Fr Ken among Knights of Columbus |
Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!
The Good News of
God’s Kingdom sometimes comes down as bad news. There are a great many calls to
repentance and frequent vilifying remarks about sinful behavior. The Hebrew
prophets, followed by John the
Baptist, seldom have any flattering remarks about God’s chosen people, their
kings or priests, their city or nation. When they issue good news it is that
God has forgiven them, favored them, and will save or has already saved them.
A society that
concerns itself with success, self-esteem and a positive self-image and is
reasonably comfortable with its situation may have little interest in warnings
about sin or glad tidings of forgiveness. Surrounding itself with powerful
armies, enormous navies, ferocious marines, terrifying air forces and daunting
coast guards, not to mention national guards and state, county and local police
forces it hardly needs a benevolent deity. And a God who continually warns of
its sins – its failure to care for the unborn, the elderly, the poor, the sick
and the alien – will probably be ignored.
Personally I take some
comfort in knowing the Word of God was no more welcome among the ancient Israelites
than it is in modern America . Jerusalem may have been dominated by its most sacred
shrine, Solomon ’s Temple , but it was also peppered with smaller
shrines to many Canaanite and foreign deities. Many of the pilgrims who
streamed into the Temple also paid their respects in the lesser houses of worship, visiting other
heavenly patrons. Canny politicians who knew how to retain the loyalty of their
subjects also paid homage to the lesser gods and endowed their shrines with
ornaments of gold and silver.
Certainly Solomon ’s Temple was the grandest of them all and honored the Hebrew
deity whose name – YHWH – must never be pronounced. Those Israelites who
claimed ancestry from Moses and
the Egyptian slaves had pride of place in Jerusalem ; but there were always foreigners, Canaanites
and Philistines, throughout Israel and their religions offered certain
advantages to less scrupulous consumers.
If it were not so we
would not hear the Prophets raising hell about it -- as American Christian preachers
do today.
To be sure, many Yahwist
faithful never deviated in the faithful love of Moses ’ God. Theirs was the tradition that survived
the tribulations to this day. And it will survive our day as well. The Jewish, Christian
and Muslim religions have seen nations and empires rise and fall. Each of them
has been many times declared dying or dead beneath the clay feet of other
now-forgotten deities.
And still we hear, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse , and from his roots a bud shall
blossom.” If it were not a stump we would not be so surprised at its
vitality.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.