The noun, "Palestine," is a modern cognate for the name "Philistine." Philistines no longer exist. Palestinians have never existed. It is good to maintain right-headed thinking. How does one do that in this day of obfuscation and disinformation?
This morning as
I read this article I started thinking about this news story and other recent events in a different and spiritual way. I shall attempt to put them together in a larger context.
Israel conquered and destroyed the Philistines when King David buried a rock from his sling deep into Goliath's skull and then cut off his head. The Philistines passed into history, just like the Hittites, Moabites, Edomites and Jubusites, without any modern descendants. Yet, we find ourselves in a day where we need our Champion to fight the good fight against the modern Philistine. When it happens, you can "bet the farm" on that fight. The outcome for Jewish and Christian believers is a forgone conclusion. Yet many will not "bet the farm" because many still doubt. Israel will win this current battle as long as Israel remains faithful to the Lord.
That the Lord God would give that slight teenage shepherd, David, such a great triumph over a heavily armed, deadly, and dangerous slaughterer of men, Goliath, tells me all I need to know about our God. In the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Jewish and Christian protagonists are always revealed to us with all of their faults and foibles. This is one way that I know the Book is true. Were it otherwise, these characters' faults would be whitewashed. God's Chosen People win against all odds, not because they are perfect, but because they love God. If they love God, they will love and defend each other. When they love and defend each other, they win. It is a difficult heritage but it is their destiny. Stated differently: When Zion is faithful to God, she is invincible. When she wonders off to worship glitz and glamour, then or now; when she forgets her first Love and Allegiance; then she deserves and endures the consequences of her unfaithfulness ... but only for a time until she repents and returns.
Christians, a scion of this Israel, also teach and believe this same wisdom.
Jews world over, and their worldwide Christian brothers and sisters, are in for many trials such as described above. I am certain that many so-called Christians and Jews, as well as other adversaries, will pooh-pooh what I say here. I offer this: Folks like Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, and Sarah Palin are regularly ridiculed for their positive and inclusive Faith in God which is a natural evangelism for them. If you heard Governor Perry's message from Saturday, you heard him quote the Prophets Saint Joel and Saint Isaiah, and the Pharisee, Saint Paul [called by Jesus to be a Witness and Apostle]. The passages were uplifting and full of hope and prayers for our land. Yet many feel threatened when they hear positive messages about hope, faith, charity and love in Scripture and from a politician's mouth? Why? I think I know... and I think you know.
The besieged and praying believers in modern Israel effect much good. Lest the Israeli Armed Forces think that it was they alone who turned away the modern "Philistine," it was the prayers of the Faithful at the Wailing Wall and in Synagogues and Chapels that moved God to strengthen those who defended her. It has always been so for God's Chosen People. For the USA and Americans it is no different. It is the prayers of millions at Sunday daily Masses and Services, Prayer Meetings, and millions of Grace Prayers said around millions of dinner tables, that keep this country Right with God. If you don't believe this, I am afraid it is you that has the problem and not Governors Palin, Huckabee and Perry, or the people of Israel.
Some might call any good thing that follows honest prayer coincidence ... maybe. But this has been my
coincidental experience:
"When I pray, coincidences happen. When I don't, they don't!"
Our Touchstone is the Lord God. He is not some lucky charm. He is our Strength, our Redeemer, and our Salvation. He won't drag us kicking and screaming into Heaven. But he invites us to open the door and to let Him in to our Homes. God will do as he must do to measure out Justice, Peace and Salvation. We all await His return... some for the Second Time, Some for the First Time. But rest assured, He says, "I come soon." Will we believe it when we see it? Must we first touch His wounds? I used to be that guy ... no longer.
Perhaps we could see many of these "birthing pains" [as Saint Paul calls them] right now if we'd simply care to look around us. Trust God. Let God. God mends the broken relationships. God teaches us to love again, if we will but forgive ... again and again. God certainly loves the soldiers who laid down their life for another's freedom. He similarly raises the Peace Officer or Fireman killed while saving others. He is most certainly, even now, cradling our brave soldiers and sailors killed on Friday last. If we focus on Him as our Salvation, that same Lord then causes us to focus on others. Left to our own devices, and neglecting prayer, we always turn to ourselves for comfort and solutions. I can tell you from experience, this may work for a time, but not for eternity.
What will God find when he returns? Which camp will you be in? He loves to speak with us daily and He does. But if we never talk to Him, how can we expect to hear Him and recognize His voice? Conversation is a two way street, and listening takes practice. I have learned this through some very hard ways and times. When all the wealth and politics, and military might, and gadgets and pleasurable diversions fail, it is certainly a time when many turn to prayer. But that is not when we should have started praying, just like we do not wait until the hurricane is upon us to make preparations for the storm. Those who do not prepare often perish. We are called to pray about, to think about, and to be prepared to do the right thing every day.
When we were kids in elementary school, we had singing class for an hour, once per week. Most Boys hated it, most Girls loved it. But one song to which everyone loved to sing and clap was
"When the Saints Go Marchin' In." It took me singing that song, and one line in particular many times, and well into middle-age before it's meaning finally dawned on me. It is why I do what I do today. Some people find this scary. I shall pray for them.
Finally, after all these years, I get it:
"I want to be in that number, when those Saints go marchin' in!"
