Meditation for the 12th Sunday

It is pretty clear that people of ancient times believed this world was under the control of gods in the heavens. It was these gods who caused the cataclysmic events – floods, earthquakes, famines, and the like – usually because they were angry with the people of the earth. So, most ancient religion was all about keeping the gods happy. People of the O.T. dismissed all these gods as not having any power over the world – only the One True God had such authority and power – but held on to the belief that God still used such events to discipline and punish people of the world. In today’s gospel – Jesus confirms that God has such authority and power – but God does not use the forces of creation to harm people. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. But now, our modern world with its scientific knowledge, has a natural/scientific explanation for the cataclysmic events happening in the world – (today it is more likely that man is the one causing them now). So, with nothing to fear from the gods, who needs religion? Jesus in the gospel today teaches that it’s not the weather we need to be concerned about – rather its the character of our living now, and the future of our existence after this life. If we would truly love and care for this planet, and for one another living here, like God does, life on this planet would be a whole lot better than we have it now. But even more important – God has given us a choice where we will live after this life – either with our loving God or in the caverns of darkness and death. A question we might ask of these days – as we see more and more the pews of our churches turning up empty – is the new god that rules this generation a view of science and technology that denies God’s existence – have we just replaced the old gods of the heavens with the new gods, fashioned out of reason? Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.