Fourth of a seven-part series
DELIVERANCE — that is what hundreds of millions or even billions of people seek across the globe as fuel prices treble, defense systems crumble, and world peace tumbles in the United States and Israel’s war against Iran, now entering its third week.
With the American military, the planet’s most powerful, failing not only to keep one-fifth of world petroleum shipments exiting the Persian Gulf, but also to defend Middle East allies in what US and Israeli leaders expected to be a days-long conflict ending in regime change in Iran, humanity has no solid answer to that “Ghostbusters” line applied to the escalating global crisis: “Who you gonna call?”
That may be precisely the speechless, even helpless, silence heaven predestined after decades till now when billions of souls sought peace, prosperity and paradise on earth from the dominant military, economic, technological, and cultural prowess, wielded mainly by the West and its allies.
Indeed, blind faith in its armed and moneyed might led America — the current world empire-builder after European imperialism and Soviet communism collapsed in the last century — to twice partner with Israel in surprise attacks on Iran’s leaders and defenses, expecting quick victory.
Now, as its supposedly instant victory has turned into a long nightmare of devastating missiles and disrupted markets, America, too, learns the hard way what other potentates in history — from ancient emperors to today’s heads of nations and corporations — discovered too late: every earthly kingdom reaches its limits.
And for Christians, the inevitable imperial end-game was long prophesied in the Book of Daniel, with the prophet interpreting the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a giant statue symbolizing great empires brought crashing down by a stone from heaven (Dan 2:31–45). Now, it could well be America’s turn to repeat the drill for all other regimes.
Can we rely on God?
OK, so earthly powers eventually falter in delivering promised peace and progress and saving us from disasters, which they often engender, as we witness today. But can humanity rely on God, especially in tough times like now? Especially since half the world doesn’t even believe in Him, as seen in global surveys.
That question of trust is undeniably among the toughest tests of our faith and the hardest to resist among the devil’s temptations. That’s why it was one of the three employed by Satan in his desert encounter with Christ, recounted in the Feb. 22 Mass Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent.
The second desert temptation, explained Jesuit theology professor Fr. Francis Alvarez, speaks of our tendency to seek amazing miracles before we believe in God (though many still don’t believe despite supernatural events).
Just like the Calvary crowd taunting Jesus — “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross,” said the chief priests, “that we may see and believe” — Satan asked our Lord to leap off a precipice for angels to bear him up.
But Jesus refused to put God to the test. He did not seek supernatural proof of his Father’s love, providence, and power. Indeed, Jesus had faith even on the Cross.
Not so fast. Let’s go to the fourth and most controversial of his Seven Last Words, found in the Gospels of Saints Mark and Matthew: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!” Or in the usual English version: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
So did Jesus lose faith and trust, thinking his Father in heaven had forsaken or, in other translations, left or abandoned him? Not so fast.
Scripture scholars say the crucified Christ quoted Psalm 22, opening with the very words he spoke. In fact, the chant expresses not only distress over great suffering, but also God’s eventual vindication.
After the second verse laments, “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,” the next three lines extol the holiness, majesty, and deliverance of God, starting with Verse 3: “In you our ancestors trusted, they trusted, and you delivered them.”
And while Verses 6 to 18 recount manifold sufferings, including some prophesying Jesus’ agonies — palms pierced, bones battered, garments gambled for — the final 15 lines petition and praise divine deliverance and dominion, ending with: “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it” (Ps 22:30–31).
Rejoice and obey
In the Fourth Sunday of Lent on March 15, God as Provider, Protector and Deliverer is also expounded in all Mass readings.
In the First Book of Samuel (1 Sam 16:1, 6–7, 10–13) on the anointing of the future King David, God directs the prophet past physical appearances to His chosen ruler. The Responsorial Psalm 23 (Ps 23:1–6) assures us “there is nothing I shall want” under the Good Shepherd’s care.
The second passage from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (Eph 5:8–14) calls on the faithful: “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”
And that perfectly preludes the long reading from the Gospel of Saint John (Jn 9:1–41) about Jesus making a man blind from birth see. All very appropriate for Laetare or Rejoice Sunday, as the Fourth Sunday of Lent is called, with pink vestments breaking the succession of penitent purple throughout the season.
So, like Jesus we can all trust in God even in great distress. At least, that’s the plan.
Well, let’s pray that we hold fast and not be seduced by wielders of seemingly all-powerful, everlasting human might, wealth and knowledge. And that we be deserving of God’s succor and favor.
As the Gospel passage quoted above notes, God listens to “one [who] is devout and does his will.” The Epistle to the Ephesians adds: “Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness.”
The disbelievers and disobedient suffer like godless empires the bitter fruits of foolish pride.
May we show trust in God by heeding Him. Amen.