First Reading is 2 Kings 24:8-17

So, we got a new king in Jerusalem, Jehoiachin. He only gets to be king for three months, but he does enough bad things in those three months, that he deserves a mention of "He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his forebears had done." I wonder what kind of stuff you can do in three months to get a mention as evil for the next few thousand years?



Anyway, Babylon lays siege, conquers the city, and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, considers it important enough to come himself and make sure that Jerusalem is brought to it's knees. Apparently, Jehoiachin, was already a Babylonian vessel, and was rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar, which explains why this guy was so ticked off that he looted the temple and deported most the the wealthy and powerful back to Babylon, presumably as slaves.



Then he places Jehoiachin's uncle in charge, who immediately changes his name to Zedekiah, which means “Jehovah is righteous” or the “Justice of Jehovah”, which he may have thought sounded more kingly than Mattaniah, which just means "gift of Jehovah". I don't know what we are supposed to learn from this. The old testament seems to have a lot of "bad things happen to bad people" stories like this, and while I do enjoy a gory tale of political intrigue as much as the next guy, I don't get the relevance. Maybe it will tie in for me with the next reading. That happens sometimes.



Second Reading is Matthew 7:21-29

I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet, so I may be currently insane, but I think I do have the tie-in. Jesus is continuing his sermon from yesterday, about false prophets. He's saying that it doesn't matter if you do all of this great stuff, (prophecy, good deeds, driving out demons, all the fun things), if you don't do God's will. Well, maybe the story in the first reading is actually a "bad things happen to bad people" kind of story. As far as I know, the early Jews didn't have a concept of heaven or hell, and people (sometimes) got rewarded or punished on earth for their deeds. If there were ever a time in the Old Testament where it looks like God got fed up and turned his back on his people, it was during the Babylonian occupation, right? Is it because their leaders were talking smack about loving God (remember the Mattaniah/Zedekiah name change?), but they were actually worshipping idols? There was all kinds of other behavior that God seems to find repugnant, that accompanied this idol worship. That behavior is probably what drew the kings to the idol worshipping in the first place. Kings of all ages have enjoyed the benefits that come with temple prostitutes, sacred orgies, and child sacrifice.

So, back to Jesus, he explains that if we just follow God's will, (easier said than done), we will have a strong foundation for this life and the next. I believe that small sins make it easier to commit bigger sins. So, I could also argue that exercising virtuous behavior (the real kind, not the annoying kind) makes us stronger and more likely to resist temptation in the future.


Interesting news article for today, I wonder if it will affect the US: Pope prefers Communion on the tongue, Msgr. Marini says