Deliverance

A Reflection on the First Reading for November 18th, 2018: Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Daniel 12:1-3

​1 At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. 3 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.

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The Bible is filled with stories of deliverance. As a kid, I always enjoyed watching Charlton Heston, who played Moses in the movie The Ten Commandments, reach his arms out and command the red sea to part. As it did, the Israelites crossed the sea bed to deliverance from the slavery of the Egyptians.

Daniel also had experiences of deliverance. After being condemned to death for not worshipping false idols built under the order of the king, Daniel and his three friends were ordered to be thrown into a blazing furnace. As a reward for their faithfulness, God sent His angel to rescue Daniel and his friends from the fire, and none of them were burned by the flames that encircled them.

A second time, Daniel disobeyed the king by refusing to stop praying to God. So, the king ordered that he be thrown into a lion’s den. Once again, God rewarded Daniel’s faithfulness by shutting the mouths of the lions and saving his life.

Daniel experienced first hand what it meant to be delivered by God. In Daniel 12:1-3, Daniel prophesied a deliverance to come. A deliverance of everyone written in the book of life. But what does this mean?

Our Christian faith is built upon the foundation of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Through His death on the cross, Jesus came to save, or "deliver us" from the power of sin. This means there are true consequences for our sins, otherwise there was no reason for Jesus to come to earth. So what is the consequence of sin?

I remember attending Sunday school one year when a young seminarian who was teaching the class said, “There is no such thing as hell”. I didn’t know what to do with this information. If this is true, then there is no consequence for my sins, and so, what was the point of Jesus’ death on the cross?

Daniel’s prophesy says otherwise, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”. Anyone who is a parent may recall the first time their child had a realization of death, and of course the fear that follows about what will happen when someone they love dies. When this happened in our home, we always reassured our children of the celebration that awaits them in heaven. 

The next stage in their faith usually involved an awareness of hell, but with an understanding that it is reserved for those very evil people who perform horrific acts of sin. I think it’s important not to stop there. There may be sins holding us captive such as jealousy, idolatry, or refusal to forgive, from which we need deliverance. As we mature in our faith, it is important to know that the consequences of our sins are real and that hell really does exist. Let us heed Daniel’s warning and reflect on what sins might be holding us captive, so we might seek deliverance through prayer and repentance and one day awake to everlasting life.

​Tammy LeBlanc

"Let us heed Daniel’s warning and reflect on what sins might be holding us captive, so we might seek deliverance through prayer and repentance and one day awake to everlasting life."

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