The Christmas hymns talk about the Three Youths in the fiery furnace, but what does that story have to do with Christmas? How does it illuminate the Mystery of God becoming man?
Let’s find out!
THE CAVE AND THE MYSTERY
Last week, we saw how the cave in the Orthodox icon of the Nativity represents protection, death, and salvation! (Click here to see that post).
All of these images are drawn from the Bible and they take us deeper into the mystery of God becoming man in the person of Jesus Christ.
There’s one image, though, I want to look at closer.
That’s the image of salvation!
THE THREE YOUTHS IN THE FURNACE IS ABOUT SALVATION IN A “CAVE”
You’ll recall that one Bible story that helped us to understand how the cave represented salvation was the story of the Three Youths in the furnace fire.
That story comes from Daniel, chapter 3.
Many Israelites had been exiled into the land of Babylon, and the king, named Nebuchadnezzar, built a large golden statue.
He issued a decree that everyone worship this idol; however, there were Three Youths (named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) who refused to worship it.
Nebuchadnezzar was so full of rage that he had all three of them thrown into a fiery furnace, which was so hot that it killed the soldiers who threw the young youths into it.
However, when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he saw them walking around unharmed!
An angel had been sent to save them!
The king was so impressed that he called the youths out of the furnace, and make a proclamation that their God – the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ – be praised.
“Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him…” (Daniel 3:28-29 RSV)
THE CAVE OF CHRIST’S BIRTH IS LIKE THE FURNACE
The fiery furnace is a literary image of a hostile cave, yet within is salvation.
The Three Youths found themselves surrounded by fire and death, yet God saved them.
The point is that Christ is there, in the cave with us, and he saves us.
We also find ourselves in a cave. When we die, we are thrown into the cave of death – our tomb.
But, in the cave of death, we find Christ, and this cave becomes the womb of our new birth – our resurrection!
This is why the Nativity icon shows the birth of the savior in a cave.
But, the mystery goes deeper!
THE FIERY FURNACE IS AN IMAGE OF THE VIRGIN
There’re a few hymns that are sung in the Orthros, or Matins, of the Christmas Day service that draw on the image of the Three Youths.
Here are the words to one of them:
Babylon’s bedewing furnace bore the image * of an extraordinary wonder. * For it did not burn the youths it accepted, * nor did the fire of Divinity consume the Virgin’s womb wherein it went. * So let us melodiously chant in praise: * Let all creation bless and extol the Lord, * and let it exalt Him supremely to the ages.
What an interesting comparison!
Here the Three Youths in the fiery furnace become an image of the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary!
Buy why would the Three Youths be an image for the Mother of God?
GOD’S DIVINITY IS LIKE FIRE
You see, the Old Testament portrays God as being like an all-consuming fire!
The story of Uzzah touching the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God, reminds us of that.
“And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there because he put forth his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:7 RSV)
It isn’t that God is mean, it’s that his divinity is so holy our sinful natures can’t come into contact with it.
So, the early Church wondered: how could the Virgin Mary contain God in her womb and not be burned up?
Have you ever wondered that? Hmm…
Anyway, the Church found her answer in the story of the Three Youths…the Virgin is like the Three Youths who weren’t consumed by the fire!
Another hymn from Christmas also takes us into this mystery:
Standing in fire without burning, the young men * did of old portray thus the womb of the Maiden. * Remaining sealed, supernaturally it gave birth. * Grace with a single miracle-working power * did both, and rouses all the peoples to sing praise.
THE BURNING BUSH IS A SYMBOL OF THE VIRGIN
In fact, once the Church understood that the divinity of Christ did not burn the Mother of God, they realized there’s another image of the Virgin in the Old Testament!
The burning bush!
Scripture says that our Lord, Jesus Christ, spoke to Moses from a burning bush.
“And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2 RSV)
But, like the Three Youths, the bush was not consumed by the divinity of God.
It was another image of Mary – another way to understand how God was united with humanity in the Virgin’s womb!
From this image, the Church gives us a few of the most beautiful icons of the Virgin Mary.
And here’s the icon with a fully developed theology of the Virgin as the unburnt bush.
We look on this icon and remember that true union with God is possible. It’s made possible through Christ, who unites human flesh with the divine presence, and in this, we are renewed and find salvation.
P.S. WE TOO ARE NOT BURNED WHEN UNITED WITH CHRIST!
The image of something not being consumed by the fire of divinity is much more than interesting FYI.
As Christians, we too are called to union with God. This is realized every time we partake of the Holy Eucharist, appropriately called Communion!
When we partake of Holy Communion, we have Christ in us, just like the Virgin!
We should be consumed by the divinity of Christ, but instead, we find salvation!
The Pre-Communion Prayer by St. Symeon the New Theologian reminds us every Sunday of this mystery:
God’s love for humanity “…makes me bold. [And in this boldness] I partake of fire [Communion], with joy and yet with trembling, for I am grass, but – wonder strange – I am refreshed with dew ineffably, just as the bush of old was burning but yet unconsumed.”
So, come this Sunday and enter into the mystery. Partake of fire, yet be unconsumed!
St. Elias Services (2001 Asbury Rd, Dubuque, IA)
Sundays, 9:30 am
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