June 30, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 3

I didn’t notice anything to write about looking at these names, accept the fact that I read to far last time and wrote about Nathan when he was actually listed in this chapter.  I really wish, with all the genealogies that there were some family tree out there that help guide you through all of these names.  I can’t imagine how complicated that would be, but I think someone could manage it.

June 29, 2013 – Catechism 2471 – 2474

I have heard many, and been one of them, that talks about giving things up in this world as martyrdom.  Most, if not all of us, will never face martyrdom, so, I think, to help ourselves boost our own sense of worth, we equate the sacrifices we make to the level of martyrdom.  Doesn’t that really lower the worthiness of martyrdom.   I won’t have the best house or neatest toys because I choose to put finances towards other things first.  Is that really the same as losing your life for Christ.  As I read these paragraphs and thought about using our little “martyrdoms” to prop ourselves up the more I realized that I really don’t like that.  There is no way the two are in the same realm.  Our life on this Earth is the greatest gift God will ever give us.  To give that back to Him to show the world your faith in Him is above, way above, any other sacrifice.  The things we sacrifice are sacrifices, that is true, but I think we should get away from associating them with something like martyrdom because that is something of its own and special.  I think I will stop using that in any kind of talk or example in the future.

June 28, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 6 – 6:27

It just always shocks me when someone in these stories appears to have a conversion or change of heart, as Anitochus does on his death bed, but the next in line is not transformed or learns anything from their father’s experience.  It is bad enough that none of them seem to read or learn from other histories, but especially when it is your own father that you see regret decisions.  It makes you wonder about any regrets baby boomers are going to have on their death beds and if any of our generation will be converted by their regrets.  The morality of the country and world has shifted and gone so downhill that at least some of them may look at their life and regret the things they did or the example they set, but will any of us hear them in the noise of the world to heed their advise and learn from their folly.

June 27, 2013 – Jeremiah 16

When the US does fall, many will ask why.  The answer will likely be that it has nothing to do with the generation that lives at the time but what their fathers had done.  We all believe that a son does not pay for the sins of the father; a criminal’s punishment does not fall upon their child, but in many ways chooses of a generation does effect the future generations.  In many ways, a criminal’s punishment does affect the child, in his absence, his depleted ability to get work, etc.  No one has any idea what a nation that is 17 trillion dollars in debt will face as that increases and becomes due.  I don’t think anyone can truly believe it will have a positive influence on life.  There are many that see it as the instrument that will bring us all to ruin.  Regardless, many of us will live life seemingly unaffected by it, but there will be generations that will live life completely affected and devastated by the chose we have made to live our lives the way we are choosing.  In many ways, they will serve the punishment for the crime we are committing.  They will be exiled for our betrayal of God.

June 26, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 2:18 – 2:55

Another list of names, but here we see the son of David named Nathan.  When you look at the genealogies in the Gospels, this son is used in one and Solomon in the other.  I thought it might have been another descendant or even the prophet Nathan that spoke to David, but here we see that David did have a son named Nathan.  I can’t tell whether his mother was Bathsheba and if it was, the Nathan was the son that died to pay for David’s sin.  Chapter 12 of 2 Samuel doesn’t give the name of the child, but it appears that it was Nathan and the prophet that was sent to tell David that he was wrong was also Nathan.  Don’t think I ever realized that.

June 25, 2013 – Catechism 2464 – 2470

What is truth.  We are to be honest and tell the truth and not lie.  I think many times people fail at this because we speak about things that we don’t really know anything about.  Part of the problem is that many people get their “facts” from sources that really can’t be trusted.  On top of that, their source is probably getting “facts” from a government or other source that can’t be trusted.  When you get to a point where you have no confidence that the government is being honest with you, were does that leave the public.  The society cannot last long when there is not trust.  I think many are at that point.  I know it was very interesting when I was running for office that the information I had didn’t mesh with what was being said and what people define as something is not what other people may think.  I think if you spend more that you bring in, that isn’t a balanced budget, but you would be surprised at how many call it that and are just fine with it.  But when the trust is gone, it is really hard to believe anything you read and then it is really hard to take anyone serious when they argue based on facts that you don’t believe are reliable.  But where does that leave us?  I really don’t know.

