A look at the typical human side

The First Reading for this Second Sunday after Pentecost bears interesting parallels with the Torah Reading for Shelah (Numbers 13:1-15:41) and even last week',s portion, Be'ha'alot'cha (Numbers 8:1-13:16). In the lectionary reading from 1 Samuel 8 the Israelites desire a king – like the other nations.

It sounds rather surprising that they would choose a human king rather than God. Despite warnings about the nature of human kings, the Israelites persisted in their demand. "No!", they insisted, "we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like the other nations..."

Kings are prone to do injustice, draft their citizens into armed forces and conflicts, trample on the weak and simply look at their own interests. Strangely enough, people would prefer this situation.

The P'rashot above also show what we may refer to as the typical human side.

How can we explain the people's complaint in Numbers 11:5 that "we remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic"? Surely, the cost was slavery, of which they were now saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"

How can these contradictions be explained?

Follow the next post.

What is nobody did anything?

What would have happened had Mahatma Gandhi not refused to comply with the racial rule that resulted in his being thrown out of the train in Pietermaritzburg that June 7, 1893? It is erroneous to think nothing would have happened.

It is true that apartheid did take root and flourish in South Africa beyond Gandhi's lifetime. And certainly, racism still flourishes around the globe. Nevertheless, that one act of conscience transformed Mohandas Gandhi – who later became known as Mahatma, meaning “the great soul” - and by his transformation, the world was also transformed.

Indeed, Gandhi saw that experience on that train as a moment of truth for him. That moment of truth spread throughout the world, and still spreads. Even where racism and prejudice still exists today, they are seen as cowardice, shame and ignorance.

Gandhi's moment of reckoning spread beyond South Africa into India and became a transformative force in the civil rights movement in the United States. Who would have thought one man's simple act of response to injustice would have such momentous consequences?

But think of what would have happened had he done nothing. As Edmund Burke once said, “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing”.

By choice it becomes or does not become an "aha" moment

The story in Isaiah 6:1-13 – The First Lesson on Trinity Sunday – calls for an exclamation of "wow!". Sitting in the temple in Jerusalem, Isaiah has a vivid experience of the Lord seated on a throne, surrounded by seraphim - the heavenly hosts. It is an overwhelming experience.

Do we ever get experiences like that?

There is an even more detailed similar experience in Ezekiel 1:4- 2:1. Imagine Ezekiel's exclamation of "wow! Wow!"

Isaiah's reaction to his experience was a feeling of unworthiness. "Woe to me for I am sinful!". Ezekiel's was one of complete awe. He fell face down. The other great prophet, Jeremiah, saw his "inadequacies" against the revelation. "Ah, Sovereign Lord. I do not know how to speak; I am only a child" (Jer 1:6).

Even when curiosity leads to revelation, for example, Moses' curiosity and resolve, "I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up" (Ex. 3:3) when the deeper meaning came to him, he resisted it. "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Ex. 3:11).

There is still another reaction – refusal to acknowledge – for example Jonah's decision to go directly opposite of where he was being led.

Every experience in life, every happening is a pathway to a revelation of the greater purpose in life. Do you accept and embrace them or do you resist, reject or even defy them?

Everyone has a story to tell

Life consists of stories: happenings, experiences, episodes and the like. Can you think of life without them? It would be bland, boring, "uneventful" with nothing to learn or teach.

We are also uncomfortable with "drama" in life or "soap opera"; nobody likes them and certainly no one welcomes tragedy. Nevertheless, they are all elements of life and living. Many great things have come out of tragedy and we have all been inspired by some families or individuals who have known a good deal of tragedy.

I look at my own life: Ministry in a rural parish on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, seminary years – as a novice and also a professor – and a one time student in an Opus Dei college in Nairobi; in Jerusalem and Jewish-Christian relations, and on and on. These are integral parts of my life.

They have transformed me and continue to influence me even as life and more experiences and events continue. These stories are not just for us. They are part of our collective human experience and transformation.
As I share my life story in these pages, I am experiencing transformation. My hope is that you do too.

Transformation reveals the larger picture

One way of looking at the lessons for Trinity Sunday (June 3) is through the lens of transformation. Transformation is not an end in itself, but a means, or a process, to greater things, whose achievement require the process.

While in the temple, the prophet Isaiah witnesses the heavenly court of the Lord with cherubim and seraphim’s, or angelic attendants (Isa. 6:1 -8). This is a picture beyond the physical experience, it is what some describe as transcendental.

The picture we see of the physical world is only a part of the whole. It is only when we remove ourselves from the sometimes overwhelming daily activities around us that we are able to see the larger, complete picture.

In the Gospel Reading – John 3:1 -17 – Jesus talks to Nicodemus about transformation, or what Christians refer to as conversion. It is all about seeing things – the world – beyond the physical experience.

Look at the things going on in your community. In Cincinnati, it is renovation of downtown, the construction of a casino, preparations for the World Choir Games. And yes, there is feeding of the poor and hungry. All of these are very good things.

But that is not a complete picture. Through transformation, which is beyond the physical, we can see where the whole picture is and how to get there.

Acceptance, not resistance

“For there is a time for every experience and for every happening” (Qoheleth 3:17)

Life is received; from God – or Universe (as some would prefer) and destined for a purpose. That purpose has to be discovered because no one has it spelled out when the journey begins and every happening or experience is designed to shape its realization.

When we resist, oppose and even fight certain experiences – because we “do not like them”, they are nasty or unpleasant - we only delay the actualization of life's purpose. There cannot be joy nor fulfillment when life's purpose is not realized.

Life becomes meaningful and satisfying when we discover and pursue its purpose – and do so relentlessly. Do not give up, despair or be discouraged in its quest. Challenges and adversities are to be met and overcome, not avoided, resisted or fought.

Acceptance versus resistance

“A season is set for everything; a time for every experience under heaven” (Qoheleth 3:1)

We have learned or taught ourselves to “chart out our own course”, to determine which direction to go and which not to go. We have decided which experience is good and which is not good.

We do not want to be sick; for example, and that is understandable. We do not want to lose a job or not have income or enough to eat. These are experiences we consider to be bad and so we spend a lot of time and energy resisting them.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says there is a season for everything. Actually, everything has a purpose.

Think of the seasons of the year. Some people may not like the heat and humidity of summer. (Could it be that some are already complaining?) Others may not like the cold and snow in winter. But we have learned to find joy and fulfillment despite the elements we dislike.

But then, that is the physical world and the physical experiences associated with it. The five senses – touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing – influence our perception and reaction. So does social environment.