Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you
but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
And yet I do write a new commandment to you,
which holds true in him and among you,
for the darkness is passing away,
and the true light is already shining.
The older I get and the more I see of the post-modern brave new world, the more connected I feel to the old, prehistoric world. We hardly adjust to the present before it's past and new things demand our attention and response.
But that golden era of the ancient past still creeps up on us as the future rushes over us. Attitudes and beliefs we thought dead and dismissed remain virulent. Wars that were supposed to solve irreconcilable differences solved nothing. Modern, scientific education imposed by the enlightened elite left millions in the darkness of stone age superstitions. They just didn't buy it.
The past still offers us a wisdom of hard experience that cannot be dismissed; and a Revelation ever ancient, ever new. Gothic cathedrals of Europe still dazzle post-Christian pagans with the light of faith. If they disagree with its teaching out of fear of changing their Enlightened opinions, they long for its blessed assurance.
The Letters of Saint John, apparently written after the Gospel was published and widely read, reflected further upon its revelations. The author assured his readers that the new commandment to love one another had always been God's word. The Word itself was shown to Abraham and Sarah as they bore Isaac. There is nothing new about loving God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength. And yet the command is new; and as beautiful and intoxicating as the sunrise.
Standing in the gateway of 2022 with the issues of 2021 largely unresolved, we pray that the Ancient Word will go with us. Many crosses must yet appear, many challenges inexplicable and unbearable. Whatever the future reveals it will need the past to explain it, and the Word of God to make it holy.
The Christian enters the future with the assurance of Emmanuel. God with us remains.
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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.