Saturday, October 30, 2010

The Question

During class the other day one of the students asked a question that developed into a very interesting discussion about the nature of God. He believes, like most of us, that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one. In reading the Bible, however, he pointed out the God of the Old Testament is very different from the God of the New Testament. Although most people find this one God difficult to reconcile, he said that for him "it is not inconsistent to believe that the God of the Old Testament was a God of judgment", who alternately protected and punished His people, while "the God of the New Testament is a God of love", who offered His people unlimited mercy. Although most of us in the class believe that the God of the Old Testament was a God of justice, we didn't believe that he was a God of judgment.

In the stories of the Old Testament the people of Moses and later the people of Israel experienced God's direct punishment for their lack of faith, disobedience, and sin. Most of us believed that these stories were infused with a limited understanding of who God was, and they were also enhanced to impress outsiders, keep aggressors at bay, and make the stories memorable. It is important to understand what was happening to God's chosen people and to everyone else. They began as a loose collection of emancipated slaves from different back grounds, with very little in common except for a belief in the God of Moses who led them to freedom, and after crossing the Red Sea they probably didn't get along with each other. They would most likely have traveled in separate groups, following their own leaders and making their own rules. They were a small population compared to the inhabitants of the areas they were passing through, and as a homeless people they struggled constantly with the local populations. They would have banded together only when necessary to ensure their safety.

As they traveled they would have recited the stories of national and local gods who did battle with each other, and attempted to understand and explain the struggle in their own lives caused by one god or another. Their beliefs in how the many gods behaved would have been applied to their understanding of the God of Moses. It was important to believe that their god would protect them and the idea of an "all powerful" God capable of smiting the forces of all other gods was very important. Later, the people of Judah and Israel also struggled with their neighbors and their understanding and relationship with God continued to evolve. For example, it wasn't until the period of exile to Babylon, and the loss of the Temple, that their God became for them the One True God. These stories were eventually collected and written down, and a God capable of severe punishment (as they understood him) was used to explain the obvious and very real effects of disobedience, etc.

The message that the Holy Spirit wishes to convey to us as readers of the Bible is that disobedience to God results in pain and disappointment. The stories about God smiting those who disobey him is intended to help us understand the severity of poor decisions and the lasting penalties of disobedience. The continuous and consistent message of the Bible is that God loves us, God will protect us, and God is waiting for us. Thankfully, the writers of the New Testament continue our understanding of who God is. Jesus is, for us, the "Face of God". Jesus is, in fact, God. Jesus taught love, mercy, and tolerance, and He is the example by which we come to know God. He said that, "no one comes to the Father except by me", which means physically and spiritually. Jesus is the source of knowledge to help us understand who God is and how we are to build a relationship with Him; to be worthy of spending eternity with Him. Ask yourself the question, “Who is Jesus?”, and you will know God.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Introduction to the Old Testament – Class 6

Tonight we discussed the importance of a remarkable group of men and women. It is to the prophets that Western civilization owes its convictions that the future of any people depends in large part on the justice of its social order, and that individuals are responsible for the social structures of their society. If for the Hebrews the generic meaning of the word prophet was "one who speaks on the authority of another", its specific meaning was "one who speaks for God".

The prophets argued against the moral delinquency of Jewish political life at the time. The danger from within, however, was matched by danger from without. Israel and Judah were in danger of being crushed by Assyria and Babylonia to the east, Egypt to the south, and Phoenicia and Syria to the north. In similar situations other peoples of the region assumed that outcomes rested on the relative strengths of the national gods involved. In other words, on a simple calculation of power in which questions of morality were irrelevant.

The Jews resisted this reading because of their unquenchable passion for meaning. They refused to concede that any event was meaningless, in the sense of leaving no room for a creative response involving a moral choice. Thus what other nations would have interpreted as a simple power squeeze, they saw as God's warning to clean up their national life. Stated abstractly the prophetic principle is; the prerequisite of political stability is social justice, for it is in the nature of things that injustice will not endure. Stated theologically the point reads; God has high standards, and he will not put up with exploitation, corruption, and mediocrity.

The prophets of Israel and Judah are one of the most amazing groups of individuals in all of history. In the midst of the moral desert in which they found themselves, they spoke words the world has never been able to forget. The prophets came from all classes. Some were sophisticated and others were as natural as the hillsides they called home. Some heard God roaring like a lion, others heard the divine decree in the ghostly stillness that follows the storm. Yet one thing is common to all of them; The conviction that every human being, simply by virtue of his or her humanity, is a child of God and therefore in possession of rights that even kings must respect.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Good Fight

Although our new pastor has been with us for a couple of months, he was officially installed by the Bishop on Sunday. I always enjoy these special events, because they are usually inserted into the middle of the Mass, which extends the service from about one hour to about one and a half hours. I love the liturgy that develops around these events, especially the music; which I’ll admit causes a sympathetic reaction in and around my tear ducts.