June 24, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 5:33 – 5:68

How many Gentile soldiers were there.  Every time Judas turns around he is up against another huge army and defeats them, but evidently huge armies were prevalent because when he turns around, there is another one.  He keeps mowing through them and yet there are still more to go.  We also see that it isn’t just being a Jew that equals victory, but you must be going about it for God.  The two that want to make a name for themselves are defeated.

June 23, 2013 – Jeremiah 14 – 15

Is there anything that can make humans feel more insignificant and powerless than the forces of nature.  Here they talk about a drought, which we went through last year.  Even with all our technology and knowledge, nature can still defeat us.  Granted, we know more and can do more to make the effects not as significant, but that is only if the drought isn’t what it could be.  There may be a drought that we couldn’t withstand.  Nature can do that.  All you have to look at is what a tornado can do to a city or a tsunami to a coastline and understand that nature is completely out of our control.  Thus, people should look at the world around and know that there is some power beyond humans.  Instead, many arrogantly continue to think that we are all there is and nothing out there is beyond us.  What are they thinking when the hurricane uproots everything they have worked for in an instant.  What has all their knowledge and power done for them in that moment.  Nature is the instrument that should teach us humility, and for many it may, but many the lesson goes unlearned.

I thought it was a pretty powerful message when God says that even if Moses and Samuel came and tried to talk me out of this punishment, I wouldn’t listen.  That is pretty strong, but I am surprised it wasn’t Abraham, since he is the one that tried to convince God to not destroy Sodom.

June 22, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 1:38 – 2:17

I have always been surprised that the line comes from Judah and not Joseph.  Joseph was the favorite of Jacob, and obviously that doesn’t mean anything in the eyes of God, nor being the oldest and all that, but there is so much said about Joseph and his story is given so much attention that you would think the line was with him.  When you look at the line from Judah to David, you must remember that the names they mention include the slaves in Egypt, the ones that left Egypt, the ones that entered the promise land, then those that lived through the time of Judges.  I think it would be interesting if it identified which was which.  I think I would like to know the name of the one that died in the Wilderness and the one that entered the promise land.

Here is an image I found that puts some of this in a tree.

http://www.lukemastin.com/diary/bible_family_tree.gif

June 21, 2013 – Catechism 2450 – 2463

This is a review section so there are no new topics to discuss, but seeing them all makes you realize that when there are paragraphs teaching about government and communism and other social beliefs, they were all under the section on the commandment, though shall not steal.  It all relates to the idea that nothing we have is really ours, but given to us by God and it is to be used for God’s will.  When it is not, you are stealing.  Many of us might not make that connection.  The person that doesn’t put something in the collection basket, when they are able to without hurting their own family, is stealing from those that need that money.  It may not be as obvious as the shop lifter, but it is the same act and maybe even worse in the eyes of God.  Shop lifting steals something and usually from a store or corporation that can afford to lose it.  Not giving to the collection could be taking money from someone that needs that donation to survive.  It just makes it worth reflecting that “though shall not steal” is not so narrow as to only look at stealing a candy bar from the store.  It involves much more than simple stealing.  I think the Catechism breaks down all these commandments in such a way that we can see that the commandments may only be 10 in length, but they cover all areas in life when you really dive into them. 

June 20, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 5 – 5:32

When the Gentiles see what the Jews were doing, they turn on the Jews that have joined them.  It doesn’t matter what side you say you are on, when things go badly, if you have joined, you are still seen with the stain of the enemy.  Many Germans and Japanese felt this during WWII.  Even though they may have lived most their lives here, they were still seen with a certain stain.  Many with any type of Arab descent or even look are seen in a certain way now.  I was thinking about this is terms of the many fallen away Catholics and those new places they have gone too.  To those that welcomed them in still see them with a stain when anything Catholic gets brought up.  Are they ever actually fully brought into the fold.  Especially those congregations which speak very ill of the Catholic Church.

