16 December 2013
Monday of the Third Week of Advent
The first reading today is bizarre at best. It reports the account of Balaam, a pagan fortune-teller who was employed by the king of Moab to curse the Isralites, a hoard of undocumented aliens from Egypt invading Moab. But at the last minute the Holy Spirit rushed in upon Balaam causing him to bless rather than curse the invaders and to announce the coming from them a great hero, a messiah, royal and divine. So what’s in all of this for us?
At this time in our country, when there are unprecedented tensions between Church and State, religion and secularism, we might prayerfully reflect on the fact that in a society political authority and religious authority depend upon one another. The king of Moab had recourse to divine authority to achieve his political purpose; the Holy Spirit employed a political medium to announce the coming of Christ.
Just as the Church respects political authority so political authority must respect God’s design, whether it be reflected in the natural law or in Church’s teaching. The Pharisees in today’s Gospel did not respect John’s baptism: “Was it divine or merely human?” Honesty demanded an answer, which they would not give. During this Advent season let us pray that politicians respect Catholic schools and hospitals and that these institutions continue to build up our nation.