Sermon: Cat Dad Daniel

Sunday, December 1, 2024
Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church, Lincoln, NE
First Sunday of Advent
(narrative lectionary)
watch this service online (reading starts around 23:04; sermon starts around 27:58)

Reading: Daniel 6:6-27

No kids willing to come up for the children’s service at our first service, but at the second service, we talked about waiting. We talked about what sort of things we wait for, what it’s like to wait, how there are different kinds of waiting. We talked about Advent being the start of the new year for the church and about how it is a season of waiting. Advent is a word used to mean “beginning” or “commencement,” and it comes from words meaning something that is “about to come” or “about to happen.” During Advent, we wait for Christmas and all the excitement and good things that come with it. We wait for the birth of the baby Jesus. But more than anything, we wait for the coming kingdom that Jesus has promised; and we wait with expectation and hope, looking for signs that that kingdom is breaking in, even here and now.

Who all in here has pets, or has had pets at one time? Who’s got dogs? And where are my cat people at?

Generally speaking, for those who have had dogs, how hard would you say it is to get a dog to like you? How hard is it to train a dog or get a dog to bond with you? I’m guessing your answer is “really not that hard.” In my experience, it usually takes about 30 seconds or less to become best friends with a dog.

Now, for anyone who’s had cats – same question. How hard is it to get a cat to like you? How hard is it to train a cat or to get a cat to bond with you? Heh – this morning’s answers in worship ranged from “difficult” to “impossible” to “that happens??”

Cats can be tricky creatures. Unlike dogs, cats generally aren’t going to go out of their way to try to please you. They tend to be particular about which humans they choose to form relationships with; and cats will not hesitate to defend their own personal boundaries. Contrary to popular belief, cats actually can be trained – but there’s no forcing a cat to do anything it doesn’t feel like doing. It’s a relationship that requires gentleness, consistency, and patience.

In many ways, I think Daniel – in our reading today – might be the ultimate biblical cat person. I mean, first of all, he’s one of the few people in the bible we actually see hanging out with cats. 🦁 And secondly, we also see that he has many of these cat-person traits: Daniel is respectful and gentle with the people around him. He is very consistent in his faith, continuing to pray and honor God even when it gets him in trouble. And he is calm and patient even in the midst of trouble.

Now I’m not about to say that these cat person qualities are what helped Daniel escape the lions’ den alive – but, you know, I’m also not *not* saying that. 😜

Daniel was a prophet living in exile in Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. He is essentially a prisoner of war. But despite this, Daniel earns respect and admiration for his wisdom and insight. In particular, he becomes well known for his ability to interpret the meaning of dreams, and also for his unwavering commitment to living out his faith to God.

The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, and then the Median king, Darius, both see Daniel’s gifts and give him a position of esteem and power in their courts. But that’s not all. Over time, they also become fascinated by Daniel’s faith. They are impressed by how faithfully he remains devoted to God, even when facing opposition and threats of violence. And they are astounded when Daniel’s God miraculously saves Daniel and his companions from danger and death.

In our story today, we see how Daniel’s example and his escape from the lions’ den lead King Darius into this dramatic moment of conversion. After witnessing what God does for Daniel, Darius decides to turn away from his old gods and worship God as the one true God.

And the thing is, Daniel didn’t set out to convert anybody. He was just there in Babylon, through no choice of his own – this wasn’t some kind of evangelistic mission. But even in that strange land, he continued to live out the life to which God had called him – a life of faithfulness and wisdom, of prayer and peace. He didn’t have to tell anyone to come and know God. Because of his witness, they could already see God at work in his life. Because of his witness, they already wanted to know more.

Darius, on the other hand, takes a very different direction following his conversion. He immediately issues this wide-ranging decree, commanding that everyone in his kingdom likewise abandon their gods and bow down before Daniel’s God – or else. He violently retaliates against the leaders who conspired against Daniel, throwing them into the lions’ den – along with their wives and children, who have done nothing to deserve this.

It’s a similar story with Nebuchadnezzar. You might remember this story from a few chapters earlier in Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden statue and then commands everyone to worship it when they hear his band play – or else. Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship any gods other than God; this makes Nebuchadnezzar so angry that he has the three men thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. But when the three men emerge unhurt, Nebuchadnezzar has his own dramatic conversion moment. And as with Darius, things immediately get violent. Nebuchadnezzar commands that everyone in the kingdom turn and follow God, decreeing that, “Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses laid in ruins.” Yikes.

I guess, if nothing else, these two kings deserve points for their… enthusiasm. But their violent rhetoric kind of makes it seem like they have completely missed the point of Daniel’s peaceful, nonviolent witness. I mean, if I were Daniel or Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego, I would not be comfortable with this violent turn of events – even though that violence was being done in the name of my own God.

And for us, this isn’t exactly an abstract issue. I’m sure that you, like me, can think of a number of examples you have seen of people using our Christian faith to justify intolerance and hate and even violence in God’s name. People use their faith to justify things like: limiting women’s access to healthcare, demonizing trans kids just for being who they are, declaring that this is a “Christian nation” while stockpiling weapons and turning away asylum seekers at the border – or making claims that they’re being “persecuted” when someone wishes them “Happy holidays” instead of a “Merry Christmas.” 🙄

Like Daniel and his friends, I feel troubled by these things. They make me angry. And the great irony is that they are really not a very effective way of winning people over to God. The best, most effective kind of evangelism is actually not unlike the process of winning over a cat. It requires gentleness and respect and authenticity. Centuries of human history should be enough to teach us that God’s word is generally not well received when delivered at the end of a spear. The gospel spreads best through fascination, not through force.

And Daniel’s story bears this out. God is clearly with him and his friends. Meanwhile, after Nebuchadnezzar violently overthrows the last corrupt kings of Judah, he himself is violently overthrown by Darius and the Medes. And Darius barely has time to even warm the throne before he is then overthrown by Cyrus III and the Persian Empire.

Daniel and company outlast them all. Through the rise and fall of empires, they continue to live out their faith as they are called to do, regardless of what regime they are living under. They hold true to who they are and to who they are called to be, not by violently resisting, but by trusting in God to be with them always.

We are likewise called to persist in living out our faith, no matter the circumstances. In times of trouble and division and uncertainty, we too can witness to the goodness of our God by bringing God’s love to life in all that we say and do – by being people of authenticity and patience and grace.

In this season of Advent, we wait with eagerness and expectation for signs that God’s peacable kingdom is drawing near. And Daniel’s story reminds us that this is how the kingdom comes – not through violent military conquest, not through forcing anyone to bend the knee to our God, but through gentleness and wisdom and compassion and love. It comes through fascination and wonder. It comes through the same kind of gentle and patient spirit that it takes to make friends with a cat.