Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (first published 6 November 2005)
A colleague of mine recently returned from a visit to India. One of
the places she visited was Calcutta, where the Missionaries of Charity
continue to operate after the death of their founder, Mother Teresa.
Because of her life of service and dedication to the poor, Mother Teresa
is on the fast track to becoming a saint in the Roman Catholic Church,
having already been declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2003. It is
not only Catholics who revere her, however. My friend reported that many
Hindus in Calcutta now count Mother Teresa as a Hindu goddess, and she
showed us photos of people coming to revere her. The idea that a new god
or goddess could be added to the pantheon in modern times is hard for most
people in the West to understand, as is the possibility of choosing from
among many deities one who would be the chief object of one's worship.
If we don't understand the real possibility of choosing one god among many
to worship, then we don't understand the background of today's reading
from the book of Joshua. Modern Jews and Christians often quote a portion
of this passage as an affirmation of our faith in the God of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
We don't always pay much attention to what proceeds it: "Choose this day
whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region
beyond the (Euphrates) River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you
are living." The choice the Israelites faced was a real one. The concept
of absolute monotheism did not yet exist, so Yahweh was just one god among
many that they might have chosen. Joshua was challenging them to consider
what Yahweh had done for them and their ancestors and to choose to serve
Yahweh rather than any of the other gods who were viable alternatives.
Because those of us raised under the influence of the three major Western
religions accept monotheism as a given, we rarely if ever consider the
alternatives to worshiping our God. After all, since there is only one
God, are there any real options when it comes to worship, other than just
not worshiping at all? I think there are, and I think many Christians in
today's world have fallen into the worship of other gods without realizing
it. One alternative god is Money, also known as Greed. Another god is
Pleasure. Others are Family, Career, Happiness, and Power. These gods
are fairly obvious, and many acknowledge both their existence and the draw
that they have on people today. I believe that there is another, more
insidious, god that many people worship today, one that hides in plain
sight. This god takes the name of the true God, but substitutes its own
soul for God's. This god is a nationalistic god whose followers
substitute patriotism for a concern for the whole world. This god is a
capitalistic god whose followers value personal gain over caring for the
poor. This god is a chauvinistic god whose followers consider men more
worthy than women. This god is a homophobic god whose followers use the
language of family values to mask their prejudice against gays. This god
is a sectarian god whose followers deny entry into their god's kingdom to
any who do not share exactly the same faith experiences. This is the god
that too many people in our country and around the world worship on Sunday
mornings and serve throughout the week. There is a choice to make today,
just as there was in Joshua's day. Will we serve one of the alternative
gods, some of whom masquerade as the true God, or will we commit ourselves
to the God whose love is available to all people equally?
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 (first published 25 September 2005)
Why do we study history? We do so for several reasons. First, we
study history because it helps us to understand why the world is the way
it is. Second, history gives us a sense of where we fit into the great
scheme of world events. Third, as we analyze and re-sift the data, and as
we discover new data, we come to new and sometimes better understandings
of the past. Fourth, we study history in order to learn from the
successes and failures of our predecessors. Fifth, from a negative
perspective, we study history so that we don't repeat our previous
mistakes. As the philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who do not
remember the past are condemned to relive it." History is a retelling of
the past, but one question we always need to keep in mind is, whose
history are we recounting? The psalmist gives us the official Israelite
perspective on history, praising God for the miracles associated with the
exodus and God's provision in the desert. If we read the whole psalm, we
find that the psalmist recalls the shortcomings of the Israelites and
God's punishment of those who were unfaithful. However, since the psalm
presents the official Jewish (i.e., southern) perspective, the Israelites
of the north (Ephraim) are disparaged more than the descendants of the
tribe of Judah. If this psalm had been written in the north, how would it
have been different? The psalmist might well have included the rebellion
of the people against God and God's subsequent judgment, but he might also
have noted those in the north who were faithful to God and did not rebel,
people whose names have, for the most part, fallen out of the history
compiled in the south. The psalmist might also have chosen to emphasize
the failings of the south relative to the north, such as the role
Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, played in the dissolution of the kingdom.
Which of these histories would be more accurate? The answer is that both
are accurate, because they truthfully record events of the past, but they
offer varying perspectives, emphases, and interpretations of past events.