Our new pastor began his homily by quoting the Special Olympics Athlete Oath; “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”. After a few thoughts, he followed this with St. Paul’s message from prison, “I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). His homily was inspiring and very close to my heart, because I am no longer concerned about winning the race; I just want to be brave in the attempt to do what I can.

We sang the song Christ, Be Our Light , by Bernadette Farrell, during communion that emphasizes what we can do for others. The refrain is;

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light! Shine in your church gathered today.


Sometimes when the present looks bleak, it’s important to focus on Jesus Christ and the future will look bright. We are not alone, but we do need to be brave. God isn’t asking us to win; he just wants us to do our best, keep the faith, and help each other do the same.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Introduction to the Old Testament – Class 5

Tonight we reviewed the talk from our last class, concerning the Jewish people and their Master Story. The story of Jacob holds another key to Jewish identity. Jacob was born holding the heel of Esau as he comes out of his mother’s womb. She favored Jacob, and helped him steals Esau’s birthright through deception. Esau was furious and threatened Jacob, who ran away. Eventually Jacob marries Rachel and Leah, and years later he’s about to meet his brother again.

Jacob wants to reunite with this brother but he’s unsure about whether Esau will accept him back after what he had done. He divides his people into two camps, so that if Esau strikes one camp the other will remain, and he sends gifts to Esau hoping to appease him and earn his forgiveness. Nevertheless, for safety he moves his family across the river. At this point Jacob “was left alone” and he “wrestled with a man until the break of dawn”. This man turns out to be a messenger of the Lord in human form as Hosea suggests years later.

Notice that Jacob holds his own and will not let the “man” go until he blesses him. Jacobs name is changed to Israel or “one who wrestles with God and man”, and he names the place Penial; “because I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared”. He realizes that he has been wrestled with men, especially his brother Esau, and that now he has wrestled with God. As dawn is about to break Jacob acquires his new name, Am Yisrael, which means the People of Israel.

Esau arrives and all Jacob’s fears are unfounded as Esau kisses Jacob and weeps. There is no anger, animosity or revenge in Esau’s behavior. Jacob bows down to Esau 7 times, has each family member bow down three times, and five times he calls Jacob my Lord. Of course Esau does not accept the gifts from Jacob, saying, “I have plenty”. But Jacob insists that he accept the blessing that he offers (returns) to his brother! He repeats what he had said after the wrestling match, “To see your face is like seeing the face of God”.

Jacob spent much of his life wrestling with his identity. He did not know who he was, and how could he? Jacob wanted to be Esau, and he took all from Esau because (he thought) Esau was everything Jacob was not. He had stolen what was not his, and you cannot have a true identity through theft. You will always be something else, and as Jacob discovered, he always saw Esau in the mirror and not himself. To receive the blessing Isaac gave him, the blessing intended for him and his descendants (the Children of Israel), he did not have to dress in Esau’s clothes. He only needed to be himself.

The blessing is that we can be ourselves when we come face to face with God, and our lives will be spared. Who we really are, truly is in the “the image of God.”

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Rosary Rally

Today I attended a Rosary Rally, held in a public square on a street corner in my home town. About 25 people met at noon to pray for the "Expiation of Public and National Sins".

We received a very informative handout which begins, "As a member of society and a citizen of your country, you must unite with the rest in making the atonement and reparation which Devine Justice requires for the public and national sins committed in the community in which you live." This makes sense to me and fits my concept of sin; that we are all in this world together and we are all responsible for each other. Sin, whether it's mine or someone else's, affects all of us. The handout goes on to explain, "By public and national sins we understand certain sins of a graver nature which are committed on so large a scale and by so many persons in a community, be it a city, or a province, or an entire nation, that they are attributed to the community as a body and not merely to this or that individual." The handout goes on to provide a very long list of what might qualify as public and national sins.

Here is where, I think, their message swerves off track. The third paragraph begins with, "God is exceedingly patient and long-suffering, and does not willingly inflict general chastisements, however richly they may be deserved by a community". This is followed by examples in which God inflicts punishment because of disobedience. This group, The Public Square Rosary Crusade, states in paragraph four that, "God acts in this way still". Evidently, they believe that after a suitable waiting period, God will cause some "visitation which will fall heavily on the guilty community as a just punishment of its long, continued transgressions ..." such as "destructive floods or storms, epidemics and pestilences ...”.

This doesn't match my concept of God, because I do not believe that God is responsible for the pain in the world. I believe that accidents happen, floods happen, earth quakes happen, epidemics happen, etc. but I don't believe that God causes these things in order to punish individuals, groups, or nations. Nevertheless, even though I don't agree with everything this group proclaims, nor everything on their list of public and national sins, the large banner message was positive, those who passed by didn't seem offended, and it was a positive experience for me. I think that next year I would be willing to attend another Rosary Rally, held in a public square on a street corner in my home town.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Introduction to the Old Testament – Class 4

Tonight we listened to a guest speaker, a retired Jewish Rabi, lecture on the Jewish people in light of their Master Story. A master story informs and forms a world view that forever influences how people see and interpret events. He, as well as our class instructor, is involved in a program called C-JEEP, which stands for Catholic – Jewish Education Enrichment Program. In this program a Jewish instructor will talk to a Catholic class and a Catholic instructor will talk to a Jewish class. I found this lecture fascinating!

