Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062512.cfm

They rejected his statutes,
the covenant which he had made with their fathers,
and the warnings which he had given them, till,
in his great anger against Israel,
the LORD put them away out of his sight.
Only the tribe of Judah was left.

In Minnesota several years ago, a lone fisherman drove his truck out on the thick ice of a frozen lake, sawed a hole in the ice and began fishing. Another fellow drove by and asked, “Are they biting?” Receiving an affirmative he parked his truck, opened a hole and began fishing. Soon a third fisherman pulled up in a third vehicle; and a fourth, and a fifth, and so forth – until the ice gave way and all the trucks sank. So who sinned that they should suffer such a punishment?

We might ask the same of Israel and Jerusalem. Is it fair of God to punish a city for the sins of its people? Aren’t cities by their very nature multi-cultural conglomerations of people with varying tastes in religion, culture and values? Some are scofflaws but most people comply with the law most of the time; only a few are scrupulously, habitually honest. If God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of ten honest citizens, could he not spare the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem for their ancient, holy traditions, despite their sins?

Historians and anthropologists will say Israel and Jerusalem were doomed from the start, as are all cities and nations. Human beings don’t stay anywhere very long. History is replete with nations and cities that have appeared and disappeared. Inevitably, there is climate change or the depletion of resources. Cities consume the land around them, cutting down trees and stripping the soil. If they do not simply disappear they are overrun and sacked by the neighbors who have not yet consumed their own resources.

North America has witnessed the rise and fall of several civilizations before the coming of the Europeans. Even Rome, the “Eternal City,” suffered neglect and fell into ruin when the Avignon popes abandoned it. Their collapse had little to do with their morals. Ancient traders like Abraham frequented the ruins of cities that had disappeared centuries before they were born. Is it fair to say the fall of nations and cities is due to sin?

Doctors, police, social workers and ministers are familiar with the secret sins of the city. Can anyone expect the general population of husbands and wives to be always faithful to one another? Children to care for their aging parents? Neighbors to repay their debts? Teens to wait until marriage? Aren’t these ethical demands too much to ask?

The scriptures say "No. God is right to judge his people, their nations and their cities." He claims them as his holy people and they have repeatedly renewed their covenant with him. God wants more than mediocre virtue for all the blessings he has poured upon them.

Despite our persistent failing and continual sins it is not impossible to live by grace. In the Book of Deuteronomy, the Lord insists:

For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.

Recently the Catholic Church has taken what appears to be a foolish stand. The bishops insist that the Church opposes abortion, artificial insemination and birth control. They make their stand despite the majority of American Catholics who do practice, or have practiced, birth control; and the many Catholic women who have had abortions. The bishops seem to be charging up a hill without an army behind them.

Are their demands "too wondrous or remote" for us. Are the Bishops simply behind the times? 

But sexual standards have shifted so far that few remember the core blessings of marriage. When sociologists teach young people to expect to be married three times and divorced twice we have lost our bearings altogether. When "gay marriage" is treated like a human right comparable to intermarriage between ethnic groups and races, we have forgotten the reproductive nature of sexuality. 

Perhaps we should expect the ice to break beneath us. Like the foolish, eager fishermen, we've forgotten common sense. A house built on sand, no matter how well pretty, will collapse. 

The Catholic Church may lose another generation in the United States and around the world during this controversy. Many people expect it. Or, what is more likely, a generation of people will come to their senses and thank us for our fidelity to the truth.