2 KINGS
2: 1-14 - The Nature of Penance
As Catholics, we are called to examine our behavior and our place in life so that we may recognize where we are going wrong and can therefore correct ourselves through acts of penance. For all of us, it is a requirement that we seek penance for our own transgressions, but even when we are in a state of grace, it should be necessary for us to reflect on the wrongs of the world, even those for which we are not directly responsible, and offer acts of penance for them, as well. While this is a part of our daily Catholic life (to confess our sins, pray for the souls who need it most, fast, etc.), we learn this directly from Christ himself. His entire earthly life was an act of penance for the sins of the world.
Christ’s public ministry, when his life of penance found its fullness in his works and his message, was initiated at his baptism by John the Baptist. Immediately afterwards, he went out into the wilderness to pray and fast in preparation for his ministry. These details matter when we look at how we should model ourselves after Christ when we undergo acts of penance. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, where the Israelites crossed over from the “wilderness” into the promised land. This was also where the prophet Elijah passed in a similar manner to the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea. In this act, Elijah moved from the promised land back into the “wilderness” where he was taken up into heaven. As Christ told his followers, Elijah came back in the person of John the Baptist, who came out of the wilderness specifically to preach a message of repentance and to baptize Christ. Immediately after his baptism, Christ returns back to the “wilderness”, the same place where the Israelites suffered through their journey home and where Elijah was taken up into heaven. This frequent passing between the suffering of the wilderness and the haven of the promised land is reflected in our own lives: when we are in a state of grace (“the promised land”), we feel the protection of God. When we are in a state of suffering (“the wilderness”), we are called to pray and to fast.
Penance is something done for the sake of the community and the Church, not just for the individual. Therefore, as we are instructed by Christ that we must undertake penance in such a way that emphasizes its role for the community, not the individual. There’s no room for pride in true penance. The unique nature of penance, though, is the solidarity of Christ throughout. Not only does God lower Himself into a human nature through Christ, but Christ then undergoes the necessary act of salvation in baptism. Finally, he goes out into the “wilderness” to prepare the ultimate act of reparation for our sins lived out in his public ministry. He does this through penance, and he does this alone. Acts of penance are not for our own pride or vanity; they are genuine acts that reflect a desire for forgiveness and mercy. Penance is, above all else, an act of love, specifically love for our neighbors. Christ showed his love for us by not only going out to the wilderness of suffering that sin places upon us, but also by undergoing the ultimate sacrifice of penance in his death for our sins. When we find ourselves in the wilderness of life, we should call upon God to use this as an opportunity for us to atone for our own sins and for those of the world, just as Christ did. We will find that true penance prepares us for welcoming others into the promised land.
11: 1-20 - The Source of Power
Modern fantasy has proven itself to be one of the most successful genres of literature, art, and film, within the past century. Fantasy allows for epic storytelling and is a perfect vehicle for the use of archetypes, which have proven to be the most important tool in human tradition. The newest iterations of modern fantasy have seen incredible popularity, but have also fallen short when trying to find their resolution or when compared to the great works of the past. Most likely, this is because the creators of such stories attempt to put their modern worldview on what is meant to be an ancient world. The best modern fantasy, and often considered the greatest modern literature in general, all have something in common - the works of such authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were driven entirely by a Christian worldview.
The fantasy genre often deals with royalty and a struggle for power between the forces of good and the forces of evil. This simple archetype is so human and so integral to our reception of storytelling that fantasy seems incapable of succeeding without it. This comes from two sources: first, human suffering and conflict (which is crucial to any story) is a shared experience among all human beings. Second, it reflects the struggle between the light and the darkness within creation. In Heaven, there is no real struggle between the forces of good and evil; God has not met His match with Satan. The struggle instead lies within the heart of each one of God’s creatures; some have allowed the light of God to win, and some have allowed the darkness of sin to win. Once we start moving away from this formula in storytelling and attempt to overcomplicate things with nuance, the uniqueness of such a story is a mere novelty. The story can’t survive past the current generation. A great story that focuses on the struggle of temporal power can succeed when it follows the more simple formula of “good guys versus bad guys.” The early history of the Kingdom of Israel found in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and others reads like a gripping fantasy story because there is a constant struggle for power between warring factions. The characters might be nuanced and complicated, but the story is not: there is almost always a good guy and a bad guy, even when the good guy is a miserable sinner who does not seem to deserve any power.
What makes a “good guy” good and a “bad guy” bad in this account of what we believe is real history is the same thing that accounts for the goodness and badness of characters in modern fantasy: true and good temporal power is granted only by God, not by winning a war. Those individuals who attain power through victory in war are bound to lose it in the same way they gained it; we can see this happen over and over again throughout human history. But the story of the Kingdom of Israel, exemplified by the individual story found in this passage from the second book of Kings, reveals something about the quest for power: for whatever reason, God has chosen and elected some to occupy these positions of power, and to rule with justice and mercy in service to their subjects. Those who obey this calling, like David, are revered and honored by God and His people. Those who were never meant for power but attain it through human means will be brought down violently, even if it may take years. True and authentic power, the object of any fantasy story, is only given by God, and He has designated its bearers, making any conflict for power futile. Only one who can see that to be true, like the great Christian fantasy authors of the last century, is worthy of creating a truly everlasting human story that will stand the test of time.