Season 5 - Episode 14
To listen to an audio version of this post, visit www.covenantchurch.ca/podcasts/covenant-weekly.
On Sunday, we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In the message, I mentioned something briefly that I’d like to explore just a little bit more this morning. That is, that these young men didn’t go looking for conflict or initiate a confrontation even when the king was calling on all of his people to violate their second commandment. Their loyalty to Yahweh didn’t demand their aggression to those who were not loyal to Yahweh. Nor did it demand that they try to force support of Yahweh within a nation where it did not exist. We’re going to consider this in this Covenant Weekly for December 2, 2025.
Listening to politicians, pundits, and influencers in both Canada and the United States, it would be easy to believe that we were founded as explicitly Christian nations, but that at some point we moved away from our collective affirmation of Christianity as the core of our national identity. It may surprise some to know that the Constitution of the United States makes no reference to God and explicitly denies any religious favouritism within the first amendment. It wasn’t until the mid 1950s, over 175 years after the founding of the country, when “In God We Trust” was adopted as a national motto and put on U.S. currency.
In Canada, the Constitution Act of 1982, does have a reference to God. The beginning of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms begins with these words, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of
God and the rule of law:” It makes no effort to clarify what that “God” is like or even what religion that divinity is associated with. While the majority of Canadians would have identified as Christian at the time, that isn’t explicit in the document. And in 1982, there was enough diversity in our country that if it was meant to refer to a Christian understanding of God they certainly could have included that clarification!
Importantly, the first “Fundamental Freedom” expressed within our Charter of Rights and Freedoms is, the “freedom of conscience and religion.” The very fact that we are not a “Christian nation” is rooted somehow in a recognition of “the supremacy of God and the rule of law.”
What does this have to do with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? As I noted, they didn’t go looking for conflict or even highlighting issues that were challenging for them. They recognized that they lived in a world that was not devoted to Yahweh and, according to the stories we read, sought to:
- Live with loyalty to Yahweh,
- Honour and accept that those around them were not loyal to Yahweh, and had no reason to be, and
- Seek the peace and good of the place where they lived by serving it and, at the very least, not creating issues by seeking to force their loyalty and worship on those around them.
The myth that we are supposed to somehow be a Christian nation has led many to believe that loyalty to Yahweh demands that we try to force those around us to adopt ways of living that are also loyal to Yahweh. It has led many to create and even relish in conflict rather than seeking peace and the good of the place where we dwell.
Let me give a relatively benign example. I’ve been told that I need to be upset and even confrontational during this season when someone dares to say, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” I would contend that forcing someone to say Merry Christmas or calling them out when they don’t does nothing to help foster loyalty to Jesus or embody the way of the Prince of Peace in our world. Neither does respectfully acknowledging my neighbour’s December traditions diminish the centrality of Jesus in my life and in my worship. So if nothing in God’s kingdom is gained in this regard, why would I pursue or initiate conflict?
In Daniel 1, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were pushed all the way to participating in idol worship by eating meat sacrificed to those idols before they respectfully and with humility pushed back. In Daniel 3, it came all the way to the point of bowing down in worship of a pagan deity before things came to a head. And even then, it was only because someone else made their non-worship an issue.
Santa isn’t central to Christmas for me. The narratives of commercialism and acquisition of stuff actually run counter to the way of Jesus. And even beautiful things like amazing meals and family gatherings aren’t at the heart of what we seek to honour as we celebrate “God With Us.” But picking fights about those things doesn't foster the reality of “The Prince of Peace” in my life and in my world. Rather, engaging in such battles would distract me from fostering the true hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus brought into the world.
I pray that we will be people who reflect the beauty of “God with us” breaking into the world in how we engage with our world this season. May they see in us the love of God during this season when we believe it was miraculously and powerfully put on display through the humility of a peasant birth.
I'm grateful that as I write this, I know that you are doing this so well!