Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Romans 9:1-5; Luke 14:1-6)
Yuval Noah
Harari is a Jewish historian living in Israel but known internationally for his
sober account of the future. Not long
ago he spoke of how Israel and Judaism were fighting a war for their soul. Harari explained that after the fall of the
Temple in 70 A.D. the rabbis assembled to shape a new concept of Judaism based
on collaboration and compromise in the quest of peace. Now, he said, Israel is more determined to
become a superpower with a will to dominate other nations.
Harari’s
statement rhymes with St. Paul’s assessment of Judaism in today’s first
reading. He lists the grandeur of the
Jewish tradition: “adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law,
the worship, and the promises”. Paul
also mentions that from this transcendent tradition came the Savior, Jesus
Christ.
What Harari
sees happening in Israel, we might see occurring in our society. Take Halloween
for example. In recent years our society
has altered the meaning of this holiday in a similar way to how Harari
describes the recent turn of perspective in Israel. We no longer think of Halloween as All Saints
Eve when the unpurified dead have a free day to roam the world seeking relief. Now images of violent death and ruthless
warriors prevail. The Christian tradition
at the base of virtually all Western societies is no less built on a vision of peace
than the Jewish tradition. For this
reason, we should pray and work that a worldview of dominance through violence never
takes root in our society.
