A Daniel Diet
April 14, 2013 | Patrick Preheim | Daniel 3: 1 - 18

Daniel is all the rage these days. Rick Warren, the famous California Pastor and author, has recently unveiled a purpose driven diet which is named “the Daniel Plan”. In the strength of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego he has shed sixty pounds and introduced thousands to one of the great apocalyptic books of the bible. Susan Gregory’s book The Daniel Fast has sold more than 100,000 copies. Not to be outdone The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast is also a successful book out there authored by Kristen Feola. And finally, during Lent a surprising number of congregations throughout North America practiced the disciplines of Daniel by eating only vegetables, fruits, unleavened grains and gathering together for regular prayer (Christian Century (March 20, 2013), pp 18-19). Daniel is all the rage these days. Or is he?

The various Daniel diets come from the lead story in the book of Daniel. The first verses of Daniel remind us that King Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, knocked down the walls, sacked the temple treasury, and exiled the aristocracy of Judah to Babylon. Daniel and his buds catch a break when they are chosen to become part of the civil service. When presented with royal rations, however, they balk. They commit themselves to water, vegetables and prayer while in their new King’s employment. The palace minder is greatly concerned. If in his care these Judeans should under-perform he would be in trouble. Daniel and the guard agree to a trial period. Low and behold at the end of the trial Daniel is functioning at a higher level than his Chaldean peers. This is the story on which the various weight management programs are based. While effective at promoting physical health and personal spiritual piety such appropriation of Daniel chapter one does a disservice to this story in particular and the book as a whole.

In this first and foundational narrative Daniel’s choice of food had more to do with theology than with weight management. Daniel and his buddies accepted much from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. They welcomed the free education in their new land; they allowed their names to be changed; hey, they even became cabinet members for the Prime Minister of the opposition. Why not take a little meat and wine? It had to do with identity.

• Daniel and his friends did not know the source of the meat. Maybe it came from an unclean animal or was prepared in an un-kosher fashion. The food laws of Judaism were part of a larger theological structure in which there is clean and unclean, sacred and profane. Like the Jews of Acts and Romans, Daniel remembered his God and his people at every meal time. Food was a way to remember.
• Food choice and preparation aside, Daniel and company did not know if the meat and wine had been previously offered to a pagan deity. Again, theologically this would have been a problem for a faithful Jew.
• And lastly, for Daniel to eat the king’s food is to accept his protection...It implies a covenant of unreserved loyalty and obedience. Daniel and his companions participated in much of Babylonian culture and life, but they rejected giving Nebuchadnezzar the allegiance symbolized in eating his food and drinking his wine. (Paul Lederach, Believers Church Bible Commentary—Daniel, 37-38).

Given the political overtones of Daniel’s fast within the context of Jewish history I wonder what a modern day Daniel fast might actually look like. What are the gods that clamour for unreserved loyalty and obedience? Would it be the gods of consumerism which invite us to ever be buying newer and additional things? Would it be the gods of moral relativism which lure us to abdicate any debate of personal ethics or the common good? One point is sure—the Daniel diet says a lot more about theology than food.

The intensity of these themes is ratcheted up chapter 3. In addition to all the cultural accommodations alluded to earlier, now the language is Aramaic. One of the unique and provocative aspects to the book of Daniel is that the section from chapter 2--7 is written mostly in Aramaic (with a small section in Greek). This is completely out of place among the other books of Old Testament which all appear in Hebrew. Meine Gute! Haben die Leute Ihren biblische Muttersprache vergessen? Perhaps Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego are speaking Aramaic at this point, but they have not forgotten about their God who transcends peoples, nations and languages.

Peoples, nations, and languages—I use these words intentionally. This exact phrase appears twice in the portion of scripture Sheila read and six times throughout Daniel in total (3.4; 3.7; 3.29 (or 3.96); 4.1;5.19; 7.14). The Revelation of John has seven occurrences of this tri-fold testimony of God’s universality (5.9; 7.9; 10.11; 11.9; 13.7; 14.6; 17.15). And maybe surprisingly Genesis has two occurrences of the formulaic phrase (10.20; 10.31). I make these linguistic observations because I think the authors of our biblical story were making a point. In the beginning the Lord God creates all things—all people, all languages, all nations. Whether they recognize it or not all these have their source in the creator God. The Revelation of John affirms this faith declaration. The visions given to John are that whether they recognize it or not—all peoples, languages and nations have their end in the creator God. All people and places belong to the Lord God, but King Nebuchadnezzar sought to usurp this role. This was a competition among the gods.