I was also thinking about whether they thought Judas was the Messiah because of what he was doing.  Obviously, there were many that thought Jesus should lead the Jews against the Romans in a revolution.  That is what Judas was doing and doing very well.  You have to imagine that many thought he was.  You wonder how he reacted to that.  I imagine that with his trust in God as it appears, he was very much like John the Baptist and pointing to someone else to come and that he was not what they were looking for.  Just a God fearing man doing what God was asking him to.

June 19, 2013 – Jeremiah 13

What an odd thing to use to make an example, a loincloth.  God says because it is close to the privates, a very important part, so God had brought Israel close to Him.  But what I thought more about is that it represented Israel’s pride.  When I think of a loincloth, I think in terms of something like a Speedo.  It takes a lot of pride to wear a Speedo, and that is what Israel walked around like before the exile.  But, will a person without pride wear one, likely not.  It is almost an arrogant thing to wear.  Or will a person wear a Speedo that is has holes or is dirty, no.  The person that wears the Speedo needs it to be perfect to keep up with the image they believe they portray.  The old and decayed loincloth, after the exile, Israel must wear, to bring about their humility.  I was thinking what pride the Speedo wearer would have if you made them go without the Speedo, but there are probably some that wouldn’t bat an eye and have enough pride to step out in that fashion.  That makes me think I may not be understanding the symbolism at all.

June 18, 2013 – 1 Chronicles 1 – 1:37

The thing I find interesting in this list of names are the names that pop out as names you will see or have seen as enemies of Israel or places they will take over.  You see Canaan as one of the decedents and then we know that Moses will go to conquer the land of the Canaanites.  Magog, and this is one of the names of the tribes that is to be involved in the conquering of Israel from the prophets, Midian which becomes the father-in-law of Moses.  Obviously more than one person can be named a certain name, but many of these names become the different tribes spread throughout the region and many become the enemies of Israel.  I remember when Moses was traveling though the wilderness, he would come up to a tribe and they would talk like they are of distant relation, but they are still not part of the chosen ones of God.  You can see, if they kept track of family trees like this, they know who is who and who is related and how.

June 17, 2013 – Catechism 2443 – 2449

Helping the financially poor is one of the more obvious Christian things to do, yet it seems to be one of the hardest.  We really like to cling to our money and goods.  I think our new Pope is a great example of what it means to raise up the poor to their right place, to see the poor as Christ, to treat them as Christ would.  This hopefully spills over into the rest of the Church and helps us all be more generous.

A less obvious “poor” are the spiritually poor.  Our country may be more spiritually poor than almost any other place in the world.  If we are suppose to treat the financially poor as Christ, we should not do any less with the spiritually poor.  If we give the financially poor from our wealth, we should do likewise with the spiritually poor.  We are not called to withhold spirituality from them or just allow them to live life as they wish.  We are called to intervene and try to bring them out of that poverty.  There may be some poor that want to stay poor and might refuse your help, but I think many would gladly take what was offered.  But many spiritual poor do not want your help and will actually speak ill for the assistance you offer.  Can you imagine trying to give a $20 to a homeless person on the corner and they throw it back at you and curse you for thinking you are so much better than they are and they are just fine living their own life and don’t want or need your help.  That is often what you receive when you speak up and tell someone that about church teaching in how they are living their life.  In that way, helping the spiritually poor is much more challenging, more thankless, and much more depressing.  But we must pray for the strength to keep trying.

