A gift freely given

In a Church which fondly resurrects memories of its medieval, penitential past, it's often difficult to appreciate the insight of our biblical authors into each person's God-given worth.

Though Scripture writers are familiar with human unworthiness, frequently reflecting on the problems our sinfulness creates, they always return to the theme of the dignity which each of us possesses, a dignity which God planted in us from the beginning of time.

The biblical question isn't whether we're worthy or sinful, it's whether we're keeping the proper tension between our sinfulness and our dignity.

Dying for us

Though we're sinners, God still sees something in us which our sinfulness can't obscure, something which prompted God's Son to die for us.

In the first reading (Ex 19:2-6), we hear that Yahweh sees that same "something" in the Chosen people gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai 1,200 years before Jesus. Speaking through Moses, Yahweh reminds the Israelites, "I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself....If you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own....I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation."

This glorious endorsement seems to contradict the passages in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in which the Israelites long to return to Egypt and slavery, and the parallel narratives in which Yahweh plans to wipe out these wilderness wanderers and start over again with a whole new group of people.

Which picture is correct? In the minds of the Sacred Authors, both are accurate, but only because each stands in tension with the other.

This tension also explains Jesus' words and actions in the Gospel (Mt 9:36-10:8). His selection of the Twelve is a sign that, through the centuries, the Chosen People have sidetracked Yahweh's Sinai plans. So many refused to live up to their covenant responsibilities that Jesus tries to bring His followers back the roots of their Jewish faith: the patriarchal, 12 sons of Jacob's period, 500 years before the Exodus.

As symbols of the original twelve tribes of Israel, these twelve men are to be a sign of the intense reform of Judaism which the historical Jesus proclaims. (It's important to note that by the time we get to John's Gospel -- at the end of the first Christian century -- when the reform of Judaism is no longer an issue for Jesus' followers, the concept of the Twelve is dropped.)

Love of God

Along with announcing God's presence, the Twelve's mission to Israel includes curing the sick, raising the dead, healing the leprous and expelling demons. Like Yahweh, Jesus uses ordinary humans to convey His extraordinary love for us.

In a simple yet highly symbolic way, Jesus makes certain the tension is maintained. "The gift you have received, give as a gift." In other words, "Don't ever charge anyone for the love I freely give. It only comes through you. It's not from you."

(06-10-99)

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