Reflection - Idols IV

By Steve Hall

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050121.cfm
Acts 13:44-52
John 14:7-14

This reflection is the fourth in a series. The series began with some thoughts about the primary place of the First of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Jesus Himself would refer to it as the greatest of the Commandments.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Having affirmed the first Commandment’s primacy, we then examined mankind’s persistent failure to deal with and live by that eternal truth. From the Chosen People to the early Christians to those living in Christendom to the inhabitants of Renaissance Europe to modern man, the allure of alternative gods never departed. The gods just took different forms.

In the immediately preceding reflection we considered how the reluctance to enter the Promised Land on the part of those who had been freed from slavery in Egypt provided an archetype in miniature of mankind’s duplicity in mouthing an acceptance of that First commandment while simultaneously seeking god elsewhere.

When people of either Old or New Testament encounter the divine, there is one greeting which is common: “Do not be afraid.” We may read those words thinking that the fear that is referenced is similar to that naturally awakened upon finding a stranger in one’s house. But there is more to it than that. In the very first chapter of Luke’s Gospel we read the Canticle of Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, spoken when his tongue was loosened. The song will guide us as we reflect on fear. This is the Canticle in part.

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
. . . .

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
. . . .

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.”
(Luke 1:68-75)

Note the progression of thought. Zechariah first recognizes that the God of Israel has finally come in a very special way for the purpose of setting the people free. The next quoted verse expands on that promised freedom. God’s people are to be free from the hands of their enemies, free from all those who hate them. In saying this Zechariah may have spoken a greater truth than he realized. The freedom of the people of God was and is not just from the power of evil men and evil nations. It is freedom from all enemies. It’s not just about being free of the fear of physical or mental attack; it’s also about being free of the specter of poverty and hunger, free from worry about the future, free from the pain of isolation, free from the anxiety of growing old, free from death.

Our enemies create fear. The Lord, says Zechariah, will free us from all of them. Why? For what purpose? So that we can worship him!

Now, at this point it will probably be useful to briefly consider the question: Why do we need God? And what kind of God do we need? Those who seek only a natural god are searching with the intent of answering a useful but somewhat abstract question, that question being: Where did all this universe that we see come from? Ultimately they will probably wander into the area of divine attributes and identify some of the peculiarities and characteristics that are appropriately associated with such a being. Such a God deserves our respect but little more. Others may seek a God to explain the mysteries that surround us in the physical world. By in large, however, the God of the unknown has disappeared as science has grown. And if, for example, Newton’s explanation of gravity is inadequate, the existence of such a force just needs more time or insight to comprehend it. There are also those whose paradigm includes a God of judgment. He makes the rules which we may struggle to perceive and He will ultimately provide appropriate reward or punishment insofar as those rules are followed. If the God of judgment is really there then only a rare few will tip the scales of justice in their favor.

I’m sure there are many more reasons why men think they need a God. But only the reason offered by Zechariah make sense to me. I need a God to set me free, who will save me from my enemies and all those who hate me, who will give me the freedom to worship without fear all the days of my life. In other words I need a God who will give me protection, reasonable prosperity, and His presence in my life. This is the God of Scriptural promise and historical fulfillment.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
(Matthew 6:25-32)

Why are you fearful? Why are you anxious? Your Heavenly Father knows what you need.

He will give you protection, prosperity and his presence.