THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE…

Daniel 3:14-20,91-92,05

14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, well and good; but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 And he ordered certain mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 91 Bless him, all who worship the Lord, the God of gods, sing praise to him and give thanks to him, for his mercy endures for ever.”
92 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 95 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their mantles were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.

John 8:31-42

31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin.35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever.36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.
38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did,40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did.
41 You do what your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.”42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.  

MEDITATION

THE FIRST READING: Nabuchadnazzers demand that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego serve or worship before his god’s, fell on deaf ears to the extent that the three men refused to comply with his command even if Yahweh decide save or not save them! With this said Nabuchadnazzer ordered his soldiers to cast the men into the burning furness, but alas the three men emerged unscathed from the burning fire. The king is left gobsmacked at the miracle that he witnessed. 

THE GOSPEL READING: Christ hold out an olive branch to set free a few of His disciples who were commiting fornication. Instead of submitting to Christs offer of mercy and forgiveness that would have allowed these men to “continue in the house” of God, these men stubbornly appealed to their status as being children of Abraham, supposing that they are sinless! More agregiously, the men seperated themselves from Christ and began to plot His death!!!

Sacred scripture is explicit that followers of Christ cannot live a sinful life by appealing to a historical act of justification whereby grace was granted to us when by faith, we were justified by the mercy and grace of Christ in and through the Holy Sacraments! Being a “believer” pressupose that we “continue” day in and day out to live out our Sacramental promises—oaths that we have sworn to—in front of witnesses! We are called to stop with our lies and skulduggery of misrepresenting Christs admonitions and St Paul’s teachings that call us to be a righteous people to merit His blessing. Rom 4 We aught to be truthful untainted by sin in all areas of our lives, so that we may be set free on the last day and avoid the unquenchable burning fire!  

LET US PRAY:Daniel 3:52-56
52 “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever;53 And blessed is thy glorious, holy name and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever;
54 Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holy glory and to be extolled and highly glorified for ever.
55 Blessed art thou, who sittest upon cherubim and lookest upon the deeps, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever.56 Blessed art thou upon the throne of thy kingdom and to be extolled and highly exalted for ever.

Commentary. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.