Psalm 97: 1-2 “The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and judgement are the foundation of his throne”
Does anyone remember the 1960’s TV series Bat Man based on the comic book character of the same name. There have been many recent movies about Bat Man and in addition other comic book characters such as Spider Man in later years. In the TV series Bat Man ( Adam West ) and Robin ( Bert Ward ) would battle good against evil who were play by the arch enemies of good the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and the Joker ( Cesar Romero ). This was a corny tongue in cheek supposedly for kids entertainment but adults were also amused.
Whenever evil showed up Robin would condemn the action by saying the word, “Jehoshaphat”. The entire Book of Joel has the same theme. We as a people must repent and put away our evil ways. Of course we are human and none of us are either all good or all evil as in a comic book character. Myself, I liked Cat Women ( Julie Newmar ) and Egghead ( Vincent Price ). The point of the Book of Joel and the comic character is that we have a choice and can go either way. We all are human.
During the recent hurricane, Irma, in Florida my wife Anna and I were without electricity for 5 days. There were many more in our area who were out many days longer. Everyone on our block was in the same situation and after the storm they came out of their houses and helped each other clean up branches and whole trees that fell. My nine-year old granddaughter volunteered to help. In our electronic age she did not have internet and was eager to volunteer. Her mom, my daughter, was speechless.
There was a lovely lady down the block who had electricity and set up a cell phone charging station for free at the edge of her home so people could charge their phones and communicate. Much like the homeless, simple things like clean clothes, water, and communications are precious if you do not have them. Our land telephone line was out so I did use it to charge my wife’s and my cell. A picture of her good deed for others is shown above. This lady lived her gospel message to love others.
Valley of Jehoshaphat ( God’s Judgement) is scary and it was meant to be. Our life is not fiction. There are consequences to our actions and those consequences are multi-generational.
From our Gospel today: Luke 11:27-28 While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
When Jesus proclaimed the Gospel message to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, he was speaking to all generations and how they interrelate with each other. The unidentified woman was speaking of Mary but also of Joseph and Anne and Joachim who were Mary’s parents and also to us in 2017.
All of us have been helped by our neighbors, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,as well as, our aunts and uncles in our faith formation. We in turn help our children and grandchildren. We have the choice to change our ways and because we are connected to the world around us and we are also judged by how we help other generations to come to do the same thing. We are the Olympic torch barriers for others and to others. In Luke 8: 20-21 “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.”He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” We are connected to Christ by Baptism and when we sin we are no longer related and reflect badly on Jesus and those who guided us. Remember ! No one is beyond hope. No one is all good or all bad.
The choices we make don’t just affect our eternal judgement. It affects the world and generations after us. “Jehoshaphat” ! When Robin said that in the Bat Man comic it was calling God’s judgement on evil . That judgement has the consequences of affecting others not just us. You have a choice that can affect the future for good or evil. My prayer is that we all choose good for ourselves and by our good example others will be led. “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Please pray for the suffering people of Puerto Rico and the victims of Las Vegas and all the first-responders who come to their aid.
God Bless
Bob Burford
Readings: Joel 4:12-21; Psalm 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12; Luke 11: 27-28
