Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God... that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn, and the Lord may fulfill the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
‘If your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel.’”
G.K Chesterton, in his book What I saw in America, found a place most unusual to him. Oklahoma City claimed to have no history. Recently plundered from the indigenous people, the pioneers, planners, and settlers eagerly built a city with, what seemed to them, no past. Only a future. They were untroubled by any story or doctrine of Original Sin.
Our scripture readings today tell us a less fanciful story of the transition from past to future in the crisis of the moment. In the first reading, King David lay on his deathbed and spoke to his most favored son, Solomon. He bequeathed to him the key --hardly a secret -- of his success, which was his fidelity to God. "Keep the mandate of the Lord...."
More important than military preparedness or sound financial management is the practice of faith. Maintaining one's health, adapting new technologies, continual learning, social connections, staying current with memes, fads and fashions: all these may be important but most important is fidelity to God, that you may succeed in whatever you do.
Today's gospel also concerns the crisis of the moment as Jesus sends his fledgling disciples on their first missionary venture. They must be prepared for the day when he will not be there in the flesh to personally guide them. Even while he is alive, they should be guided and energized by his spirit.
Nor should they be satisfied with half-measures. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who annihilated the Egyptian army as he led the Hebrews out of slavery and into the Promised Land was never satisfied with half-measures. God's people must remain faithful to me "with their whole heart and with their whole soul."
Speaking to Christian slaves -- or today's employees -- Saint Paul urged,
Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ.
On this third day of February and thirty-fourth day of 2022, a calendar day like any other, the scriptures remind us of the crisis of this moment. Compelled by the past into the future, we keep our faith even as some Oklahomans held tight their Bibles.
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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.