Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 254

I will maintain my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

When the Emperor Constantine decreed that Christianity would be the religion of the Roman Empire, Christians assumed an authority and confidence unheard of in the Bible. By that time, Jews and Christians agreed, “There is no god but God,” a creed adopted by Islam. All other deities were imaginary, “figments of the imagination.” Those who worshipped Abraham’s God could regard people who worshipped non-gods as deluded, at best. They might even be foolish, stupid, or evil.

Scripture scholars point out that this exclusive kind of monotheism evolved slowly through the history of the Bible.  In more ancient times the people we might call Hebrews were not monotheistic but henotheistic. They worshipped their God and had no use for the gods of Egypt, Babylon, Persia, or even the ancient gods of the Canaanites.

Jewish monotheism appeared not when the Jews had conquered other nations and imposed their religion upon their enemies, but when they were defeated and driven into exile. In a spirit of defiance, which must have been the Holy Spirit, Deutero-Isaiah declared, there is no other god.

Thus says the LORD, Israel’s king,

its redeemer, the LORD of hosts:

I am the first, I am the last;

there is no God but me.

Who is like me? Let him stand up and declare,

make it evident, and confront me with it.

I recall this history because we live in post-Christian times when, once again, most Americans believe in other gods. I think especially of The Economy, Security, and Nationalism. In deference to The Economy, children are not fed, the unborn are aborted, the poor are denied health care, and the Earth’s environment is polluted. In some states, the elderly are encouraged to seek “medically assisted suicide.” Economy says we can’t afford to care for more people, (unless they are wealthy). Security says, “I must have more money, more weaponry, and more national treasure." In deference to Nationalism, Americans refuse to cooperate with other nations in addressing pandemics and financial crises.

Inevitably, the worship of idols invites punishing retribution. The Hebrew prophets saw that clearly. God’s elect had failed to care for widows, orphans, and aliens. Their cities were deeply divided between rich and poor, with the starving living in sight of the well-fed.

Devout Jews, heeding the Word of the Prophets, accepted the guilt of their infidelity and turned back to the Lord. They streamed out of Jerusalem and the Judean countryside to receive a baptism of repentance from John the Baptist. Although the Bible recalls their sins and their guilt seems overwhelming – and many racists use these texts to condemn Jews -- the fact that they treasured the words of the prophets shows their repentance and fidelity to God. The Spirit remains with them to this day.

Christians are challenged to recognize and accept our guilt, individually and as Church, while living in a nation which worships foreign gods. Like our neighbors, we have also been anxious about money, security, and our standing as a superior nation. Penance reminds us of our own prayer, “I thank you God that I am not like the those who worship money.” Although we are the same people! It remembers how we regarded their idolatry as foolish, stupid, or evil. We surely cannot condemn those with whom we share such guilt. If I have ever considered myself white, I am also a racist.

The spirit of penance, contrary to expectations, is empowering. Instead of blaming others for the troubles they bring upon me and my people, and rendering myself powerless, I act. I confess, “I have sinned; we have sinned.” Repenting, I can do something useful and effective. I turn back to God. I will not blame Democrats or Republicans, Protestants, Jews, or Muslims; Europeans, Asians, or Africans. I have better things to do! I can pray, “Dear God, forgive my foolishness and have pity on us.”