Sunday, November 11, 2007

God's Kids

This week I admitted in a conversation with my dad that I don't always trust God with the future of my kids. I sometimes feel like they might be safer in my hands than His - I want to keep them safe, after all, He just wants them to be saved eternally. Sigh. Well, I was hit with that in a big way with the homily this morning. The old testament reading was from 2 Maccabees, which I've never read before since it is a deuterocanonical bok (what Protestants would call the "apocrypha" - when Catholics use the word apocrypha, I believe it means what Protestants call the pseudepigrapha). Anyway, the story is a Jewish family that was being forced to eat things that were forbidden to them by God, or be tortured and die. The words of one of the sons are as follows"

10After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely held out his hands,
11
as he spoke these noble words: "It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again."
12
Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

This was the last verse in, but when Father gave the homily, we read more - there were more sons, and a mother that was supporting them all through this. Exhorting her sons to obey God's law, she watched each one be tortured and die. Um, ouch. Here's what she said to one of her sons:

22
"I do not know how you came into existence in my womb; it was not I who gave you the breath of life, nor was it I who set in order the elements of which each of you is composed.
23
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe who shapes each man's beginning, as he brings about the origin of everything, he, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law."

And to another:

27
In derision of the cruel tyrant, she leaned over close to her son and said in their native language: "Son, have pity on me, who carried you in my womb for nine months, nursed you for three years, brought you up, educated and supported you to your present age.
28
2 I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things; and in the same way the human race came into existence.
29
Do not be afraid of this executioner, but be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them."


Oh, wow, was that convicting. Would I have the courage to look at my little ones and say "Obey God and accept death, so that when the end of all things is here, we'll be together again in the 'time of mercy'?" WOW. HARD. But totally important - after all,if I myself would be willing to die for God, which obviously would hurt my poor mother, don't I want the same for my kids? OW. OW. OW.

Then during my afternoon bath slash mommy reading time, I picked up Sacred Parenting, which I have been meaning to read for a long time. Here's the last paragraph of the second chapter:

Sacred Parenting calls me to accept the hardest hurt of all - for the sake of God's kingdom and for the sake of our children's own development, I need to allow my kids to face challenges, failure, rejection and pain, and then teach them to use these seemingly negative events to fuel their sense of mission and to foster their dependence on God.

OKAY GOD I GET IT.

Hey - even God had to let His Son die for the salvation of the world. And Simeon warned Mary that a sword would pierce her heart.

I guess parenting pierces everybody's heart.

3 comments:

Michelle said...

I was wondering the same thing when I was reflecting on the Maccabeean mom. I also remember reading a biography of a saint who said she wished her child to die rather than commit a mortal sin. Wow!

jennifaye said...

It sure does.
When your child is not following Christ it is even harder. You wonder where or what the purpose is. When God is your passion then that is all you want for your children.

Laurel H. said...

Mercy me, Rachel; that is SUCH a hard pill for a mother to swallow. But thanks for sharing, because it is a NECESSARY pill to swallow.