idols – The Noontimes

1 John 4: The Spirit of Truth

1 John 4: The Spirit of Truth

Friday, December 12, 2025

Casting out fear, recognizing the anti-Christ, remembering that we are God’s little children, loving because we are first loved by God. John, Peter and Paul all try to convey to the faithful the importance of remembering Jesus’ message that we follow those who live in the Spirit rather than against it. They warn Christ’s flock about the cleverness of the darkness; they tell us that our journey through a life of narrow gates will be a refining experience that will sharpen our perception so that we better discern real truth from falsehood and deception.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

Peter, the foundation on which Christ builds his Church on earth, describes the subtle way that darkness will intrude on our thinking, and he reminds us of the surety of the consequences for succumbing to that darkness.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Paul tells the Thessalonians – and us – that we must stay away from even the fringes of evil; its power to deceive it is far too potent for us to combat. Iniquity often disguises itself as goodness and we may be taken in and taken over before we even recognize that something ugly has dressed itself up as a radiant goodness. Paul tells us to . . .

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.(1 Thessalonians 5:21-24)

Today we spend time with the Beloved Apostle as he too warns us that our faith is a powerful guardian against malevolence. In his beautiful letters that describe the ineffable experience he has as Christ’s companion, John calls us to a faith in God that will overcome the dark enemy . . . for whatever is born of God conquers the world. John writes these things to us who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that we may that we have eternal life. And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the request made of him.

This is the spirit of truth we are asked to seek and identify.

This is the Spirit of truth we are called to follow.

This is the Spirit of Truth we are invited to live.

May we answer this call, this invitation, this voice of God. And may we follow this voice willingly for it brings us to our only sanctuary against the false teachers who roam the world dressed up in glorious garments that have the appearance of goodness and light, but which are in reality woven of the glittering deceit of dishonesty and fraud.

A re-post from November 17, 2011.

Image from: https://catholictt.org/2024/05/19/sunday-may-19th-the-spirit-of-truth/

December 12, 2025

1 Thessalonians 5:21-24, 2 Peter 2:1-3, deceit, false prophets, fraud, God is love, idols, James 1:12, sham

Zechariah 10: The New Order

Zechariah 10: The New Order

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Written on February 17 and posted today as a Favorite . . .

Golden-Calf[1] — *The Golden Calf – Exodus*

The teraphim are household idols, used for divination but incapable of true healing, redemption, comfort or transformation. Those who have relied on wealth and influence will no longer hold power; change is in the wind. Those who have been led by false shepherds will be visited by the true king; a rout by a new king’s soldiers is predicted. Those who have wandered aimlessly, searching for the true shepherd will be brought back; the exiled will return home; the faithful will be rewarded.

In the Old Testament readings at Mass this week we hear again the story of Noah. God sees how wicked man has become and he regrets having created him. Later he promises to never destroy his creatures again. In the New Testament readings we have seen the supreme patience of Jesus as he continually instructs his followers in the ways of the New Kingdom, the New Covenant, and the New Promise. There is a New Order, yet they struggle to understand. He even rebukes Peter (Mark 8:27-33) and scolds the others for not understanding his feeding of thousands from a few fish and loaves (Mark 8:14-21). These humans God has created seem to believe more in their teraphim than in their God. And we are so like all of these people.

So we pray . . .

Lord God in heaven, Lord God on earth, Lord God within us, Lord God among us, open our eyes that we might see your new order as you opened the eyes of the blind beggar in yesterday’s Gospel (Mark 8:22-26). Open our minds and hearts so that we might better hear your call to newness. Open our lives to you so that we might better understand the new order of your world. Teach us to cease lusting after money and goods. Instruct us in your new way. School us in the ways of the gentle heart and eager mind. Remind us to throw out our tiny household gods and rely firmly and only on you. Visit us with your Spirit. Continue to walk with us as Christ. And harbor us who wander as wretched sheep in the safety of your enormous arms. We ask this each day and every day as we strive to remember who you are, and how much you love us. Amen.

A re-post from September 6, 2011.

Image from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/golden-calf

October 1, 2025

blind beggar, idols, Mark 8, new covenant, Noah, Peter, promises, teraphim

Hosea 4: Open to Newness

Hosea 4: Open to Newness

Sunday, August 24, 2025

A re-post from August 1, 2011.

