12 - 19 - 17 Two Kinds of Warriors (3 minutes)
For this post I'd suggest looking at the readings first: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121917.cfm
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One of the first contrasts I notice between the first and second
readings actually occurs outside of the readings.
As some may be familiar with, Samson goes on to become a
great warrior of unrivaled strength. His strength being derived from his vow to
God, he loses it when his hair is cut. But Samson’s purpose is to “begin the
deliverance of Israel”, and he does it in the most militant sense possible. He
kills Israel’s enemies to protect his nation. It’s all very Old Testament.
There’s nothing morally objectionable about being a soldier but it’s just not
the way the New Testament operates.
Just like Samson, John is born of a barren woman, which is
really a similar idea to the virgin birth. Just like Samson, John is destined
to begin the deliverance of Israel, except not in this case from the
Philistines.
“He [John] will go before Him [the Christ] in the spirit and
power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the
disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for
the Lord.”
It is quite clear here that John is not a soldier in nearly
the same sense as Samson, and I think these readings are chosen together to
illustrate a fundamental difference between the Old and New Testament.
It is the difference between the Law, as given on Sinai, and
the Love, as given on the Cross. Faith gains importance relative to
righteousness. Justice is balanced with clemency and forgiveness.
And the way we will bring about God’s kingdom is entirely
changed.
Samson is the prophet of a nation of God in the usual sense of nation. He is fighting on
behalf of a political, cultural, racial group that is trying to defend itself
from its enemies and invaders. John comes to proclaim the Kingdom of God, which is anything but the usual sense of nation.
It only makes sense then that they would use different
methods.
Their ends are telling in their differences as well.
Judges 16:30
“Samson said, "Let me die with the
Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple
on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died
than while he lived.”
Matthew 14:8-12
8 At her
mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a
tray!”
9 Then the
king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of
his guests, he issued the necessary orders. 10 So John was beheaded in the
prison,
11 and his head
was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 Later, John’s disciples came
for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.
There is no victory in John’s death that we can see. At
least in Samson’s death he achieved some measure of the vengeance he desired.
But this is the earthly way of viewing things, and I think, after reading the life stories of both men, that we are to be
more like John the Baptist than like Samson.
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