June 16, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 4 – 4:25

These larger armies tend to flee as soon as they think the battle is lost.  I was just reading a book that had a line in it like that.  The advice in war was that as soon as an enemy turned to run, they would never turn again to fight.  It makes sense, but also defies what happens in many, many movie battles.  There is almost always the scene where the strategy is for the first men to flee and give the attacking army confidence and then a secret group joins the runners and everyone turns around and wins.  The one that comes to mind is the last battle in “Patriot”.  Although it works in movies, I don’t think that such a strategy would actually work in reality.  I think the advice from the book is more likely.  When someone turns to run, I think it is probably impossible for them to talk themselves into turning back around to fight.  If you have ever seen “Enemies at the Gates”, the open battle scene has the Russians running into battle and then turning to flee.  Instead of allowing then to actually return and to try and motivate them to fight, the Russians actually started shooting their own men that ran from battle.  I have no idea how realistic that is, but I think it is real that turning around once is probably all most soldiers do.

June 15, 2013 – Jeremiah 11 – 12

“If running against men has wearied you, how will you race against horses?  And if in a land of peace you fall headlong, what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?”  I think these are very interesting questions.  When you look at a Catholic that lived in the late 80’s or 90’s and lived in a land where the Catholic church really wasn’t under attack, look how they ran.  But once the sex scandal hit the media, attacks have been numerous and unyielding against all Catholic teachings.  How are those Catholics running now.  There are many that are not running very well.  I think this verse brings this to light on why we are running well.  When we were at peace, we still fell.  Now that we are in the tickets, we aren’t just falling, many are not even trying to walk or get up.  We are racing against a horse when we were before running against men.  And so, many are falling away from the church because they don’t like racing against horses and don’t like walking in the thicket.  Many are leaving because they don’t want to be bothered with the challenges.  Many don’t want to leave, but want to change church teaching so that they don’t have to defend it against the modern world.  All this is foreseen and what happens when you allow yourself to be lulled by “easier” times because if you allow your foundation to weaken, when the real storm comes, you are blown away.

June 14, 2013 – 2 Kings 25

We see that when the walls are finally breached, the king and the army flee the city and, I am  assuming, leave the people to fend for themselves.  Then the city is brought to the ground, walls and all.  I guess they had tried to put someone in the city the first time, but they revolted, so this time they would just destroy the city.

Then we see the king, after his imprisonment, sits at the kings table with the king of Babylon.  He is a king without a kingdom because Israel and Judah are destroyed.  We don’t see anything about the king of Israel being given the same type of treatment.  Thus, we have finished with the History from Adam to the exile.  We start Chronicles next, but, if I am remembering correctly, it repeats the time from Saul to the exile with new information.

June 13, 2013 – Catechism 2437 – 2442

My version of the Catechism has certain words italicized to gift emphasis.  As I was reading this, I was thinking about our nation and what we should be considered.  Most would label us a “rich nation”.  That means we are to do what we can to help those nations that are considered “third world” in their poverty and development.  And we do.  Countless millions leave our government to support such nations.  But, are we really a “rich nation” in any real sense.  Paragraph 2437 says “on the one side there are those nations possessing and developing the means of growth and, on the other, those accumulating debts”.  A country that is incurring 1 trillion dollars a year in debt is not a growing or rich nation, it is on the “other side”.  It makes you wonder if we should be helping other nations that are “third world” or how far about “third world” are we.  Where are we in the grand scheme of things as a nation.  I don’t think we can be incurring the debt we have and still think of ourselves as “the world power”.  Where is that power coming from.  It is smoke and mirrors because it has not real foundation.  I think a nation in our situation should really stop looking to the problems of the world and focus more on the problems in themselves.

Plus, there is really no benefit to the world for such a nation that has no moral basis to be spreading that “theology” to the rest of the world.  We really have enough problems to take care of on our own. 

