Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
There may be no more mysterious, unexpected, unsearchable, controversial judgement of God than the decision to trust Saint Peter with the keys of the kingdom. If many of God’s decisions are inscrutable, this one is at the top of the list. It is second only to God’s unexpected and unappreciated decision to become a human incarnate being.
The latter has to do with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; and the former, with the Holy Spirit. First, God is invested in the very flesh of a human being; that is, Jesus. That mystery must be revealed for we could never imagine it. And then, the Holy Spirit bestows the authority of Jesus upon other human beings who are far less worthy than the Savior. They should announce the kingdom of God and make disciples of all nations despite their innumerable and flagrantly obvious disqualifications to perform such a task. "For," as the Angel said to Mary, "nothing is impossible with God."
Many people, perhaps all of us, want to be saved. But many of us would also prefer some other way than trusting our eternal salvation into the hands of other men and women. We just don’t want to deal with institutions, organizations, fellowships, and all the messiness of belonging to groups of people with their rules, regulations, customs, traditions, and hidden agendas.
Sure, we might join clubs and societies to pass the time as hobbyists. Religion, for those who dig it, makes for great fellowship among like-minded persons of the same race and socio-economic class. And we might sign into organizations and corporations to get work done and make a place for us in the economic world. That only makes sense.
But the spiritual life? That should remain spiritual. My God doesn’t need or want to get entangled in the morally suspect affairs of this world.
Your god mightn’t, but our God does. The Father showed God’s intense concern for humanity by his covenant with Abraham, his law to Moses, and his promises to David. Jesus showed his intense concern by his life and death and resurrection among us. And finally, the Holy Spirit shows us the Way of Salvation by gathering us into the Church and sending us throughout the world. Animated and empowered by the Spirit, our natural human compassion becomes a divine gift to friends and strangers, to family and foes.
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.