the lost, the broken, the losers of this country”? Anyone with political goals wouldn’t dare call anyone in our society “losers”, right? At least they wouldn’t call potential voters losers, or despicable, or ugly, or any other awful name, right?

Perhaps we need All Saint’s Day to remind us that though in death we may feel as if we lose, as followers of Jesus, we are real winners. Oh our society might call us “Losers”. Why? Well they may see us as losers according to the standards of our society today, but we are winners according to G-d. How are we losers according to the standards of society today? We are losers because we do not look to put ourselves first — but instead we are to put others first. We do not look to hoard our goods — but instead we are to share with others out of the abundance that G-d has blessed us. And no matter how many blessings we have, we will not be content until all people have equal access to justice, mercy and the resources they need to live contently. And that does not make us losers – in the eyes of G-d we are “winners”– according to our calling as Christians. We are winners because Christ makes us winners – we are the living “Saints”.

Pastor Dave