We will need to look at notes in order to understand the references in today’s Noontime and the following information is from THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. Ephraim (note verse 17) was the tribal area that remained in the northern kingdom of Israel after the Assyrian invasion. The wood and wand (note verse 12) refer to any carved idol or utensil used in the practice of divination. Ritual prostitution practiced in Canaanite shrines was introduced into sanctuaries dedicated to Yahweh (note verse 14). Gilgal here (note verse 15) is in reference to a sanctuary in the north in Bethel where there was an association of cult prophets (2 Kings 2 and 4:38); it is not a reference to Gilgal in the south where Joshua sets up memorial standing stones (Joshua 4). Finally, the priests are in for heavy criticism because they are seen as the ones who lead the people away from God as they set up a schism between genuine and cult prophets. All of this information helps to clarify the link between the prophet Hosea’s deep sorrow over his wife Gomer’s prostitution of herself and the descent of the nation of Israel into this same harlotry. Hosea sees the individual and collective return to idolatry as a seal of the fate of the nation and its people. They are all caught up in the coming whirlwind of disaster. (Senior 1112-1113)

The psalmist reminds us that: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but speak not; they have ears but see not; they have ears but hear not; no breath is in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all those who trust in them. (Psalm 135:15-18) If only we humans might remember that in the end these little gods cannot forgive us, save us, redeem us or love us as God does.

We have reflected during our Noontimes that little gods creep into our lives without notice and it is in this way that we become unwitting collaborators in the creation of an illusion; today we look at how a nation of people who have been blessed by God turn away from God’s goodness. The children’s story of The Emperor’s New Clothes from the Hans Christian Anderson collection is an apt allegory not only for Hosea’s society but for our society today. We have only to determine if we number among the adults who have ceased to think for themselves or if we are the astonished child who announces: The emperor is naked! Like the child, Hosea cries out to the people of Israel. And like the child, our prophets of today cry out against the obtuse among us.

When we become frustrated with a herd mentality that drives idiotically toward the precipice or when we give up all hope that the small voice of truth might be heard above the clamor of a self-deceiving crowd, we must turn away from our little gods of anxiety and desperation and turn to God, for it is God who best understands what is to be disbelieved and dispossessed. And it is God who knows well how to convert the darkness of despair into the beauty of joy, for it is in the darkness that God plants the seeds of new life.

And so we pray . . . Good and forgiving God, remind us that we have only to be open to a newness that you will bring out of the ignorance and despair we witness today. Show us the newness born of the dark that is your compassionate healing and eternal transformation. Amen.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.1112-1113. Print.

Images from: https://www.boldcafe.org/transitions-open-us-up-to-newness/ and https://americanliterature.com/author/hans-christian-andersen/short-story/the-emperors-new-clothes and https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/red-poppy-flower-blooming-cracked-earth-resilience-hope.html

August 24, 2025

2 Kings 2 and 4:38, Gilgal, idols, illusion, Joshua, little gods, newness, Psalm 135:15-18, The Emperor’s New Clothes, truth

Isaiah 44: Chasing Ashes

Isaiah 44: Chasing Ashes

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus inherited a small kingdom and expanded it to include what we know today as Iran and much of Turkey. He captured Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and although he did not worship the God of Israel, he proved to be “a beneficent king who allowed captive people to return to their homelands and restore their places of worship.” (ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE 669). We cannot know his motivation for allowing the Jewish people to return home after exile, but we do know that Cyrus II – the Anointed of the Lord who becomes the Liberator of Israel – believed in Marduk, the mythological god of Babylon. As many have commented, we can never anticipate the wisdom or plans of God. Hear then, whom I have chosen . . .

Many times I wonder how God has chosen the agents who do God’s work: stumble-bum leaders, hard-edged colleagues, the apparent liberal who leans toward conservatism, and the seemingly empty-headed support personnel who deliver wisdom during crisis. I have learned to be on the lookout for God’s anointed even as I try to steer clear of false idols; and I wonder about my own fidelity to God and my success as his agent. Hear then, whom I have chosen . . .

