Reflection - Enormity of Christ's Change

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072617.cfm
Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15
Matthew 13:1-9

Those of us who are Christians are, for the most part, well aware of our Jewish roots. We see continuity in the story of God's interaction with mankind as Scripture records it from the time of Adam and Eve, and rightly so. God makes promises. He elaborates on his promises. He keeps his promises. But the fulfillment of those promises always goes far beyond human expectations. 

Throughout the centuries of the Old Testament the Chosen People are continually reminded of their Covenant relationship with God while simultaneously being warned, corrected, chastised and even disciplined as their lives waver in their fidelity to that Covenant. In this long history of human-divine interaction we discover and come to appreciate God's faithfulness. He acts on behalf of his people. He makes an escape route through the sea and assigns darkness itself to obscure them from their enemies. His Spirit inspires judges and prophets and kings to direct and guide a developing nation. He gives proof of his presence and his power against the enemies of those he has chosen.  He provides unexpected victories in times of battle and admonishes peace among those he claims as his own.

In this morning's incident, we find him providing food in the middle of a desert. Once more we see God taking care of his people beyond their expectations. The arrival of the quail in the evening was as reliable as the flux of the tides. The bread, the manna, which was present every morning, gave more nourishment than Wonder Bread claimed. 

All this and more God did for those who were faithful to him. When we observe the progression of the story as it advances in the words of Scripture, we see the continuation of God's saving work in the person of Jesus. The variety of works God did through a variety of men in the past, he now does through one man, Jesus, the one he sent to save us.

     God is enduring.

     God is persistent.

     God is constant.

     God is consistent.

But, while all these statements are true, it is also true that the consequences of his everlasting presence and continued involvement are not.  

Christianity is the beneficiary of God's promises. God's blessings may have been identified in Old Testament times; but they were only fully realized with the coming of Jesus. What was before is not what follows after. Theologically we may know that. Personally we may profess that. Intellectually we may even, in a sense, know that. But in our hearts we may be little better off than the Israelites in the desert when it comes to understanding in our hearts the enormity of the change which has taken place. For the Israelites, the magnitude of what happened just weeks earlier, in their miraculous departure from Egypt, seems to have escaped them; and they complained about a lack of food. For us, the cosmic change which took place when Jesus crushed the tomb loses its impact partially because of the extent of the intervening years, partially because of the weaknesses in our education and partially because of our failure to live in the consequences. But it seems to me to be particularly true, that his conquest of death, does not demonstrate its full power because we are content or lazy or distrustful and refuse to risk embracing the consequences.

Before Jesus, evil was a ruler of cosmic significance. But, even before his conquest of death, when the disciples reported the success of their mission, Jesus observed: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (Luke 10:18)

Before Jesus, disease and decay were the common lot of created things. But, even before his conquest of death, when the disciples reported the success of their mission, Mark records that: "They anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them." (Mark 6:13)

Before Jesus, "We know that the whole creation had been groaning with labor pains . . . and not only the creation, but we ourselves . . . groaned inwardly as we waited for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:22-23) But, even before his conquest of death one of the Apostles reported: "Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name . . . [one who] does not follow with us."

Christians may be beneficiaries of their Jewish ancestors; but have we done more than put our treasure under a mattress? A while back, Andrew Lloyd Weber, the Phantom of the Opera composer, wrote another musical called Aspects of Love. One of the songs has these words: 

Love,
Love changes everything:
Hands and faces,
Earth and sky,

Love,
Love changes everything:
Nothing in the
World will ever
Be the same.

[For] Love
Will turn your world around,
And that world
Will last for ever.

Yes, Love,
Love changes everything,
Nothing in the
World will ever
Be the same.

In the Old Testament mankind learned of the endurance, the persistence, the constancy, the consistency of God's love. In fact, "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son" But I have to ask: since "God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, [so] that, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)  . . . Since that has happened, do I really live as if nothing in the world will ever be the same?