The Word of God

 On one of the opening pages of my bible, I have written the following:

The Word of God is the Pronouncement of God,

The Plan of God,

The Promise of God,

the Provision of God, 

the Purpose of God, and 

the Power of God to accomplish all that it says.

Psalm 119 -- the longest chapter in the bible, by the way --- is a lengthy and profound meditation on the benefits of hearing and embracing the Word of God for oneself and one's own life.  What we refer to as "the Word of God," the Jews called "The Torah."  But for them, as for us, "Torah" meant much more than "law," although it included law and laws.  Psalm 119 gives us a number of synonyms for "law":  statutes, precepts, decrees, commands, word.  Every stanza contains all of these synonyms, as well as the listed benefits of embracing the Torah (Word) of God:

an upright heart, a pure heart, avoidance of sin, rejoicing, delight, renewal of life, strength, freedom, understanding.......

If we want to learn how to pray, it could help to take one or two stanzas a day of this acrostic poem, and embrace it fully.  Only in coming to hear the "pronouncements" of God will we finally experience the plans, the promises, the provision, the purpose and the power of God in our own lives.

Resident Aliens

 I don't know how much longer I can remain silent about our nation's treatment of those the Bible refers to as "resident aliens."  We have just spent over a billion dollars constructing yet another detention center in the desert outside of El Paso, Texas.  Why are we rounding up innocent people who arrived in the United States, like all of our ancesters, hoping for a future and a new start in life?  These people were invited here by the previous administration; their "crime" was accepting the invitation.  Along with them came the criminal element, the drug lords, the sex trafficers, and those who prey on the innocent.  I am not referring to those people in my concern for the poor.

Again and again in the Bible, God warns the nation about discriminating against the "resident aliens" who lived among them: When an alien lives among you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born.  Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.  I am the Lord, your God (Lev. 19: 33).

Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt (Exodus 22:21).

The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked (ps. 146:9).

Those of us who survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005 know that the "resident aliens" were those who rebuilt and re-roofed our homes, those who stood outside of Home Depot in the hot sun all day waiting for jobs.  These are the people who man our chicken-processing plants, jobs no American thinks is worth taking.  They are the ones who labor in the fields of California, picking vegetables and fruits that grace our tables.  They work for less -than-living wages, love their children, and pray to the saints. 

Why are we persecuting them?  I know they are here illegally; technically, they "broke the law."  But they were invited to do so, and they have, for the most part, lived peaceful lives in this country.  They have been treated as less-than-human by some employers, but still they remained in place, accepting whatever scraps America would throw their way, always grateful for the opportunity to earn a living and feed their families.  

Why are we going after these peaceful people, putting them in detention centers, separating families and terrorizing them?  The Bishop of Los Angeles gave permission for Catholic aliens to miss Mass on Sunday because of their fear of being arrested at church.   Is this a civilized and compassionate way to treat people?  

Growing up and hearing about Hitler's treatment of Jews in Germany, I wondered how the German people could have allowed it to happen.  Now I know they did not sit back in silence; many Germans spoke out and paid the ultimate price.  Others took in and hid the persecuted.  Today, i see history repeating itself in our own country.  I wish I had a voice to cry out: STOP THE CRUELTY.  Our nation will suffer for this crime:  God frustrates the way of the wicked, but He watches over the alien....

We need to stop this madness before it's too late for all of us!

On Saving Our Souls

 If we grow up in church, we hear a lot about "saving our souls," but to my knowledge, almost nothing about our souls themselves.  What, after all, is our "soul"?  

According to traditional teaching, the soul is the immaterial part of us that comprises the heart, the mind, and the will -- the parts of us, actually, that define who we are as persons.  And the part of us that survives death and continues into eternity.  The soul is worth "saving" indeed, for it is who we are now and who we will be forever.

Jesus said, The flesh is weak, but the spirit gives life, and What will a man give in exchange for his soul?

According to the doctrine of Original Sin, we are born into a world without light for the soul --- our minds are darkened, our hearts are hardened, our wills too weak to choose the good and reject the evil.  It is as if we ourselves are the abyss over which the Spirit hovers, the chaos over which the Father speaks: Let there be Light!  And the Word of God  (Light) becomes flesh in our flesh!

Jesus said, I am the Light of the World...those who walk in darkness do not even know what makes them stumble.

Some years ago, I used to enjoy watching reality tv -- the Bachelor, Sister Wives, and especially Looking for Love. Gradually, however, I came to realize that the reason I enjoyed these programs was that, in a way, I was looking down on and making fun of these unfortunate people who continued to get themselves into horrible situations, always leading to misery and suffering.  The viewing audience always knows what the victims themselves cannot see:  This is not going to end well!  Watching these programs is a kind of gladitorial sport -- enjoying seeing people thrown to the lions and being torn apart.  Those who walk in darkness do not even know what makes them stumble.

I stopped watching those programs years ago, but recently found another one called Welcome to Plathville, about a family of eight or nine children who grew up in rural Georgia, homeschooled and somewhat isolated from the destructive influences of the rest of the world.  I began watching what seemed at first to be a wholesome family interacting with one another --- not destroying themselves but just growing up in an innocent way.  As the children matured, they came into contact with other ways of thinking and acting -- not always wholesome, but "normal," according to our culture.  The clash was inevitable.  Darkness fell.

I began to see the Plath Family as all of us --- being sucked into "the world's way" of thinking and acting.  And the suffering it causes, the destructiveness that darkness has on all of us:  suffering, divorce, crushing misery, unhappiness.  I found myself having compassion rather than ridiculing these people--- they are, after all, just like all of us.  We are them! We do not see the danger ahead, and we walk in darkness, without light, without knowledge, until it is too late.

We all need Light; we all need Understanding /Wisdom in this world of darkness, chaos, evil.  Jesus -- the Word of God-- brings Light into our hearts, our minds, our wills.  Without the Light of the World, we cannot "save our souls," and we find ourselves spiraling ever deeper into chaos and suffering.  

As I watch "reality tv," I begin to feel the way God must feel watching us live our lives -- and His compassion in sending the Light of the World into our souls.