Isaiah warns us against replacing God with idols that bring us no help and cause us too much maintenance work. Smiths and carpenters do not reflect, nor have the intelligence and sense to see that the bits of iron and wood they fashion into idols are no god at all . . . Half the wood was burned in the fire, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meant which I ate. Shall I then make an idol of the rest, or worship a block of wood? Like these smiths and carpenters, we daily set up little gods to worship when we worry about our next meal, the clothes we will wear to the gym or pool, the roof on the house or the brakes on the car that need repair, our position at work, the fussy chair of the civic committee on which we serve. When we set aside our prayer time with God because we want to fret about these worries, we have surrendered to our little gods. He is chasing ashes, a thing that cannot save itself when the flame consumes it . . .

0419-iceland-volcanic-ash-cloud_full_600[1] — *Volcanic ash cloud*

We might wonder as we reflect on today’s Noontime how it is that God has so much patience with us when we turn to the inanimate to fuss and cajole the objects in our surroundings into pleasing us.

We might wonder how it is that God has so much forgiveness with us each time we return to God that the Lord continues to encourage us and grace us with God’s presence.

We might wonder how it is that God has so much imagination that God will use a believer in a pagan god as the anointed one to help the faithful return from an exile their own corruption gained for them.

We might wonder how it is that God has so much compassion for each of us that despite our times of coldness and our turnings away, God continues to heal, restore, redeem and save us.

We might wonder how it is that God loves us eternally and wishes to be with us forever . . . despite the countless times we leave God to chase after ashes.

We might wonder. And yet God is the one who pours out water on the thirsty ground, knits us his offspring in the womb, pours out his spirit on us, and lays blessings on our descendants.

We might wonder, yet we need not, for God chases after us. Even as we chase after the ashes of our own folly.

For more information on Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great) who appears at the end of Isaiah 44, go to this site and also follow the link to farsinet. http://gracewalk.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/cyrus-the-great-isaiah-45/

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 669. Print.

Images from: https://gracewalk.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/cyrus-the-great-isaiah-45/ and http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0419/Volcanic-ash-cloud-economics-Europe-s-winners-and-losers and http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/images/pglossary/ash.php

July 13, 2025

Cyrus, fidelity to God, idols, little gods, Marduk

Psalm 24: Universal God

Psalm 24: Universal God

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Commentary will tell us that this psalm was likely written to accompany a procession with the Ark around the Temple precinct, or even through the city or countryside. When we look at these verses closely, we see that they contain a list of qualities that describe God’s people: the clean of hand, the pure of heart, those who are not devoted to idols and who do not lie. God’s power and goodness are affirmed; God is seen as the designer and initiator of creation. With this song the people celebrate the glory of God and the goodness that resides in his creation, the earth. They also confirm the values God’s faithful will want to espouse: purity and integrity.

Scripture begins with the creation story we have heard so often that we may move through it too quickly. When Genesis 1 is read with care, and when it is compared to other creation stories, we will want to join in the singing of this hymn to God who is so much different and so much more wonderful than any other god.

Ancient Mesopotamia was rife with creation stories and many of them elevated a particular god to supremacy over other gods. This would be done in order to establish superiority of a god’s followers or cult; it would also give prestige to a particular temple, city or town. These myths frequently gave simple explications for the complexity of nature. A god generally called a mound of earth out of darkness and water, set up rites and rituals and often deified elements of nature such as the moon, sun or the earth itself. Some stories describe epic battles between various gods, and humans lack any dignity or purpose other than to serve as a kind of slave. So we might want to look at what makes the Judeo-Christian creation story different from the rest. “The Genesis account rejects the central motif of pagan religion: the deification of nature. Interestingly, it does not seek to elevate Yahweh over other gods. Indeed, in the seven day creation account (Gen 1:1-2:3) Yahweh is not named. Even Genesis 2-3 provides no sense that Yahweh needed to establish his supremacy over other deities. There is no conquest of other gods or monsters, and no shrine or city is said to be the place from which God began the creation process. No sacred object is mentioned. The God of Genesis 1 is indeed the universal God.” (ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE 5)

The God of Genesis 1 is our compassionate God who calls order out of chaos, goodness out of evil, light out of the dark. This universal God wants to celebrate with us and about us. This universal God wants to heal us, transform us, save and redeem us. This God calls us to purity and honesty, integrity and truth. This God created the earth and all her goodness for us. This God does not enslave us but suffers and dies for us. This God is one we call Father, Brother and Spirit of Love, for this God loves us beyond all measure.

