Hewing and hacking with ToB

     I love the definition of Gideon’s name: Hewer or Hacker. True he wasn’t the bravest of the judges, but after speaking to the angel he did go and chop down his family’s Asherah pole and altar to Baal (Monday’s lectionary reading, Judges 6:25-40). Afterwards his dad at least stood up for him against the people saying, “If (Baal) is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down.” Yes, let’s find out if Baal can defend himself.

     The prophet Elijah also did some hewing and hacking of his own when he taunted the people concerning their Baal not showing up at Elijah’s contest with him on Mount Carmel:

And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” (ESV, 1 Kings 18:27).

     So what might Gideon or Elijah say to people today bowing down at the Free Sex altar? Here’s some ideas:

How’s that sexual freedom working for you? Are you “free” when you have thoughts of other sexual partners during your current act? Or are you comparing your current one to the one you had last week? Or that one that you see yearly?  Or maybe they are comparing you and then laughing at you later with their friends. How “free” is your thought-life really? 

Martin Luther is reputed to have said that whatever you would sacrifice your daughter for, that’s your god. So what god are you worshiping? Are you dangling your daughter (or those you love) over the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge saying, I won’t drop her! She won’t get hurt. 

Are you experiencing “love?”  How’s that working out for you? From ToB we know that love is presence—how does that work when you leave or are left by that sexual partner? Are they there for you when you need them? Are you there for them? I bet that makes you feel so good—loving and leaving them. 

How long is that trail of broken hearts? Or are you a discard in someone else’s trail? Such kindness! Isn’t there a continual bad taste in your mouth that you’ve tried to get used to?  

Are you really “loving” that person or just using them? And aren’t they just using you, too? 

It’s so nice of you to encourage that young girl with another page view!

     I’ll rejoice when I see a little more attitude in God’s people, challenging the world’s system of “love.” We need some brave souls to pull down this altar; only then will Christ’s kingdom of peace and true love begin to reign as these ideological enemies of Love are cast down. After we pull down the altar and cut down the sacred pole we will “build an altar to the Lord your God on top of the stronghold,” as the angel told Gideon to do (Judges 6:25-26).

Postscript: I had hoped to be able to read through Witness to Hope this summer, the biography of John Paul II’s life. I thought Poland might provide some interesting back material on ToB, especially concerning his interactions with Jewish people while there, but I guess that’ll have to wait until next summer’s beach reading.