Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 4:1-5.11, Mark 2:1-12)
Americans have been confused about their founding
principles. Some have come to believe
that the root principles of America are economic. They now say that greed motivated slavery
which enabled America’s prosperity. A
truer understanding of the country’s foundation will give priority to biblical
religion. The original settlers and
participants of the American Revolution believed that God entrusted this great
land to them. They were not to exploit
the native people or one another. They
were to build a society based on righteousness.
To be sure, many were blind to the evil of slavery, but at their best
they created a just system. The first
reading today insists that Hebrew Christians maintain the biblical faith as
well.
The so-called letter to the Hebrews reads more like an
exhortative sermon. The author pleads
with Christians of Jewish descent not to forget God’s promise to Abraham and
fulfilled in Christ. Evidently, these
Christians, as so many in the first century, were being persecuted. Some were forsaking their baptismal
promises. The author tells them in
today’s section that if they abandon Christ, they will lose eternal life.
We may not be moved by the revisionists finding an
alternative basis for American society.
But we may be tempted to give up biblical religion. We may make money our god or think that
science has the answers to life’s mysteries.
We need to recommit ourselves to Christianity by repenting of
covetousness. In this way not only will
America recover its true purpose, but also Americans may regain the road to
eternal life.
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