Today’s Scripture Reading (September
23, 2013): 1 Chronicles 22
Pope Francis
has recently set out the course that he apparently intends to follow in his
years as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. To say that his comments have surprised
observers would seem to be an understatement. Francis seems intent on changing
the course of Catholic Christianity (and because we do not live in a vacuum,
his course will have an effect on all Christianity) in a significant way. Not
only did Francis speak of ending the controversy over issues of contraception,
but he also made salvos into the areas of homosexuality and abortion, indicating
that the church had become too obsessed in these areas of human life. The
surprise is largely due to the fact that Francis’ vision contrasts so sharply
with many of the priorities of his immediate predecessors John Paul II and
Benedict XVI. They were both intellectuals for whom doctrine was the overriding
consideration, an orientation that guided the selection of generations of
bishops and cardinals around the world. But at first glance, Francis seems to
be more concerned with issues of how the Catholic Church is seen by those
outside of the church than doctrinal issues. And he is willing to make some
changes in the way that the papacy has operated in order to move into a
different vision of the future.
As David’s
reign was ending, it seemed that he had held the same concerns regarding the
things that his young son would do when he finally rose to the throne of
Israel. And so David began to educate the young King. This education
specifically concerned the Temple that Solomon would eventually build. David
had always wanted to be the builder of the Temple – a home for God - but God
had denied the action specifically because of the blood that was on David’s
hands. But Solomon would be a different king, a wise king of peace - the type
of king that, at least in David’s mind, was the kind of king that would be able
to build the Temple that David had longed to build.
But that
also produces a second problem. Was the temple a dream of David’s, or was it a
dream of God’s. And throughout history scholars have seemed to divide on that
issue. For some, it was God that placed the dream of a temple in the heart of
David, and then subsequently in the heart of his son, Solomon. But others
recognize that the temple could have existed only in the mind of the David.
That David, after he was forbidden to build the temple, was the one that drove
the vision forward into the reign of his son – he prepared for a vision of a temple
that was his and only his. And for this group of people, part of the reason for
questioning of whether or not God dreamed of a temple was the enormous cost of
the temple itself in almost every area of life and the role that the Temple
played during the time of Jesus. In many ways, the temple stood in contrast to
everything that Jesus taught.
It is hard
to know how we should prepare the generation that follows us to replace us in
leadership. We often want to make them see this world exactly as we see it, but
in doing that we may blind them to the reality that God wishes to place inside
of them. The questions that surround the building of Solomon’s Temple can
probably never be answered. But when it comes to the things that Pope Francis
seems willing to build, the prayer of the Christian community should be that
whatever is built is built on the vision that God has placed on Francis heart –
and that he is willing to carry us into a version of the future that is
uniquely God’s. Francis, the church that you lead is praying for you.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Chronicles 23
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