According to the Rabi, prior to about 1300 BC all religions saw the world as controlled by fate, or destiny. Picture a circle to represent all of nature, moving around the edge from spring (birth), to summer (youth), to fall (adult), to winter (old age and death). Everything that existed was imagined to be inside that circle, including water, people, animals, plants, and even the gods. There were gods of the sea, gods of the air, and gods of the land, etc. Inside the circle people might attempt to improve their conditions by influencing the gods, for better crops, protection from sickness, safe passage, or bigger catches of fish, but absolutely everything inside the circle was controlled by one force; fate.

The key to understanding Judaism is the Exodus from Egypt. Prior to the Exodus the gods were part of nature. After the Exodus God was part of history. Around 1300 BC Moses was an Egyptian prince, although he connected with the people, and particularly the Hebrew slaves. Moses had a very personal relationship with God, and he is the most important figure in Jewish history. He was appointed by God to deliver the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, he received the law from God and it is through him that the covenant between God and Israel is made. As the story goes Moses led his people out of Egypt, breaking the cycle of slavery, and the Exodus becomes their Master Story. Everything from that time forward is viewed in light of that event.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

A Living Example

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama was in town today. Although he spoke less than a block from my office, I was unable to attend the two hour event. The guy that works for me asked first, and we didn’t feel that both of us should be gone at the same time. He did bring me a pamphlet however, and printed on the welcome page is;

Your Holiness,

We thank you for giving us this precious teaching on Eight Verses for Training the Mind. We are humbled by your kind generosity and fortunate to be in your gracious presence.

Thank you also for your tireless efforts, unbounded love, and compassion for all sentient beings. You are not only our hope and inspiration, but a living symbol of loving kindness, tolerance, and forgiveness. May we be blessed with many opportunities to receive your teachings, and may you live long.

May we become better human beings by following your example.

Sincerely,

Ven. Thupten Donyo
on Behalf of all Participants


The Dalai Lama’s travels have taken him throughout the world to share his pragmatic approach to a more peaceful future and engage in dialogue with religious, political, and scientific leaders. I, like so many others, am grateful for his enduring efforts as a humanitarian and advocate for peace and non-violence. We should praise and thank everyone who, like him, work tirelessly for peace and justice in the world.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

An Evening of Prayer

Tonight I met with other students from the ILM community and experienced a wonderful evening of prayer that offered us an opportunity to be attentive to our spiritual formation. We gathered at Most Holy Trinity church in San Jose, to pause as a community of faith, to give thanks, and to praise God! Students and alumni prayed together through meditation, scripture and song, with music provided by Institute alumni.

Two people acting as prayer leaders read the Parable of the Sower from Mathew 13:1-23, and later inspired us with their personal reflections. Everyone was invited to reflect (privately) on our talents and how we are being called to develop and to use them. We were asked to consider four questions; 1) What are the gifts that I am called to recognize in me? 2) What kind of soil have I prepared? 3) Have I created a space where God’s gifts can grow, or have I rejected these gifts or jeopardized their cultivation? 4) How have I responded to the gifts that God has given me?

We were also asked to turn to the person next to us and discuss our answers to these questions. That was hard, but after a couple of uncomfortable thoughts like where's the nearest exit, I turned to the guy next to me and we started talking. It turns out that he is also a first year student and the guy who, like me, had missed the first Wednesday and Saturday class. He had not been able to attend the first two lecture classes either, and he was feeling a bit lost. Of course he turns out to be a really nice guy and we enjoyed discussing each others responses.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Paper or Plastic

Three of us decided to eat deli sandwiches for dinner a few nights ago, and we went to a local market together. The deli crew had begun to clean up for the evening, but they agreed to our orders and we were very grateful. A few minutes later, with sandwiches, drinks, and chips in hand, we stepped up to the checkout counter.

The checkout guy noticed the softball jersey that my granddaughter was wearing and started up a conversation, quickly learning that she was on the traveling team. Evidently his niece was also on a traveling team, or had been recently, and he had spent a lot of time at her practice and games. Up until now I hadn’t paid too much attention to the conversation, but then he mentioned that his niece played for a local Catholic high school. We were familiar with the school and in fact we know and like the team chaplain very much, so we mentioned him by name hoping to stimulate the conversation further. His response was a surprise, because he charged into a short monolog about how he “used to be Catholic” but was now “a born again Christian”, that he “was no longer guilty”, and that we “shouldn’t feel guilty either”. Needless to say, we passed on the paper or plastic options and chose to hand carry our food to the car.

I’ll admit that I’ve only been Catholic for a few years, but I don’t feel guilty. Why are Catholics supposed to feel guilty? What are Catholics supposed to feel guilty about? As a new Catholic am I supposed to feel guilty about something, or do I get a pass on the guilt options?