Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God.
Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’
and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.
In the twenty centuries since the earthly ministry of Jesus, humankind has developed a frightening ability to move mountains, drain oceans, raise islands, and fill valleys. That's child's play anymore. Look out, Mars, here we come!
We're not so adept at removing the mountains of abortion, racism, poverty, addiction, and suicide. Even a small hillock like a pandemic takes an enormously generous effort on the part of millions of people before it budges. (And now, as the threat subsides, many people will declare it never was a threat.)
But this message, as vital as it is, is not apparently addressed to every citizen of every nation. Jesus speaks to his disciples about faith and its effects. We're the ones who must use our faith to move the Earth to repentance, or lose our faith and the Earth with all its peoples.
The movement begins, as always, with myself and my church. As the Psalmist says in 106, "We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and are guilty." With every Mass we own our sins; with every time we enter the church, dipping our fingers in the holy water font, we recall our obligation to turn away from sin and live by the Gospel. And periodically, we must look at the structures, customs, and habits of our parishes and dioceses to discover what we would rather not see.
If my religion does not make me feel very uncomfortable occasionally, it's obviously not from God.
With the realization of our own sins, overt and covert, occasional and habitual, we ask where they come from. Often they are "cultural." There was a time when philosophers and people in general assumed that the way things are is the way things are. Kings rightfully rule; the poor you always have with you; no one can change the weather.
Discovering the Anthropocene Age has changed all that. We made this world as it is, we must answer for it. That mountain is there not by God's design but ours. We can change the way we govern ourselves; the Economy is a human construct, governed by the principles we built into it. There is no need to throw it into the sea but the impassable chasm between wealth and poverty -- as Jesus described in the Gospel of Saint Luke -- can be filled with compassion.
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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.