Sunday, October 05, 2008 Alipio: A grownup religion By Fr. Jose Alipio The Yoke
THIS passage contains a surprising declaration. The Ark of the Covenant was the most holy object in the religion of ancient Israel. It was built during the time of Moses and played a key role in the religious devotion and imagination of the children of Israel. The ark had two angels on top whose arching wings created the "mercy seat."
God sat enthroned on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies - that section of the sanctuous that the high priest could only enter once a year to make the offering of atonement.
When Solomon's temple was built, the ark was again placed in the Holy of Holies. Clearly, the ark marked the most sacred spot in all of Israel. And yet here we see Jeremiah proclaiming that the restored children of Israel will no longer think of the ark, or remember it, or miss it, or make another.
What happened to bring about this momentous turn of events? The temple and all of its sacred furnishings were destroyed by the Babylonians.
The Jews carried captives to the lad of Babylon were forced to develop a conception of God where God was not identified with any one sacred object or scared place.
They came to see that the God who was the creator of the universe could be found and worshipped anywhere in the universe. They came to understand that the reach of God's love and care was not limited to one people or one nation.
They were compelled by events of history to develop a more mature conception of God.
The challenge of that grownup religion is as urgent today as it was over two thousand years ago. We still cling to the childish notion that God is only interested in us when actually his concern embraces the whole world.
