Memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr
(Daniel 2:31-45; Luke 21:5-11)
Recent events have shown that the United States, as powerful a nation as it is, cannot control the course of the world. Its withdrawal from Iraq indicates that it has lost the will to assure a peaceful society there. And the persistence of the Taliban in Afghanistan challenges the American quest for justice in that land to the breaking point. The country must reassess its purposes as prophet Daniel proposes in today’s first reading.
Daniel, writing from an historical perspective, recognizes that mighty kingdoms come and go. He is supposedly warning the king of Babylonia but actually has all the rulers of the earth in mind. His message is that they not strive to conquer more lands but to concern themselves with true justice and peace. In the end God will judge the nations of the world. In Daniel’s prophetic imagination, God’s kingdom is the stone that becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth.
We Americans have cause to be grateful for the blessings heaped upon our country. Our nation has all-in-all contributed to a better world. But we should not be lulled into thinking that every American initiative is just. Our leaders are wise to remember that Americans have caused hardship in the name of democracy and that they too are subject to judgment.
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 28:10-22a; Matthew 9:18-26)
As Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, many may find Jacob’s declaration of the place where he slept to be “an abode of God” as characteristic of the United States. Like the Lord’s prediction of Jacob’s descendants, Americans are numerous. Although its extent is easily exaggerated, the United States has been a blessing to Europe during and after World War II and to many developing countries today.
The term “American exceptionalism” has been invented to explain how the United States has reached greatness. Separated from other powers by the vast Atlantic, the country was incubated without the constant threat of war. Equally important, the country did not have a history of feudalism that separated rich from poor as a matter of necessity. Now that slavery and its vestiges have been overcome, it is truly a land of opportunity for everyone. Belief in God and religious freedom has also played a significant part in America’s achievement. The idea of a “Creator” grounds the concept of human rights in the “Declaration of Independence.” More importantly even, Lincoln and other patriots have turned to God as an unerring judge who rewards the nation for its virtue and punishes it for its vice.
However much Americans like to compare its blessings with that of God to Jacob, they should note a critical difference. God’s benediction on Jacob is a solemn oath that He will never retract. Israel, not the country but the people, will endure forever. No such promise has been made to the United States as a country or a people. If the country is to continue to flourish, it must strive to be a blessing for others, to pursue virtue at all costs, and, as much as its freedom of religion will allow, to retain its belief in God.
(Genesis 28:10-22a; Matthew 9:18-26)
As Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, many may find Jacob’s declaration of the place where he slept to be “an abode of God” as characteristic of the United States. Like the Lord’s prediction of Jacob’s descendants, Americans are numerous. Although its extent is easily exaggerated, the United States has been a blessing to Europe during and after World War II and to many developing countries today.
The term “American exceptionalism” has been invented to explain how the United States has reached greatness. Separated from other powers by the vast Atlantic, the country was incubated without the constant threat of war. Equally important, the country did not have a history of feudalism that separated rich from poor as a matter of necessity. Now that slavery and its vestiges have been overcome, it is truly a land of opportunity for everyone. Belief in God and religious freedom has also played a significant part in America’s achievement. The idea of a “Creator” grounds the concept of human rights in the “Declaration of Independence.” More importantly even, Lincoln and other patriots have turned to God as an unerring judge who rewards the nation for its virtue and punishes it for its vice.
However much Americans like to compare its blessings with that of God to Jacob, they should note a critical difference. God’s benediction on Jacob is a solemn oath that He will never retract. Israel, not the country but the people, will endure forever. No such promise has been made to the United States as a country or a people. If the country is to continue to flourish, it must strive to be a blessing for others, to pursue virtue at all costs, and, as much as its freedom of religion will allow, to retain its belief in God.
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