Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 390

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,

it would have remained until this day.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Only recently I heard again on public radio that common misconception: the Old Testament God is arbitrary and vengeful; the New Testament God is loving and merciful. People use this trope to say they know the Bible, only to prove they don't. How do they deal with Jesus' severe condemnations of  Chorazin and Bethsaida? They've not heard those passages.

As a chaplain I watch patients return to the hospital repeatedly for alcohol detox. They suffer a severe punishment for what they hoped might be momentary relief. It wasn't even that but they thought, "It will be different this time."

If they're willing to hear anything I might remind them, "Freedom is a jealous God."

Like a jealous spouse, freedom demands continual attention. I must pay attention when I drive in heavy traffic; a moment of distraction can be fatal. So long as I remain alert and focused I have a reasonable expectation -- but no guarantee -- of arriving safely at my destination.

If I care about someone and want to remain a friend, I speak the truth to him. A single distortion or careless half-truth might haunt both of us for a long time to come. As someone has said, "If you tell the truth it becomes part of your past. If you tell a lie, it becomes part of your future."

If life demands so much continual awareness and personal integrity; and punishes sins so severely, we should not be surprised that the Lord who wants only good for us demands our attention.

In today's first reading King Ahaz is sorely distracted by an enormous Babylonian army surrounding Jerusalem. They have already demolished innumerable villages and towns; they are preparing to siege the city, breach the walls, and murder every citizen. Common sense says he should surrender and hope for mercy from a merciless enemy. There is little time left when the Prophet Isaiah confronts Ahaz with counsel from God, "Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail."

Even in that desperate moment a jealous God demands faith.

Some people regard religion and faith as pleasant pastimes; stories, songs and rituals to entertain children and relax adults. But when there's work to do, when the wolf is at the door, they put religion aside in favor of more practical chores.

Our long memory reminds us we cannot risk ignoring God. Hard times test our faith in God as they test marital fidelity and parental responsibility. The individual is tempted to forget everything and everyone in his struggle to survive. But the faithful spouse would not want to survive at the cost of losing the beloved; a good parent does not abandon the child.

Hard experience has told us we cannot be faithful to our family without fidelity to God. You shall not bow down to any other god, for the LORD—“Jealous” is his name—is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14)

In one of her visions Julian of Norwich saw the Lord holding what appeared to be a hazelnut in his hand. "Julian," he said, "Do you know what this is?"

"No, Lord." She replied. "What is it?"

"It's the universe which I hold in the palm of my hand."

Julian reflected on that and realized that the Lord holds us in existence by his loving gaze. Should he look away we would cease to exist; we would never have been.

We too are a jealous people, needing and wanting the Lord's continual, endless love. By his attentive, unrelenting mercy we live with the freedom of the children of God.