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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Community Volume 13, No. 3 April 26, 1998 Question BoxQ. Why were the Israelites the Chosen People? A. It was not because the Israelites were more deserving than any other people that God made them his special possession. He set aside one particular group to form for himself a people from whom his Messiah would come. Part of this process was the gradual revelation of himself in a new way as a God who loves humanity intimately. Many Jews of today and former times have acknowledged that being the Chosen People has not been an unmixed blessing; sometimes it has been a very heavy burden indeed. The Jews as a people have always been very conscious that the covenants God formed with them (such as with Abraham and Isaac, and with Moses at Sinai) bound them with certain responsibilities, which they frequently failed to uphold. The entire history of the Old Testament is one of God's continuing pursuit of his people and their repeated lapses and reconciliation. The church affirms that this choice was permanent. The Jews remain God's chosen people, and Christians have become inheritors with the Jews of their part of salvation history. Q. Aaron and Miriam challenged Moses's authority, but only Miriam was punished (Numbers 12:1-10). Why? A. We don't know that only Miriam was punished, even though Scripture records that only she was afflicted with a skin disease, which was interpreted as punishment for her challenge, and that God speaks harshly against Miriam but not against Aaron (Numbers 12: 14). Although all Scripture is inspired, it was written by human agents, who were subject to the same imperfections all humans have. They may have held the patriarchal attitudes toward women that were common at that time, which colored their description of events. Scripture writers have sometimes used selective editing, emphasizing certain parts of historical events and leaving out other parts for more effective storytelling. Aaron may have been "punished" in ways not evident to the senses. Whatever the case, Aaron does recognize and repent of his fault (Numbers 12:11). Q. Dinah's full brothers, Simeon and Levi, deceived the men of Shechem, and then killed them. Her other brothers pillaged the city and carried off all the people's wealth, the women, and their children, and took for loot whatever was in the houses (Gen 34:24-29). The punishment does not seem to fit the crime. Were they ever punished? A. Dinah's brothers did not think they did anything wrong or out of the ordinary in dealing with Shechem, and even though their father Jacob upbraided his sons for their action, it was mostly because he feared his more powerful neighbors would respond by annihilating his own family. These attitudes were the prevailing ones for the times and were part of the reason why covenants were so important between neighboring groups. As to punishment, seldom is perfect justice found on earth, as we can realize from our own lives. We do know one thing for certain, and that is that God is just. No good or evil deed goes unheeded, even though the reward or punishment may never be evident to us. (The foregoing responses were prepared by Cathy Fix and reviewed by Fr. Frank.)
Mark Your Calendars!Our annual Pot Luck with guest speaker will be held Sunday, June 7, 1998, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the parish hall. Our guest speaker will be Rabbi Alexis Roberts of Congregation Dor Hadash in Clairmont. Rabbi Roberts will address some aspect of the status of women in the Old Testament. All parishioners, not just Scripture Study members, are encouraged to attend this event. Look for more information in the forthcoming flyer.
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