Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Is there something so horrible that, no matter what, we would not do it? It there anything so important that, no matter what, we would not stop doing it? Today we hear of the young men in Babylon being threatened with death, and we also hear of Christ being threatened with death. In the first case, because, no matter what, they will not adore idols. Christ, however, faces threats because, no matter what, He must proclaim what He has seen in the Father’s presence.
In each case, focus on the Father who loves us is the source of this indomitable courage. When we know God’s love, with its height and depth and length and breadth, no threat offers competition for our thoughts. The story of the young men in Babylon would seem incredible, if there were not so many throughout the ages, and indeed so many in our own day, who lay down their life rather than turn away from God. The words of Jesus continue to ring in our hearing because of countless men and women who have suffered with Jesus to bring His proclamation to our own day. God is indeed greater than all the trials one may face in this world, and He does indeed wait to welcome us into the light of His face when all those trials are past.