Dear Friends,
At various moments in the Old Testament, God gives us
glimpses of who He is. Today, in the first reading from Exodus, God tells His chosen
People: “I am a jealous God.” But Scripture scholars say the word “jealous” is
an inaccurate translation. The more accurate word, the telling word is
“passionate.” God burns with desire for the people He has created. What a
remarkable, humbling thought!
The passionate God of all people and all times is most fully
present in Jesus, as he is revealed in the Gospel. The disciples must have been
horrified when they saw Jesus charging into the temple, tipping over the tables
of the money-changers, driving out traders and scattering animals – a forceful
and frightening scene. So unlike the Jesus they had come to know!
Just when we are comfortable ourselves, Jesus may well come
crashing into our lives, challenging us to sweep out anything that hinders our
relationship with God.
Jesus, the passionate God, doesn’t want us to be laid back
about what really matters in life.
But what really matters? He told us: The wholehearted love
of God and one another…no exceptions.
In these troublesome national and international times, we
are tempted to close ranks – to love and protect those close to us, those who
belong to us. We erroneously label some people enemies, and treat them as such.
Turbulent times will take their course, but we must make our own course.
In the first reading today, we are given the foundation –
the very least we can be and do as we make our course through life. Our
passionate God says: live out the commandments.
The commandments are not 10 suggestions, not 10 burdens.
They are not the ideal or the best we can do in life. They are the very least
we can do to be on course to love our God and our neighbor wholeheartedly. It’s
the work of a lifetime to try to hold people close and to treasure our
beautiful world as God does.
A few years ago, I stood on a boardwalk over the sand dunes
at Cape May, NJ, and watched a storm build up over the place where the Delaware
River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The thunder crashed, lightening sliced
the sky and the winds flung voracious waves against the shore.
A little way off, to my left, on one of those high wooden
chairs that lifeguards use, sat a man holding his small daughter. They were
huddled under a blue slicker, their faces rapt as they experienced the storm.
The little girl, secure in her father’s arms, showed no fear, but only awe.
I hold that image in my heart these days, for it pictures
nothing less than God, holding us close…all of us, refugees and immigrants,
people trapped in the violence of Afghanistan and sub-Saharan Africa, Jews,
Muslims and Christians alike. God, passionate about us, without exception. What will our response be?
~Sister Joan Sobala
