The King's Corner

...The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.  This was the Scripture passage he was reading: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will tell of his posterity? For his life is taken from the earth… (Acts 8:26-40) Many of us feel like we are sheep awaiting the slaughter.  Such is the legitimate fear caused by the coronavirus – fear especially obvious in assisted living and care facilities for the elderly and health-compromised.  However, unlike the shearer, we are not and will not be silent.

T here broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered  throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;  entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment. Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:1B-8) Luke has us believe that the Apostles had the same healing power as Jesus.  One wonders about that.  In today’s first reading Philip cured many paralyzed and crippled people.  W

Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”  When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they w

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks.  When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” 

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.  And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”  So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaki

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever.  Amen. (1 Peter 5:5B-14) I’ve always wondered if God can be everywhere at once with time and place being no barrier, then how can the Devil do the same?   For everyone to hear the roaring lion, we and everyone else on God’s green earth must be in the presence of the Devil more-or-less at the same time.   That would seem to give the Devil – the fallen angel whom opposes God – the same or similar power as God.  No way! In fact, this possibility makes me question the existence of the Devil – a human-created force or creature to explain evil and why we

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.  Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of th

The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.  For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:31-36) What is the wrath of God?  Wrath is anger, so God gets angry?   Hardly.  That very old-school thinking is tied to the belief that God punishes.  Our God is vindictive?   Really?!

“God comes to us disguised as our life (quote from Paula D’Arcy).  But for most ‘religious’ people this is actually a disappointment! They seemingly would rather have church services…God is manifest in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily, in the now, in the concreate incarnations of life. That’s opposed to God holding out for the pure, the spiritual, the right idea, or the ideal anything. This is why Jesus stands religion on its head…”  The above text is from Father Richard Rohr in his 2008 book “Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality.”   Deacon Bob Lemay reminded me about his book I read about 12 years ago.  Bob and I are Richard Rohr fans. This Rohr offering is a good and appropriate reflection for all of us as we are denied access to our church building and in-person religious services.  “God is disguised as our life” we should remember. 

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.  And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. (John 3:16-21) According to John, people prefer darkness to light because their works are evil and must be hidden.  It’s true that the cover of darkness is convenient, but many people do their evil d

The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the Apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.  Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas (which is translated Ason of encouragement”), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, sold a piece of property that he owned, then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles. (Acts 4:32-37) Today’s first reading reminds us of the importance of helping others during these difficult times of loss of employment, closed businesses, no paychecks, and many bills still to pay.  We are part of a community of believers supposed to be of one heart and mi

After their release Peter and John went back to their own people and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them. And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, “Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them… (Acts 4:23-31).  This part of today’s first reading should help us recall Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter “On Care For Our Common Home” (Laudato Si).  Here’s an especially relevant excerpt: “IV. The Message of Each Creature in the Harmony of Creation” Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose. None is superfluous. The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God.  The history of our friendship with God is always linked to particular places which take on an intensely personal meaning; we all remember places,

Deacon Pierce Homily 10:30 Mass Today is the Sunday of Divine Mercy.  All of us cry out for God’s mercy and deliverance from the coronavirus that has paralyzed our nation and economy and, most important, has caused 100,000’s of infections and 10’s of thousands of deaths in the US.  Some of us may have lost friends or relatives. There are many very sad stories of job loss, sickness, and death, but even more tales of courage by health care workers, emergency personnel, first-responders, and those who clean and disinfect – just to name a few. God, bless them and have mercy on them all. We’re still social distancing, and our church is empty. But we know many are looking on and listening in to hear the Word of God, to pray, and to hope for an end to the health and economic rampage of this virus we call COVID-19. Ironically, this abbreviation spells out Christ Our Victor In Death. That’s what happened at Easter.  We wait and hope for the world’s resurrection from weeks and months of

Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus. Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them, they could say nothing in reply.  So, they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, and conferred with one another, saying, “What are we to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign was done through them, and we cannot deny it. But so that it may not be spread any further among the people, let us give them a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name.” So they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” After threatening t

After the crippled man had been cured, while Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees confronted them, disturbed that  they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They laid hands on Peter and John and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word came to believe and the number of men grew to about five thousand.  On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class. They brought them into their presence and questioned them, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of yo

As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John, all the people hurried in amazement toward them in the portico called “Solomon’s Portico.” When Peter saw this, he addressed the people, “You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this, and why do you look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus  whom you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence, when he had decided to release him.  You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong, and the faith that comes through it has given him this perfect health, in the presence of all of you. Now I know, brothers and sisters, that you acted out of ignorance, just

Peter and John were going up to the temple area for the three o’clock hour of prayer. And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,  and said, “Look at us.” He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”  Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.  And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day. (Matthew 28:8-15) Liars!  How we all dislike liars whether those in politics or in our e