Those of us who were raised hearing the official national narrative of
U.S. history from an early age, particularly if we graduated from high
school many years ago, might be shocked to learn that alternative
histories of the U.S. have been written and offer a quite different
perspective. Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee presents a
history of the Old West from a Native American perspective, which
naturally takes a dim view of the westward push of the United States and
the displacement and frequent slaughter of the Indians. Howard Zinn's
A People's History of the United States avoids focusing on the acts
of presidents and Congress and instead tells the story of the common
people, especially those who were least able to speak for themselves in
their own day. American history can be told from many perspectives: white
males, African Americans, women, businesses and corporations, labor
movements and unions, the rich, and the underclass, just to name a few.
If we really want to understand our world today, we would be well served
to familiarize ourselves with perspectives other than the official
perspective or those that serve the needs of our own social class. All
these histories offer interpretations of history that are valid for
certain groups of people. As Christians, it is our duty to understand as
well as we can the perspectives of those who differ from us so that we can
begin to build bridges between ourselves and others. As the psalmist
says, "We will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the
Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done." For our portrait
of God to be convincing and meaningful to other people, we must take into
account their understanding of both God and history.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 (first published 6 November 2005)
In Buddhist thought, life is characterized by suffering. When one life
is over, it begins again in a different form, born again to suffer.
After many such lives, through dint of effort and enlightenment, it is
possible to pass out of life into Nirvana, where one finally escapes
suffering and is joined with others in the great world-soul. Passion,
desire, and even consciousness are extinguished, and the soul find perfect
peace. Eternal life is a great evil in the Buddhist way of thinking, for
it implies both continued suffering and the failure to attain
enlightenment. In Christian thought, by contrast, eternal life itself is
peace, because in eternity the believer abides with God. As Augustine
said, "Inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te": "Our heart is
restless until it rests in you." Paul writes to comfort the Thessalonians
who have lost loved ones before Christ has returned to collect his
faithful, an event assumed to be in the near future. Don't worry, Paul
says, for the dead won't be forgotten but will join the living in rising
to meet Christ at his Parousia. This passage tells us that Christians,
like Buddhists and people of many other faiths, long for the rest that can
only come through union with the divine. Whether that rest comes through
losing one's own identity, as in classical Buddhism, or involves the
retention of identity, as in Christian thought, it is a desire that unites
humanity. Like Job's friend Eliphaz, we know that human suffering is just
as natural as the upward drift of sparks from a fire (Job
5:7), and at some point in our lives, if we live long enough, we long
for rest. It is the assurance of rest in the presence of God that Paul
says we can count on, not some particular order of resurrection or rapture
or timetable for the second coming. The exact sequence of events is of
little concern to Paul, as it was of little concern to his readers. What
they wanted to know was whether their loved ones who had gone on before
them would partake in the rest of the Lord alongside those who remained
behind. Yes they will, Paul said. All who love God, living or dead, will
find rest for their restless souls in God.
Matthew 22:34-46 (first published 6 November 2005)
Toward the end of the first century C.E., Christians in Judea and Galilee were expelled from their spiritual home, the synagogue. In retrospect, it was probably necessary for Jews and Christians to separate, since Christianity was becoming predominantly Gentile and since its belief system was beginning to depart radically from that of rabbinic Judaism. At the time, though, the rift was painful. What would the newly orphaned community do? Could they survive the time of turmoil and persevere until Jesus returned as he had promised? The Gospel of Matthew is addressed to a Jewish Christian audience, probably one that had separated from the synagogue, perhaps in the fairly recent past. As they struggled with new social realities, many of them felt helpless: sad about their break from the past and uncertain about their preparedness for the future. The parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins deals with the trepidation and aimlessness that many of them felt. The message to the church that the parable teaches is the importance of preparedness. In the story, five of the bridesmaids were ready for the coming of bridegroom's party, and five were not. Alongside the lesson concerning the need for preparation, another deals with the fact that no one can prepare someone else for the eventualities of life. Much as we would like to prepare our children, our families, or our friends, we can't do it. All we can do is pray, show them the ropes, and lead by example. Are you ready for whatever God brings your way?