“There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town...."
Comedy and terror often accompany one another in the entertainment industry. Actors in a horror movie are sometimes overcome as their story builds a tension which must snap into spine-tingling sensations when the ghoul appears, or hysterical laughter. In today's readings a comical story follows a terrifying story of God's wrath descending upon Egypt.
In the first story, God's appearance, though it descends in silent darkness, wreaks violence and death upon the unsuspecting oppressors of Israel; in the second, God works mysteriously as an unpleasant widow harasses an unscrupulous judge. In both stories, fear plays its parts and justice is restored.
The stories remind us of the Lord's pervasive, intense presence. This theme is constant in the Bible and in our Church; little by little God's kingdom must saturate our lives. We are never far from God's authoritative love, though we sometimes try to remove ourselves.
Those foolish attempts don't draw us closer to friends, family, or reality; they only lead us into an imaginary world of our own construction. It is a house of cards built on sand, and doomed from the outset.
Sometimes other people join us in these imaginary worlds. Perhaps they find them entertaining, distracting, or rewarding in some way. But when they realize how little we're willing to share our creativity with them; when they see that we're playing god; and in our world they must obey our whims and fancies, they shear off to find other amusement. Alcoholics, for instance, prefer the company of other alcoholics, and they sometimes attract codependent persons who support them in their disease, until the disease consumes and destroys everyone involved.
Wisdom can be a delightful charmer, a nagging widow, or an angel of doom, but her mission is always to draw us back to the Lord and obedience to him. Wisely, we come back to the Way.
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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.