Same God?
How many times have you heard something like the question, “Do you believe in the God of the Old Testament, or the God of the New Testament?” Of course, we know it is the same God, but some people say that God is “nicer” in the New Testament than in the Old.
To be fair, it can certainly seem so. The Old Testament does give the impression that God’s ways have changed somewhat since then. And perhaps in some ways they have, but only in the sense of how a father’s way of fathering changes as his son grows and matures.
For example, in the beginning there is very little speaking between God and Israel, and even less explaining. Instead, there is only intervention. There’s some corporal punishment too, which alone can convey a lesson to a person not yet in full use of his reason.
As the child (Israel) grows, however, he begins to ask, “Why?” compelling God to move from interventionist parenting to the beginnings of an educative approach. And though Israel is still too young to understand fully, God gives the Law and Commandments, together with the Judges, for example, to help them begin to make judgments about right and wrong.
Then God will send Prophets to help Israel navigate the experience of coming of age, as they’re living among the nations. The Prophets’ words are full of the sternness that any good father would direct toward his teenage son whose jealousy of others is poisoning his own goodness.
The Israel of young adulthood may be likened to the time of the kings. The people of Israel are trying to live “on their own,” but are still dependent on their father to pay some of the bills and to watch (or, help to raise) their children.
Then Christ appears. And when He does, He begins his public ministry as an adult, because in Him Israel finally matures into adulthood. Christ will lead by example, and He’ll take the risk of honoring our freedom to adhere to His Spirit (or not to). But He will not treat us like children. “I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”
No wonder, then, as Christ stands before Pilate who, even before declaring Him “King of the Jews,” will proclaim with another prophetic word, “Ecce Homo!” which means, “Behold, the Man!”
We celebrated the Feast of The Conversion of Saint Paul this week, on Thursday. It was, for him, an experience of spiritual maturation: moving from living according to the Law to living according to the Spirit of God’s love. Christ gave him the grace to see what he could not see before.
Writing to the Corinthians, he describes his conversion in his own words. “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” +