June 12, 2013 – 1 Maccabees 3 – 3:26

It is so hard for us to see victory when the numbers against us are so great.  The world, the media, even our own families many times are in opposition to the very teachings that we hold so dear.  There are even those calling themselves Catholic that would undermine the very teachings that make being Catholic so special.  It is against these odds that Judas calls us to fight.  “Victory in war does not depend upon the size of the army, but on the strength that comes from Heaven.”  That is where we are to look for our strength.  If we look anywhere else, then yes, we will be defeated, because person to person, we are outnumbered.  But to the eyes of Heaven there is only right and wrong and the number on each side does not determine which side God is on.  God calls us to Himself and that is all He ask.  Do not be deterred when you look to the other side of the battle field and see it swelling with numbers.  Do not shake with fear at the sight of their weapons or cower from their abusive taunts.  Stand tall and have no fear.  God has already won.  Who are we that we should not trust in Him that has already won the victory.  Let us rush upon the enemy without fear and with all our hope in God.

June 11, 2013 – Jeremiah10

“I had thought, if I make light of my wound, I can bear it”.  Is that what we think about the moral state of our country?  That if we brush it under the rug, it will fix itself.  Is that why we choose to focus on financial wows or say we are helping the poor or talk about freedom to love who we choose.  Is that why we focus on the material wealth of a person and hold up celebrities as our idols?  We understand the deep and mortal womb that is festering.  If we ignore it, we will make it.  I don’t know if people think that, but that is how we act.  Then again, many don’t think there is anything wrong with our morality.  That is like the person with a gunshot womb that lives without treating it, thinking it is normal to have such a thing.  We can all guess how long life will last with such an attitude.  So it can be said with a nation that pushes aside such care about their morality.

June 10, 2013 – 2 Kings 24
Jerusalem has fallen, but they continue to have a king.  One king is taken into exile and another is put in his stead.  It doesn't appear as though it matters because both of them were leading their people in ways that were not God's ways. 
For almost every king that they name, they name the mother of that king.  This goes to show that the mother of the king, not the queen, was held in high regard.  First, the kings may have had many wives like Solomon, so it would be hard to tell which should be queen.  Second, with many of these young kings, the mother was older and had more experience an, and so she would be able to help.  So, you can lay at least some of the blame on the mothers that all of these kings were not following God and give credit to the mothers that had sons that did.  But you can see why the early Christians and today Catholics hold Mary in such high regard.  It was the tradition of the Jews to hold mothers in such high esteem with their kings.  The earliest Christians were first Jews, and so they have this ingrained into them.  Jesus is King of Kings an so His mother is the Queen Mother and is to be highly regarded.  It follows from the basic and accepted Jewish tradition.  And that says nothing about the other teachings about Mary.  If she were not sinless, not immaculately conceived, not assumed into Heaven, or other Catholic beliefs, she should still be highly regarded by all Christians as the Queen Mother because she is the mother of Christ, the King of Kings. 

June 9, 2013 – Catechism 2426 – 2436

I think some of the language used here is very interesting and instructive when we look at the economy and how people go about it and are treated.  First, work is good.  It is good for you, your sould, your physical and emotional well being, your family and society.  Work is meaningful and needs to be seen as such.  Much of the world wants to do whatever they can to get what they need without work.  There are many in our nation that want to and strive to find the best way to get everything they need without work.  But that doesn't help them, and hurts our society as a whole. 

One of the reasons that people have succomb to this temptations is the our government is making it easy for them and our governmnet wants people to rely on it so that it can gain more power.  That is the flow of a socialist movement and the direction we are heading.  But another reason is that people don't feel they are getting a fair or just wage for the work they are doing.  This is a much more gray area because it is so difficult to know what a just wage is.  People can get by on a lot less than they think they can.  People don't need and IPhone or flat screen TV.  THey can get by getting generic cereal or skipping soda.  But people don't want to.  They feel that these things are necessary and if they can't afford them, they are beig neglected or treated unjustly.  But there is also something to be said that prices are being raised on all items and taxes are being raised yet wages are staying low and so a person that skips all the bells and wissles still has a hard time supporting their family.  It is just a very grey area that I never really thought about until it was brought up on the campaign trail.  Do we need a "just" wage instead of a "minimum" wage and how would you go about figuring a "just" wage.  To be honest, thinking about it makes me ask more questions that actually coming up with answers. 

