The theme of last Sunday’s readings had
to do with Jesus announcing that, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:14) Jesus Himself is compared to Jonah, who
despite his reluctance and fear, announced the Word of God to the people of Nineveh,
who immediately repented and reformed their lives. The response to Jesus was not nearly as
impactful at first, and resulted in His arrest and crucifixion. Jewish leaders of Jesus time were entrenched
in their beliefs and wielded significant power over the Jews, so they refused
to believe that Jesus Himself represented the coming of the Kingdom of God to
earth. We cannot enter into the Kingdom of God by our own effort, only the saving power of Jesus death and resurrection can effect our salvation and our entry into the Kingdom of God.
And what did the arrival of the kingdom
of God entail? With the benefit of
hindsight and centuries of scripture study, we know that Jesus fulfilled
the law in every respect. In doing so He
ushered in the kingdom of God, founded on the truths already presented in Old
Testament scripture, and explained and elucidated by Jesus, through His
teaching and His life of obedience to God, even when it meant putting Himself
in imminent danger. The question each of
us must answer is whether or not we will abide by God’s law, as brought to
light by Jesus, or tweak it to suit our own willful desires? The
former (abiding in God’s law) is the very definition of being a Christian, and
means entering into the kingdom of God, subjecting ourselves to God’s law. The latter is moral relativism, picking and
choosing what to believe, according to our whims, and remaining outside God’s
law, outside His kingdom, making gods of ourselves.
Too many people who call themselves
Christian or Catholic, choose to ignore God’s law as made known by Jesus. Excuses range from refusal to impose their
personal morality on others, to rationalization based on faulty logic. Refusal to inform our conscience with the
Word of God and the wisdom of the teaching of the Church, is akin to ‘ignorance
is bliss.’ Even when the after-effects
of sinful choices are clearly evident, people will often turn a blind eye to
the facts. The most obvious examples of
this are the total disregard for the consequences of the breakdown of the
family, and the health impact of homosexual relationships. A recent meta-analysis (a review of the
available data), demonstrated unequivocally that children raised by both father
and mother fare far better by every measure, than those raised by single parents
or two parents of the same sex. 318
studies performed in 13 different countries documented significant negative
outcomes for children of same sex couples in terms of education, physical and
emotional health, and perhaps most alarming, the high propensity of being abused
or molested by a family member or friend of the family. Similarly, numerous studies have documented
the health hazards associated with homosexual activity, ranging from AIDS to
physical damage caused by unnatural sex acts.
Then there are the numerous studies linking breast and cervical cancer
with abortion, birth control, and promiscuity.
But none of this is revealed in any significant way, in fact it is
shunned by the media. Instead, people
who point out these risks or oppose their children being immunized against STDs,
are labeled “right-wing extremists.”
The warnings in the Book of Proverbs are a chilling reminder
of where all this is headed:
“If a ruler listens to lying words, his servants will all
become wicked. Without prophecy (the
word of God), the people go wild and perish, but happy is he who keeps the law.” (Proverbs 29:12,19)
There’s a reason why the Israelites had
such reverence for God’s law: it kept
them safe and enabled them to thrive. The
very first Psalm defines happiness in terms of abiding in God’s law,
“Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked…but
delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night.” (Psalm 1:1)
Psalm 119, one of the lengthiest at 176
verses, is devoted to praise of God’s law.
Is it any wonder so many people are unhappy these days. Depression is widespread, with some estimates
as high as 40% of women of child-bearing age and 20% of men suffering chronic
depression. I’d be willing to bet that the
rates are much lower among those who abide by God’s law. Christian psychologist M. Scott Peck had
great success treating depressed patients when they were willing to seek forgiveness
for their sins and reconcile with God.
He documented this in a series of books, starting with The Road Less Traveled, four decades
ago.
What people seem to have forgotten is
that the pursuit of happiness is not merely the quest for and attainment of pleasure
or power. True happiness can only be
found in being right with God, and by entering fully into the Kingdom of God
where Love reigns, love that imitates the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Every kingdom has laws, and in God’s kingdom,
His law prevails, and that law is predicated on Love that is infinitely
powerful, even to the point of overcoming death.
Our 21st century world is
increasingly dominated by “rulers who listen to lying words,” and whose “servants
have all become wicked.” Despite the
fact that our government has legalized abortion and gay marriage, we must
remain faithful to God’s law and “follow not the counsel of the wicked.” Our happiness depends on it, and so does the
health and safety of our nation.
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