Song:
"They That Wait upon the Lord"

Scripture:
• Daniel 2:1-5 – The King's Unreasonable Demand – unjust laws are all too prevalent in present-day occupations (examples: collective punishment in the West Bank, IMF structural adjustment policies).
• Daniel 2:10-13 – A Volatile Enraged Monarch Issues a Death Order – Note the pleas of the Bees in Chiapas or the Aboriginal efforts in Canada and the USA.
• Daniel 2:14-18 – Intervention by God's Quartet of Captives – Noteworthy elements in their nonviolent direct action strategy include requesting more time; working as an Anabaptist team; inviting prayer; connecting with the source of Life and Mystery.

Song:
"Singing for our Lives"

Litany: (based on Daniel 2:19-23)
L: Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night
P: And Daniel blessed the God of Heaven
L: Blessed be the name of God from age to age
P: For wisdom and power are God's
L: God changes times and seasons; sets up kings and deposes them.
P: God gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
L: God reveals deep and hidden things;
P: God knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with the Creator.
ALL: We thank and praise you, O God of our ancestors, for you have given us wisdom and power and have revealed what we asked.

Reader:
With the vision of the dream and its meaning secure in his hip pocket, Daniel goes back to Arioch, the Prime Minister in charge of executions, who wisely brings Daniel into the royal presence (Daniel 2:25-30). In the end, lives are saved, God is glorified and the four Hebrew foreigners are given promotions. (Daniel 2:46-49)

Reflections
What aspects of the story are instructive? Note that Divine Obedience led the Daniel affinity group into further witness - as into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) and the Lion's Den (Daniel 6). The Babylon in which the Hebrew captives witnessed is today's Iraq with devastating sanctions. Or consider Carl Meyer's July 10, 1999 statement: "For these reasons of conscience, and because I place my allegiance to God higher than my allegiance to the United States, I openly state my refusal to register with the Selective Service and my willingness to accept the legal consequences of this choice."

Prayer

Song:
"This Little Light of Mine"