June 8, 2013 – Maccabees 2 – 2:38
When he is given the chance to break God's law, it is not just to break the law, but is enticed with power and fame.  If you go against your beliefs, you will be among the king's friends.  How many politicians have started out on a road paved with good intentions and been misdirected with promises of greater power.  How many "Catholic" politicians have abandoned their faith in attempts to move up the ladder.  Here we see that standing your ground and sticking with God is the right way, and the hard way.  
Is there a more vivid demonstration of martyrdom in the Bible than this scene.  A group of people gathers and an army comes upon them.  The army attacks them on the Sabbath and instead of fighting back, they are slaughtered.  This entire group would rather die following God than even defend themselves.  And if you use that scene to argue that we should all be pacified in God's eyes, how do you explain the just fury that was aroused in the slaying of the man that was going to sacrifice to the false god.  There is a just fury in God, a time to strike down that which is evil, but there is also a time to sit and take the strife of the world.  Both are allowed and approved by God in their right time.  Keep that in mind when someone says you shouldn't act out because you are Catholic or when they say you must act.  There is time when each may be required, it is not only one way that is always the right way. 

June 7, 2013 – Jeremiah 8 - 9

It talks about not trusting neighbors and sometimes it seems like we have taken the advise.  I didn't really grow up with neighbors.  Our closest ones were a 1/4 mile away.  But I have neighbors now and try my best to communicate with them, but I seem to be a rare bird.  Most people I talk to have gove years without out saying much more than high or bye to their neighbors.  This is truely sad and makes me wonder why people want so badly to live in subdivisions.  If you aren't going to get to know your neighbors, rely on each other, what is the point.  Like I said, I didn't have neighbors, but I can't imagine it used to be like this.  I can imagine a time when you knew every house that was around you and became almost an extended family.  That is where support came from.  It is no wonder that as our lack of neighborly friendship grows so does our reliance on government assistance. 

There is another reference to being circumsized only in the flesh.  When you are made aware of it, you start to see that this imagery is used all the time.  It is really no surprise that Christ would use the same imagery or that the early Christians would point to this when debating about the need for physical circumcion. 

June 6, 2013 – 2 Kings 23

I wonder, when they said the read from the book of the covenant, what book are they talking about.  We have the first five books of the Old Testament, and several of them are books of statutes, more or less, so I wonder if that is what they are talking about.  Or was there a book of more laws or only laws that was written and the Old Testament books were taken from this. 

Some of the alters he tore down were put up by Solomom, so it says.  Those were there, I think, almost 300 years and as long as the Temple.  It must have been a very big deal to tear down such things.  And for all that he is doing, I think we hear about him even less than Hezakiah. 

We see that the two followers do evil in the sight of God and it states that they do so just like their "fathers" had done.  I have mentioned this before in talking about geneologies that father could mean grandfather etc and anyone in the grand line.  That would explain not only the use of plural "fathers", but also that they followed in their fathers example, because theire bio father did good things, not evil. 

June 5, 2013 – Catechism 2415hink - 2425

I find it very hard to find a group that has the right balance when it comes to environmental issues.  I am not aware of a Catholic Environmental group, that actual looks at Church teaching and uses that as a base on which to take on different environmental issues.  There are many groups that go far beyond protecting the environment and elevate nature to the human level.  Then there are groups that will use natural resources in any way they see fit.  Somewhere in the middle, actually probably closer to the protecting animal side, is the Catholic view.  I say more toward the animal side because much of the destruction and use of resources is to fulfill the worldly greed of people and that is not what the use of resources is for.  Their use should be used for the care of our neighbor, including future generations.  But Many groups would lose my support in their fight because they place so much on raising nature to a level it does not belong.  Trees are not people, Wolves are not people. 

