God of Deliverance

  The enslaved from Africa, here in America, were taught Christianity, especially the parts from Paul's letters which said that slaves should obey their masters. However, when they were given the Bible, the story of Moses freeing Israel from Egypt was removed so that there would be no notion that God would hear the enslaved cries here in America and free them from their lot. And in spite of this, many enslaved found hope in the religion of their enslavers and it became a powerful strength in the Black American community that showed its power during the marches and fight for civil rights in the 1950's and 1960's. Not just the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but how many hear recognize the name Andrew Young? He was the first African-American who was elected to Congress since the Reconstruction in 1972 and became President Jimmy Carter's Ambassador to the United Nations in 1977 and then became mayor of Atlanta, Georgia for 8 years. His career began as a minister in the United Church of Christ in the 1950's. 

For as much as may have tried to tie the United States to us being a Christian nation, to manifest destiny, and us being a light on a hill to the rest of the world, the story of the Bible is one of God of the poor and disenfranchised. Those times, those times in which the Israeli people have gotten power and prestige, they quickly forgot their God and believed that their success came from them and they pursued any god or idol to give them an advantage for power, for wealth, and for prestige. Jesus of the Christian Testament was a man who may had lineage to King David, but was more at home among the oppressed and dispossessed than among the rulers, the movers and the shakers of his time. The Jews, the Samaritans, and the early Christians of Jesus time were under occupation of the Roman Empire and their writings reflected that, especially in the book of Revelation that talked about the horror of being a believer in a time of immense persecution. Jesus was a brown, homeless, poor messiah who literally ran away when the people from last week's story of the feeding of the five thousand wanted to make him king. 

We are in the narrative lectionary, so we aren't hearing the stories of John the Baptist and preparing the way for the birth of the king. We are hearing the stories of the prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, who watched Israel and Judah fail and fall; to those who worked to give the Jews hope once their nation was conquered and hope seemed lost. There is some discussion among scholars about when the story of Daniel took place, was it before, during, or after when the Persian king Cyrus, sent the Jews home to Jerusalem. For not all went home. It is interesting to note that there are Jewish communities yet in Iraq that go back to these times some two thousand five hundred years ago. 

In this story of Daniel and King Darius, we can observe that the Persian king is being manipulated by his advisors. King Darius isn't a strong ruler and, though he wants to save Daniel from his fate, he is unable. When presented with the evidence that Daniel has violated this law worshipping and praying to some other god besides Darius, Darius worked until sun down to free him but could not. He wanted to do the right thing, but couldn't find a way. He could only pray and hope that the God whom Daniel was praying to would be able to protect and save him. The story has King Darius fasting and worrying about Daniel all throughout the night. When the King found him alive, he gave thanks to the God of Daniel.

Daniel knew that by praying to the God of Israel, Adonai, three times a day would put his life in danger. Daniel was an advisor to King Darius and saved his life twice by interpreting dreams and writings. He wasn't nonchalant about it, praying up on his second floor where few would be able to see him, but neither did he shirk from his faith. The only words that Daniel says are in the morning claiming the angels shut the lions mouths and he has been proven to do no wrong, even though he violated the law and decree of the Persian king. 

Are we faithful in our values, our ideals, our relationship with God? Do we hope for ourselves that whatever is coming bypasses us or do we have hope for the immigrants, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and the BIPOC community, even if the laws and the powers are against them? Are we willing to put ourselves, our reputation, our skills and relationships on the line in hopes we might make a difference, or at least shine a light on the idolatry that is still in power in our nation? To quote Rev. Andrew Young: 

There can be no democracy without truth. There can be no truth without controversy, there can be no change without freedom. Without freedom there can be no progress.

May we find the hope we need in working for the freedom of others, which is the story of the Bible. Amen.