Nebuchadnezzar has “set up” his statue with the expectation that the people will “fall down”. If repetition means anything in biblical story telling, and it does, we should be overwhelmed with the number of appearances these phases make in our short passage. 8 times we are reminded the Nebuchadnezzar has “set up” the golden idol. 6 times we are told that to fall down and worship is the appropriate response to the musical cue. This is Nebuchadnezzar’s lead move in the wrestling match between the gods. Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego are God’s response in this cosmic showdown.

Our three protagonists have no gold. They have no fancy statue. They don’t have a pep band to inspire the people. They barely have their citizenship cards. All they have is their faith. This faith is so threatening to the empire that a most certain death sentence is imposed on them: they will be hurled into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego are unrepentant and unfazed by the court decision. The scripture Sheila read ends before the resolution of the narrative and I did that on purpose. Verses 17-18 are, I think, the most important part of the story. God’s intervention or non-intervention is irrelevant to the three. Sometimes the chosen ones of God are spared the fire, and sometimes the faithful die. They saw good people die when the walls came down in Jerusalem. They saw tragedy when the Temple was sacked. No, God’s chosen ones are not spared the fire but that is not why they worship their God. They worship God, not Nebuchadnezzar, because in God there is a beauty, a freedom, a redemptive order that Nebuchadnezzar can not offer. And so they willingly go through the fire. Will we?

We are Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego. In the language of 1st Peter we too are exiles and aliens sojourning in lands which are not our heavenly home. With Daniel and the New Testament churches we are asked to consider the tensions between good citizenship and dissident discipleship. Daniel and the gang accept free education and civil service, but they will not worship other ideologies or gods. There is a line between acceptable accommodation and idolatry, and each generation must struggle with the tension. I offer you several examples where the church of this generation can and probably should be practicing discernment.

Health Care: I am big fan of Lipitor, chemotherapy and many other treatments we find in our current health system. These medical innovations have allowed people I care about to be living disciples in congregations, communities, and the world. At what point, however, does the quest for added years become a form of idolatrous worship? I am not speaking of assisted suicide or discrimination which disqualifies people from potential care who are over a certain age or who have particular health concerns. I am raising the fact that in all my church going years I have never seen a religious community struggle with the theological issues underlying the “treat at all costs” mentality present in society. In this resurrection season we are witnesses that a life greater than earthly death exists out there. We do have the option to at some point not accept medical treatment. What is that point? The tension, the gray area with which we live, is the point where medical treatment becomes idolatry of earthly life. It would be good to talk together about where that line is for us, why we draw it there, and the theology behind our thinking.

A second example—Work, Study, Leisure and Community Life: The event last Sunday afternoon honouring congregational elders was great. We visited around tables, we sang a few great songs, we ate some righteous cake. I came away from the evening spiritually renewed. It was very similar to the feelings I had the evening young adults were honoured several months back. Unfortunately the pressures of work, study, and leisure pursuits keep many of us from having inspired gatherings such as these. In our social environments and resume building years it can be a serious matter to do less than more, so we do more. And when we feel a time crunch it is often the spiritual life which suffers. At what point does “more” become a form of idolatrous worship? What are the theological principals that inform our decision to take on one more work assignment, one more client, one more class, one more club team? Is there a point at which we, current day exiles in Babylon, give witness to a life greater than more? We have so many opportunities there is a point at which work, study or leisure begins to eclipse our investment in the spiritual life. It would be good to talk together about where that line is for us, why we draw it there, and the theology behind our thinking.

I have given my time this morning to a reflection on and application of the first six chapters of Daniel. The second half of Daniel is full of visions which undergird the Jewish exiles in a different way. The visions all point to the sovereignty of God. They declare to us that evil will be cut short. They remind us that God’s righteousness (not ours) carries the day. Fretting about the tension between being a good citizen and a good disciple has its place, but we do well to finish our day and this sermon with a bigger vision. And in that revealing we see that God has created the world, sustains the faithful, and will reconcile all things. Daniel writes of a “son of man” coming on the clouds (7.13) who would make things right for the exiles and aliens. Matthew’s gospel testifies that this is none other than Jesus. As we feast upon visions of God’s sovereignty and the son of man who has come to us with power & glory, I do not doubt we will be given clarity on where the good path lies and strength to walk it. This truly would be a diet befitting Daniel’s name. Amen.
Patrick Preheim, co-pastor Nutana Park Mennonite Church