A Fable: Sodomanians *

The Almighty spoke to Rabbi Ismus, Go now to the land of Sodomania and proclaim to the people of the south that I the Almighty love them.

Rabbi Ismus was deeply troubled. O Holy One Beyond All Knowing, you have no idea what you are asking. Do you not know who they are and what they do?

The Almighty spoke again to Rabbi Ismus, For too long these people have been denied their rights, they have been abused, persecuted, and some have been killed by the people of the north.

Rabbi Ismus was deeply perplexed for he was unable to fathom the words of the Holy One. Great and Holy One, he said, these people are sinners, they are vile in their relationships with one another, they commit obscene acts that you yourself denounced in your written word, they deserve to be separated, punished and shunned by the northern people.

The Almighty became perplexed and he responded to his prophet, you misread my word, you interpret the teaching with deaf ears and blind eyes. You hear harshness and judgment when I speak of love and community. You trouble yourself with divine things, when I created and redeemed human life. Stop wasting my time and pronounce the good news to the people of the south.

So Rabbi Ismus departed from the holy place and made his way by an abandoned road across the land of hypocrisy to the Sodomanians and there he lifted his voice: These are the very words of the Holy One: You are loved by God.

Immediately, the Sodomanians rejoiced and were exceedingly glad. They killed the fatted calf, prepared fresh vegetables, and gathered the wine stewards. They gave thanks to the Great One who they now knew as the Blessed One, the Father of All.

Rabbi Ismus, folded his arms and sat under a banana tree and cried: The world is not the same, even God is a revisionist. How will I ever believe again. I will remain here, I will not move, here I will die!

And so it was: The Anglophiles who had been debating whether or not the Sodomanians were a worthy people went their separate ways, there were those who defended God and there were those who had compassion for the outcasts; and so the fig tree withered ....

* apologies to the Prophet Jonah

Mystagogia #3

As Easter people we are to behold the new creation in the world and in ourselves; strengthened in the hope of the resurrection; living joyfully as children of our loving Father; renewed by the gracious gifts of life we have received; being grounded in the truth of the gospel with fidelity.

The Twenty-First Day of Easter

God our Father, by the waters of Baptism you give new life to the faithful. May we not succumb to the influence of evil but remain true to your gift of life through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 70

That No One Venture to Punish at Random

Every occasion of presumption
shall be avoided in the monastery,
and we decree that no one be allowed
to excommunicate or to strike any of his brothers
unless the Abbot has given him the authority.
Those who offend in this matter
shall be rebuked in the presence of all,
that the rest may have fear.

But children up to 15 years of age
shall be carefully controlled and watched by all,
yet this too with all moderation and discretion.
All, therefore, who presume
without the Abbot's instructions
to punish those above that age
or who lose their temper with them,
shall undergo the discipline of the Rule;
for it is written,
"Do not to another what you would not want done to yourself" (Tobias 4:16).