FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:
If someone stopped you on the street and asked you to describe God, how would you answer? It’s a great question to bring to your private prayer. It reveals how you relate to Him. If you see him as cold and distant, you will never talk to him on a daily basis. If you only pray when you need something, the goodness of God will be dependent upon whether or not he answered the prayers in the way you wanted. If God is seen as merciful, just, and lavish with his love, He will be seen as our Father in Heaven. Therefore, we are his sons and daughters. God will not simply be seen as some distant figure hiding majestically behind the clouds. He will be seen as someone intimately intertwined with our lives. He cares for us, even in the smallest of things, like any good parent. In other words, if God is our Heavenly Father, he is not indifferent to us; after all, what loving earthly mother or father could be?
The Scripture readings that we have today demonstrate the magnificence of this God of ours. We hear in the First Reading God speaking directly to Moses: “tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.” He’s telling them I have chosen you, yes you, from all the different people of the earth, for a special, specific mission. If they remain faithful by following all his commandments and teachings, God would make the Israelite people into a “kingdom of priests.” This is an extremely important moment in history and for the entire salvation of all of humanity. God is telling them I have a plan to save the human race from their sins. As we know terribly well, we’re constantly tempted to stray from God. We fall into sin time and time again. Our eyes are meant to loftily gaze heavenward, to the heights, yet clumsily veer to the glittery, shining distraction of the earth.
We’re meant for mightier things, He tells us. You and I are created to be this “kingdom of priests.” The original Hebrew phrase this was written is mamlekheth kōhanim. It also has the connotation of a “royal priesthood”. God is offering in this pivotal moment the restoration of what was lost with Adam in the Book of Genesis. God gave our first father “dominion over the earth” in Genesis 1:26. Then God gave him his priestly duties to “work and guard” the garden of Eden, which are priestly roles. Sadly, Adam lost his royalty and priesthood by rebelling against God. He traded his God-given inheritance for the worthless dirt of sin. This battle now rages in each of us. Will we choose the offer of this royal restored priesthood of God, or fall back and repeat the same mistake of Adam?
A Servant of Jesus Christ,
Fr. Brian J. Soliven
