“I want to have the Playstation like other children have.” What others have becomes our standard of what we must have early in life. Sometimes parents also make use of the “like the others” argument to try to entice their children into the appropriate response: “See how other children are doing so well?”
The people of Israel had fallen into the same trend. Soon after they arrived at the promised land, they wanted to be “like the other” peoples and be governed by their own king. They were warned by the prophet that having a human king did not come without risks. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Soon these kings would start abusing their power and would take advantage of the people. Authority would soon evolve from a form of service into a kind of power to “lord over the people they were called to serve”.
Yet, the yearning to be “like the others” was a more powerful drive, and Israel demanded that God gave them a king. Within the Church we don’t lack the same kind of thinking. “The world does…”, “how long shall we wait until the Church does…” These are common murmurings of the new people of Israel. God respected this misguided freedom and gave in. The people of Israel had their king.
Sure enough, these kings did abuse their power and led Israel from disaster to disaster. God wills us to remain “under the control of our own decisions”. Mistake is the price we pay for freedom. We are awakened to truth in freedom. And that implies the risk of failing and falling. Only after the failure of many kings, a remnant of the people was ready to see in Jesus, the true king, who used his power “to serve, and not to be served.”
Jesus healed the paralytic because they thought they needed visible signs. But the true power of Jesus is invisible. It is the power to heal from sin. Because this is the power that is most needed, Jesus is the kind who is most needed. Which mistakes have awakened us into the truth lately? Which failures have helped us realize what is the right path?
He is the founder of monastic life. He was born in Egypt in 251. One day in church, he listened to the words of Jesus in the gospel, “leave everything, give it to the poor and then follow me”, and he did just that. He went out into the wilderness to begin a life of penance, living in absolute poverty, praying, meditating and supporting himself by manual work. Disciples gathered around him, attracted by his wisdom, moderation and holiness.