And it still amazes me that the ones (not all but many) that want to protect nature at all cost are usually the same ones saying that abortion on demand is great.  The connection is that they feel humans are filling the earth and taking away from animals so that anything that slows humans down (population control) is a good thing.  It just makes me sick to think that they work so hard to protect the brown spotted nuthatch but the infant in the womb is fair game.  (I don't know if that is a real animal or not)

The church rejects any social policy that values or sees people only as a means to profits.  I think if you look at the world we live in, this is something that is done all the time.  Porn is a prime example of something that uses people as a means for profit.  Acceptance of such things leads to spread of atheism and idolizes money.  Both things are happeing in this country.  The Church also rejects socialism and communism because they are founded on atheistic principles.  Capitalism, as well, will be condemned when it puts the value of people under the ability to make profit.

June 4, 2013 – Maccabees 1:29 – 1:63
We see that a conqueror is taken over and the new king has installed new laws.  Part of the law is that the old way of doing things is no more.  And what do many of the people do.  Rejoice in the change.  Many are more than happy to give up the old ways for the new ways because they are so much easier to live with.  It sounds like there were basically no rules or morality to live by accept don't worship in the old way.  Does this sound like many in the modern world telling the Catholic church to reform from its old ways and get with the new way.  Does it sound like some that even call themselves Catholic.  Look at this tale and who is on God's side.  Is it those that give in to the new and easy way or is it those that stay firm to what God has told them to do.  Maybe reflect on that when you think about telling the Catholic church to change its ways.  God has set down His rules, His commands, and whether the world likes, believes, follows them, doesn't change them.  God smiles upon those that stick to God's way, the old way, and do not blow in the wind. 

June 3, 2013 – Jeremiah 7

We see language in here about turning the Temple into a den of thieves.  That comes right from Christ when He cleanses the Temple. 

We see that when people turn away from God, they will get worse and worse.  The further away to go, the darker it gets because the light is further and further away.  But as you stumble in the dark, the light appears abrasive and to find yourself moving away from it, not towards it.  You begin to seek the darkness.  We need to always know that the light, no matter how far it seems, is only a turn away.  When we turn back towards God we can be immersed in the light and turn from the darkness.  The light is always there no matter how far we think it might be. 

June 2, 2013 – 2 Kings 22

We see that they find the book of the law and it makes me wonder what they were using or how much they actually knew to follow without the book.  They appear to have just been going by what someone remembered and that was passed on to the next.  It is no wonder that they fell so easily into idol worship. 

It also makes me wonder about what would happen if we found or uncovered things written by the founders about what they meant when they wrote the Bill of Rights or Constitution and we could use that to inform ourselves in applying those things today.  We could see if we are interpreting them right when it could to the meaning of “life” or what separation of Church and state actually meant.  What, they do have things just like that.  Too bad we just choose to ignore them and decide that we know better than the authors what they meant.

June 1, 2013 – Catechism 2407 - 2414

I don't think I ever knew the different types of justice described here.  There is commutative, legal, and distributive justice.  From the paragraphs, commutative justice appears the most basic stating that "without commutative justice, no other form of justice is possible."  Legal is what a person is owed in fairness to the community and distributive is what a community owes to its people.  Commutative is what individuals owe to each other on that most fundamental and basic level. 

It also talks about games of chance.  This is particularly interesting because I go to a monthly poker game with a group of men from our church.  As you see, there is no strict restriction of all gambling.  It is allowed, basically in moderation.  It becomes an issue when you cheat, when you gamble so much that it effects your life or takes away your support of those dependent on you, or when you take from others knowing that it will take away their ability to care for those that are dependent on them.  Our game is a 5 dollar buy in once a month.  There is the ability to pay in more if you lose quickly, but no one has ever put more than 20 in.  This is within everyone's means and, I think, well within the frame of what is allowed. 

I wonder why slavery is brought up here and not in the "you shall not kill" section.  I see more it being a taking of a person's life or degrading it than a stealing of their abilities or cheating out of their work.  I have always seen it more on par with abortions, disregarding that they are human, than theft, or not paying them justly for their work.  I think slavery was much more of a social wrong than a financial wrong.