Currently a tenured professor at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, Bryant acknowledged the destructive wildfires transpiring across Southern California, comparing them to “political fires” globally.  

“What do we do when the fires of destruction are raging?” she asked. “We shall not be consumed, and we will not allow them to extinguish our light.” 

In the text, the prideful Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II threatens and subsequently attempts to incinerate Hebrew youth Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego for their refusal to worship his image; the three would emerge from the fiery furnace unscathed, a testament to their faith and audacity – and, said Bryant, a blueprint for collective action, even in modern times.  

“In their story, we see the echoes of our peoples’ story, and this illuminates the path forward,” Bryant said. 

Bryant particularly spoke to the “strength of our coalition building,” noting that the three were united in their mission. “We cannot be caught up in individualism,” she said. “They moved as a unit. They did not have competing agendas or egos. They were not searching for ways to promote themselves. They were committed to collective liberation.” 

She added that their defiance of the king’s orders was an exercise of “courage rooted in faith,” but also that “you have to be willing to pay the cost” when speaking truth to power. 

“There are consequences for refusing to bow and resisting,” Bryant said. “Consider what is your action, your discipline, your timing, your sphere of influence. Theirs was a public refusal – what’s yours?” 

In her closing, Bryant recommended congregants “find freedom in the fire” to become their most creative and coherent, because “the path to our promotion” often requires resistance. 

“While we do not pray for more fire,” Bryant said, “we pray that God would process us in the fire, so that we might come out more courageous, more clear, more bold, more committed, and more dedicated.”