If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
"You can't get there from here!" we might say to someone who asked directions. It's a ridiculous statement, intended to amuse, but it's sometimes true. We might more accurately say, "You're going the wrong direction. To get where you want to go, you'll have to go back and start over."
We might even add, "Now, pay attention and I'll get you there!" In the VA hospital, employees should not only direct bewildered Veterans, they should go with them to make sure they get there!
"Choose life!" Moses urges us in today's verses from Deuteronomy. Confronted by epidemics of drug abuse, alcoholism, gun violence, and suicide, we might ask, "Where did we go wrong?" At one point did we as a nation choose death, thinking that perhaps this alternate route might be the easier, more exciting, more rewarding way?
Was it 1973 and the Roe v. Wade decision which overthrew laws against abortion in all fifty states? (It appears the Supreme Court might reconsider that tragically misguided decision.) Was it the Civil War which attempted to rid the nation of slavery and only partially succeeded? Was it the Revolutionary War, or the European invasion of North America? Was it the belief that Capitalism is not a Ponzi Scheme since the earth can provide enough for the poor and superabundance for the rich? Was it the confident belief that Christians should baptize all nations by force of arms, without demonstrating the humility of God, while -- incidentally -- plundering their natural resources?
Yes, it was all that and more. Liberal, conservative, and fundamentalist Christians agree, we set out in the wrong direction at the outset, in the Garden of Eden. God did not make evil; it was and remains our choice; and it's gotten worse ever since.
But we cannot return to the Garden of Eden. Not even if "we" were to populate Mars or some distant exoplanet. That expedition would only carry the evil with them as the drunken Noah and his progeny resumed the history of sin.
Rather, we return to the beginning of metaphysical existence and our human identity by the death/resurrection of Baptism.
When Jesus saw that the poverty of the wealthiest one percent was deeper than his homelessness, and the power of the Roman armies could not match his defenselessness, he invited us to go with him to Calvary. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
The journey is long and no one should expect to see a better world in their own lifetime. The arc of justice is too long for that. In the meanwhile, we have the first fruit of the Holy Spirit to assure us: we are going the right direction, and we will get there from here.
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.