We’re usually judged by the friends we keep.  In what crowd(s) do we circulate?   Sometimes that judgement can be a bit unfair, but usually it’s a good indicator of what we believe and whose opinions we share. Troubling in the extreme, at least for me, was the following account: “President Donald Trump said Friday that he’ll attend Easter services on Sunday, virtually, along with congregants of Dallas’ First Baptist Church, where his friend and advisor is senior pastor.  “I’m going to be watching Pastor Robert Jeffress,” Trump said at his daily coronavirus task force briefing.  “He’s been a great guy, and I’m going to be watching on a laptop…”  Jeffress has said, “God sends good people to hell.  Not only do religions like Mormonism, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism – not only do they lead people away from God, they lead people to an eternity of separation from God in hell.  You know Jesus was very clear; Hell is not only going to be populated by murderers, and drug dealers, and child

Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, has written the book: “The Hope of Glory – Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross” (2020).  As noted on the book jacket: “Writing in a tone more intimate than any of his previous works, Jon Meacham returns us to the moment that transformed Jesus from a historical figure into the proclaimed Son of God, worshiped by billions.”   Meacham concluded his text with the following: …God’s creation remains a place of perplexity.  Jesus, we are often taught, is the answer, but if you are anything like me you surely wish there weren’t so damned many questions.  What, then, do we know for certain?  That we should love one another as we would be loved, take care of the least of these, keep the feast in remembrance of Our Lord’s sacrifice, and remain open, always open, to the mysterious grace of God.  Yet how easy such things are to say, or to preach, and how hard, how very hard, they are to do. No matter where one stands in terms o

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men.  Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”  Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then

Today is Good Friday.  We read about the cross and Jesus’ fate.  Here’s a story.  At the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood had reached the size of a mighty oak tree.  So strong and firm was the wood that it was chosen as the timber for Jesus’ cross. To be used for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the dogwood.  While nailed upon it, Jesus sensed this, and in his compassion, he said, “Because of your pity for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used for a cross.  Henceforth, it shall be slender, bent, and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross – two long and two short petals.” “In the center of the outer edge of each petal will be the print of nails.  In the center of the flower, stained with blood, will be a crown of thorns so that all who see it will remember.” I'll never look at a pink dogwood tree the same way again.  I will remember.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.  The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. “This is

Here’s an ancient Russian legend. Once upon a time two thieves repented.  They had been partners in thieving and in injustice, and they now sought to make restitution and do penance together.  They were both given the same penance by the monk.  Each was to carry a cross across the desert and arrive at the city to celebrate his conversion.   Both started out enthusiastically, shouldering their fifty-pound crosses.  The first day they struggled, sweating.  The second and third days were torture; their water supply was getting low, the desert hotter, and their crosses seemed heavier.  The desert stretched endlessly; its horizon blurry, but they plodded on. Late on the third day, while they rested, one decided to shorten his cross.  It was still his cross, just substantially shorter.  The other decided to thin his out, and he cut it lengthwise.  It was still his cross but mush thinner.  Both were more manageable, and the next two or three days went much easier.  But the men were al

Hear me, O islands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. (Isaiah 49:1-6) Our first reading testifies to what we may not realize or truly appreciate – our capability: our potential to battle on behalf of Jesus, our Christ.   We have sharp edges meaning we can aggressively defend the Church and obey Jesus’ commandments when we decide not to hide in the shadows.  If our edges are dulled from rust and non-use, our faith is our whetstone. Too many of us are complacent and concealed and hid as in quivers where we are not drawn and ready to assume the purpose of an arrow: to be polished and knowledgeable of our faith enabling us to hit targets such as the hearts of our young needing to understand the love of God and the valu

From Father Richard Rohr's lessons: My Yoke Is Easy and My Burden Is Light - Monday,  April 6, 2020  Life is hard, and yet Jesus says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28). It is hard to bear God—but it is even harder not to bear God. The pain one brings upon oneself by living outside of evident reality is a greater and longer-lasting pain than the brief pain of facing it head on. Enlightened people invariably describe the spiritual experience of God as resting, peace, delight, and even ecstasy. If our religion has no deep joy and no inherent contentment about it, then it is not the real thing. If our religion is primarily fear of self, the world, and God; if it is primarily focused on meeting religious duties and obligations, then it is indeed a hard yoke and heavy burden. I’d go so far as to say that it’s hardly worthwhile. I think the promise from Jesus that his burden is easy and light seeks to reassure us that rigid and humorless religion is not his

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So, Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” 

April 5, 2020, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over... …When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so…” …Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirt

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.”  But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. (John 11:45-56) This Gospel passage provides an important clue as to why the

I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail and take our vengeance on him.”  But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart.  Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!    (Jeremiah 20:10-13) This reading from Jeremiah is a rallying call for anyone persecuted unjustly – perhaps through social media bullying and political affiliation.  Terror can be the result of cruel and shameful gossiping by pretend “friends” watching our every move and waiting for those moments – misste

When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him: “My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations. No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations. I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.” God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.”   (Genesis 17:3-9) Impressive encounter!  God spoke directly to Abram apparently in the language Abram could understand.  Then God gave him a new name: Abraham.   God made many promises to Abr

King Nebuchadnezzar said: “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up? Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue that you set up.” Do we fall down and worship golden statues?  Do we hear the sounds of advertisers trumpeting their goods and wooing us to buy, and buy, and buy?  The expensive bills-come-due ma