FANATICS MORE OF LESS
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Fanatics More or Less”
Those of us in the Religious Business know more or less, that there are fanatics out there, when it comes to the practice of religion.
Today’s first reading triggers this topic – a major issue in Paul. When this topic shows up - Freedom vs. Law – I tend to notice it. When we have readings from Paul especially Galatians and Romans – I do a little homework and a little thinking about religious fanatics more or less.
So today’s first reading has Paul giving his story – about how he was zealous – how he kept the law – how he persecuted the church – because they were following Jesus the one who basically said: the law was made for us – not us for the Law.
I was reading a commentary last night on today’s first reading.
Notice Paul says, “I was advancing – moving up – making progress – in Judaism.” Notice too Paul is saying, “I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” Then lucky for him – grace – came after the fall.
He saw what he was doing. Now that’s a great grace: to see what we are doing. He was righteous – needing to be right. He was a fanatic – in the wrong. He became blind – so as to see.
Paul was humbled on the dirt road to Damascus. Humbled: a word that comes from humus – earth – which Paul had rubbed in his face – the earth God made us from – and breathed his spirit into us and we were alive.
PHINEAS NUMBERS 25:6-18
Then last night I noticed in the commentary an interesting comment. “The great OT exemplar or such zeal was Phineas, who had averted a plague afflicting Israel through an act of vigilante violence by killing an Israelite man and his foreign Midian wife, impaling both of them (apparently during the act of sexual intercourse) with a single spear. According to the story in Numbers, the reaction of the Lord to this deed was of glowing approbation.”
The commentary gives various other OT places where Phineas is praised for his zeal.
When I read that I had slight memories or hints or inklings of some character in literature named Phineas Boggs. I wondered if he was a picky nosey type of character – maybe like the Biblical Phineas.
I looked that up and found I was wrong. Phinehas Boggs was a 17th century pirate – who became a character in a 1982-83 TV show. The show had 20 episodes – but only 1 season. It was on TV on Sunday nights and couldn’t compete with 60 Minutes. I read that the show was a kid’s show and kids loved it. Phineas Boggs and a kid named Jeffrey Jones would travel around the world and through time and save people and situations. They would make things right for Lawrence of Arabia, Marco Polo, Edison, The Wright Brothers, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Graham Bell, and protect people from Jack the Ripper.
Yet maybe I did have a sense why the writers picked a character named Phinehas. His job was in search of finding where and what was going wrong – in the world – and to make things right.
CONCLUSION
And that is precisely what Liturgical and Religious police like Paul were doing..
And to be humble, that is what I don't like in them. I need to admit that, laugh at myself, knowing humor is also part of humility.
