Confounding conspiracy

Daniel 6:6-28

So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?” The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Then they responded to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.”

When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: “May you have abundant prosperity!

I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:

For he is the living God,

enduring forever.

His kingdom shall never be destroyed,

and his dominion has no end.

He delivers and rescues,

he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;

for he has saved Daniel

from the power of the lions.”

So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Invitation

Plotters, conspirers, those who thrive on the misfortune of others

Come to this table

The faithful, the gentle, all who feel put upon or used

Come to this table

Bystanders, onlookers, those who observe but don't get involved

Come to this table

Christ who took on flesh, who encountered all of these

invites you to eat at this table

to be fed the living bread

and to be changed from the inside out.

Narrative

Foretold by prophets all through the ages

Longed for by the oppressed down through the years

Looked for in the stars

Sought in the palace

The living God took on flesh

and dwelt among a people unprepared

to be confronted with the word of life.

The Son of God walked among prophets

confronted the authorities

sat down with the outcasts

ate with sinners.

And, the night before he died,

He taught his friends about life and death

and gave them a sign by which to remember him:

He took bread, gave thanks and shared it among them saying:

This is my body, broken for you

Do this in memory of me.

He took the cup and, sharing, said

This cup makes possible a new relationship with God

Drink this and remember me.

And so we, the righteous, the sinners, the outcasts, the prophets,

do as our Lord Jesus commanded.

We take bread and wine and, with God's blessing, share in this sacramental meal.

Prayer of thanksgiving

God as you look upon us now

seeing into our hearts

As you look upon us 

missing no one and nothing

As you look upon us in love

remind us that none of us are beyond your redemption

or out of the reach of your saving grace.

You welcome all to your table

The sinners, the outcasts, the persecutors, the oppressors,

the spiteful, the meddlers, the do-gooders, the conspirators,

alongside the faithful, the perplexed, the hurt and the downtrodden.

You welcome all.

And you feed us with the bread of life.

You welcome us to your table

with love and forgiveness and with comfort and understanding

and your unconditional acceptance 

of us just as we are

thaws our hearts

heals our hurts

and changes our lives.

Send down your Spirit on these gifts before us

So, that as we taste your goodness here

we may make space

at our tables 

and in our lives

for all those forgotten or rejected

by society today

and be moved to share

all you have given us

for the sake of your kingdom.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Fraction 

(Taking bread)

Here is your Lord, approaching you with arms outstretched in welcome

His body broken for you

(Taking wine)

Here is your Lord, offering you a new relationship with God

Love poured out for you

Do this to remember him

Prayer after Communion

Lord we have feasted on your goodness

Take us now into the world

filled with your love

inspired by your giving

ready to share all that we have received from you.