Bringing down Fire from Heaven
(republishing, copying, no restrictions)
By: Father Shay Cullen
You would think that if we walked side by side with Jesus of Nazareth in real life we would be overwhelmed by his teaching of non-violence, love of justice, equality, religious tolerance and the sacredness of the human person. In the Gospel of St Luke Chapter 9 verses 51 ff, James and John believed that Jesus would set up a political kingdom in Jerusalem and they were ambitious to be his ministers. They got their mother to ask Jesus for the top jobs, (Matthew 20:20-28) they asked for the positions themselves according to St. Mark (Mark 10: 35-45) they were ambitious.
In Samaria, the villagers of a different sect and were excluded from Jewish society did not welcome Jesus. James and John were filled with anger it seems and asked Jesus if they would call down “Fire from heaven” to destroy them all. Their arrogance in believing that God, infinite goodness, would do such evil and give them unlimited destructive power to destroy entire villages and whomever they liked is staggering. They had little understanding of Jesus and his mission and he turned and rebuked them and all who call down fire to vent vengeance and retribution. Rash judgment, condemnation, punishment and revenge were all superseded by the justice, compassion, understanding and forgiveness taught and practiced by Jesus of Nazareth.
Those of moral superiority were told to cast the first stone if they had never sinned and the woman caught in adultery was spared stoning. He let no one condemn her. The prostitute Mary of Magdalene was instantly forgiven for her immoral acts.
The indiscriminate bombings and killings and maiming of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq have reached a horrifying total. It is not all done by the insurgents with truck bombs and assassination squads but the Coalition Forces have much to answer for too including thousand of their own dead and wounded. It was an illegal and unjust war opposed by the church. George W. Bush’s recent visit to the Pope has not changed that.
There is nothing to justify what Iraq is enduring and suffering. Tony Blair left office with this dark stain on his otherwise praiseworthy legacy arguable as that may be.
The oil and energy interests of corporate America to whom Vice-president Dick Cheney and the Bush family have such close ties were behind the war. Justification and support came from the so-called Christian fundamentalist movement. Known for their literal interpretation of the Bible and their opposition to scientific and secular values that impinge on traditional moral values.
The “Christian right” or the “Religious Right” are members of conservative evangelical churches. While not agreeing to all the fundamentalist dogmas they oppose what they consider to be morally corrupting secular philosophies and practices. Together they are called the “Moral Majority” led by the likes of Jerry Falwell, recently deceased.
They support the occupation of the Holy Land by Israel and see no injustice done to the Palestinians and to easily brand all of them “terrorists”. That unresolved situation is at the heart of the Middle East conflict and is used by Islamic extremists to justify atrocities everywhere. Solving that is the key to a more peaceful world.
The re-election of George W. Bush was attributed in large part to the vote of the Moral Majority. In 2002 a survey in the United States showed that 69 percent of conservative Christians supported military action against Iraq many of them Catholics and democrats much to their eternal shame and embarrassment. As the bodies continue pile up it haunts them all the more. How could true Christians support such a war for oil and money? And “call down fire from heaven”, to kill and main other innocents people? They believe in an old Testament God of vengeance and fire power who will destroy their enemies in a Holy War. Jesus came to transform that belief but neither James nor John understood it at first. But you would think 2000 years later the moral majority would be more enlightened.
What is so ironic is that this same
extreme zeal to wage holy war, and resist positive change in the world
is strikingly similar to the Islamic extremists waging their version of
Jihad, or “Holy War” and calling on the same God to bring down “fire
from heaven” on the rest of us. Jesus would turn and rebuke them all.
