Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Elijah, John the Baptist, and all the prophets of the Old and New Testaments -- and especially Jesus the Lord of Prophets -- call us to repent. "Turn away from sin and live by the Gospel."
We know nothing of Christmas or Easter without the conviction that I am a person "with unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips."
Living within any human community -- be it hamlet, city, or nation -- we must make ethical compromises to survive. And prospering requires even more compromise than survival.
I often think of James Michener's observation about the first New England missionaries who went to Hawaii. He said something like, "They went to do good, and did very well indeed." Predictably for the time, the races did not mingle, and their children were not Hawaiian. They were well educated in American ways and prospered as bankers, lawyers, and business people. Their gospel was American, tainted with white superiority, prosperity, and success.
But there is no Christian or Catholic who has not absorbed without question certain values which have no foundation in the Word of God. Not even the rarefied subculture of monasteries and convents could completely erase them. They're often rooted in our languages.
And so we ask God to forgive also our unknown faults and sins:
But who can detect their own errors?
From hidden faults acquit me.
But if survival requires compromise and prospering even more compromise, we flourish by turning back to the Lord.
We do that as we listen to the Lord who reveals our meaning and purpose, and guides us through the narrow straits of Truth. This is no easy voyage and requires a certain violence. As Jesus said,
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. (Matt 11:12)
Because the Lord has lived in our world, shared our food, wore our clothes, and engaged in the same financial transactions -- that is, he has also made certain necessary compromises on his way to Calvary -- we practice our penances with great confidence. No one knows what human perfection might look like, but we know he walks with us, helping us to make the right choices as we glorify God by our holy way of life.
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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.