Reflection - Punishment

By Steve Hall

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062020.cfm
2 Chronicles 24:17-25
Luke 2:41-51

The reading from Chronicles is a bit hard to follow without a list of players, so let me review the cast, some of whom entered and exited the story before the current excerpt.

Ahaziah the King
Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah.
Joash the youngest son of the king.
Jehoiada a Priest.
Zechariah a prophet and the son of Jehoiada.

So the full story goes like this:

• King Ahaziah dies.
  
• Athaliah, the dead king’s mother, seizes the throne and executes all members of the royal family.
  
• The infant prince, Joash, is secretly saved from Athaliah’s executioners by Jehoiada.
  
• When Joash is seven, Jehoiada leads a successful movement to overthrow Athaliah and crown Joash as king.
  
• Under Jehoiada’s guidance the proper worship of God is restored.
  
• Upon Jehoiada’s death, however, the King is gradually enticed into pagan worship.
  
• Zechariah, the son of the deceased Jehoiada, condemns the king’s apostasy.
  
• Therefore, the king has him executed.
  
• While being stoned, Zechariah prays that the Lord avenge his death.
  
• Subsequently, the Kingdom falls victim to neighboring tribes.

The sequence of events brings up the persistent question: Does God punish?

It’s easy to review the situation and give an affirmative answer; but it was precisely this question which generated this reflection. Now, the answer to the question seems a bit above my pay grade. Nevertheless, consideration of the matter is worthwhile.

For meaningful and practical answers to many of life’s most insistent questions I find it useful to return to fundamental truths, though in this case, it would seem, we seldom associate the most applicable fundamental truth with the matter at hand — that fundamental truth being: God created all things. Certain correlated facts that may or may not be obvious add nuance to that simple statement. They are of import in addressing the question.

The first of these we receive directly from the book of Genesis where, of each and every thing God created, God saw that it was good.

The second is from the teaching of John, the Apostle: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) John’s wording is concise; but by proclaiming God to be light he affirms that God is goodness, purity and truth. Not that God is most perfectly good, but that God equates with Good. Not that God is the epitome of Purity, but that God is the essence of purity — what St Thomas Aquinas would call “Simple.” Not that God is more truthful than any other being, but that Truth is the alpha and omega of who God is.

The third of these correlated truths is that all of creation emanates from the superabundance of God’s Love; for Love is always creative. It defies containment.

Lest you assume that all this is stodgy, philosophical or pedantic, consider the implications. If all of creation exists because God, who is Love, is beyond containment, and if God Himself is the Good, the Simple and the True, and if we are specifically instructed that all of creation was good at it’s inception, then, not just men, but all of creation exists to manifest the glory of God. No great revelation there. The Psalmist proclaims it: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1) Paul affirms it: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

Further, if someone stands in the rain, he would be foolish to complain that he is getting wet. If I drop an object from the top of a building, I’m not surprised when it falls to the ground. If I combine hydrogen and oxygen, I count on finding water. If I walk through the midst of a gun battle, I assume I may be shot. Similarly, if all things were created good and all things, all structures, all organizing principles, all interactions, are oriented to give glory to God, then that which we call freedom becomes perverse when glory is denied.

So, does God punish when that happens? The short answer is ‘yes’ because nothing happens apart from God’s will. But the long answer is ‘no’ if by ‘punish’ we mean that God actively takes steps to penalize some perversion of freedom.

Am I punished with getting wet if I walk in he rain? Am I punished with a broken leg if I attempt to jump off a three story building? Am I punished with alienation after I betray a friend? These events and consequences are within the natural order of things. So to with our lives insofar as acting in accord with or acting contrary to the given order of things.

As noted above: all of creation exists to manifest the glory of God. If my life fails in that regard, am I being punished when things go sour? What actually happens is somewhat different. In fact, there are two consequences which go hand in hand. I separate myself from the protection of God, no longer being able to shelter ‘beneath his wings,’ and I expose myself to whatever evil is present. In our world it might be comparable to leaving metropolitan areas considered ‘safe’ and where the police actively patrol and visiting a known dangerous area after dark that the police don’t even bother with.

The physical order within the universe is something scientists spend lifetimes attempting to discern. The spiritual order is somewhat different. There we have been blessed; for we have been given those directives necessary for accomplishing our life purpose. If we live in a way that gives glory to God then his presence in my life is assured. If not then we wander alone in a garden of evil.