The Three Young Men and the Fiery Furnace

Homily for Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Lent

In the Roman catacombs where many of the Christian martyrs are buried, there is a mural depicting the story of the three young men in the fiery furnace. This mural was an inspiration for people during the Roman persecutions. They would gather to worship God and to remember their family members who were buried there. The Book of Daniel is the source of this story that we proclaim today. The story also tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar was convinced that the God of the three young men was the true God, and he converted to their faith.

The reading from the Gospel of St. John today continues the confrontation in which Jesus challenged the Jews to accept him as the one sent by God. The reading begins by telling us that Jesus was now confronting people who believed in him. This may confuse us, but we must remember that in chapter six, we are told that after the discourse on the Bread of Life, all but the Twelve left Jesus because they found it difficult to accept the proclamation that Jesus would give them his body to eat and his blood to drink.

These Jews claim that Abraham is their father and, that as children of Abraham, they are already free. Jesus identifies himself as the son of the Father which also makes it difficult for these former disciples to accept Jesus as the one sent by God.

Many people throughout our own world are still being persecuted for their faith. During our Lenten journey, we pray for those who are still dying for their faith. As the three young men inspired the people of Rome, let our contemporaries inspire us. Jesus gave his life to us, a gift that continues through our reception of the Eucharist. How good our gracious God is!