Let us join in this hymn of praise to God.

The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds, the world and those who live there . . .

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 5. Print.

Image from: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/earth-day-2022-what-how-26764693

July 5, 2025

creation stories, fidelity, Genesis 1, honesty, idols, integrity, purity

1 Maccabees 15: Scoundrels

1 Maccabees 15: Scoundrels

Thursday, September 21, 2023

A Favorite from September 10, 2009.

The players: Scoundrels, ethnarchs, mercenaries, troops, high priests, kings, consuls, the people.

The locations: Sampsames, Delos, Myndos, Sparta, Rome, Cyprus, Joppa, Gazara.

The stakes: Taxes, coinage, control, weapons, debts, honor, the temple, the citadel, a gold shield weighing a thousand minas (a unit of money worth 60 shekels).

The motivations: Saving harmless, seeking haven, granting pardon, exacting revenge, survival, domination.

These are elements of today’s reading which took place just prior to the birth of Christ. We can unplug these names of ancient people and places to replace contemporary ones and yet the stakes and motivations have not changed in the millennia that have passed; human beings are, after all, creatures who struggle to survive and to maintain equilibrium and comfort levels. We never want to be off-balance or surprised. We want to be in control of our surroundings. We want to think that we have perfect understanding and skill in all we think, do and say. When this equilibrium is upset, we become anxious; and this anxiety leads to fear which has the potential to send us into devolution rather than evolution.

When mercenaries enter our lives we come undone in the sense that we begin to look for ways to solve our new and crushing problems from our own skill sets. In our urgency we forget to go to God and when this happens and our lives take on the characteristics we see in the activity we read about today.

When scoundrels enter our lives they are so clever at hiding their manipulations that we begin to blame ourselves for all that seems wrong. In our confusion we forget that the one true measuring stick is Christ. When we doubt ourselves, we need only look to this word of God as a model.

When taxes or control or debt or temples or citadels become our idols we fail ourselves and we allow these temporal entities to separate us from God.

When saving ourselves at all costs becomes our chief motivator we have lost our identity, for as children of God we need only have concern for our spiritual health. Once we tend to the life of our spirit, all else falls into place.

Let us be on the lookout for the scoundrels in our lives and when they appear, let us turn to the one true source that never fails us – the source that created us, sustains, protects and guides us. Let us turn to our God for only this one has the stamina, the capacity and the will to endure for eternity. All else vanishes into dust.

Image from: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=tyrian%20shekels

September 21, 2023

idols, rely on God

Hosea 10: Wormwood

Hosea 10: Wormwood

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Like wormwood in a plowed field . . .

Israel splits from Judah and sets up a new capital in Bethel to rival the city of Jerusalem but in this temple Jeroboam placed a golden calf. All of this mocks the beautiful covenant established between Yahweh and the faithful but, as the people will discover when the Assyrians invade, it is impossible to replace Yahweh’s fidelity and love with a mere golden calf. We might well ask what the followers of this idol were thinking when they centered their lives on the false hope of an inanimate statue. And when we do, we also ask ourselves where we might find golden calves in our own lives.

Hosea predicts ruin and destruction for the followers of the calf. He points out the ways and places that wickedness, perversity and falsehood are cultivated in this false spirituality. He also describes the folly of relying on the power of chariots and warriors and the turmoil of the tribes when superior forces overrun their cities.

Hosea reminds his readers that they are called to sow justice but instead of reaping fruitful crops the bitter wormwood plant which, because of its bitterness, cannot serve as fodder or animals or birds. In the hope of reaping rich harvest, those who are lured by false promises and false gods will instead gather in the bitterness they themselves have sown.

Hosea asks each of us to examine what it is we sow, and what it is we hope to harvest. Is it fertile and bountiful goodness, or the bitter fruit of wormwood? Only we can know.

To learn more about wormwood and how we use this herb today, click on the plant’s image above or visit: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wormwo37.html

Wormwood image from: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wormwo37.html

Bull image from: http://www.christian-resources-today.com/biblical-prophets-4c.html

July 10, 2022

Bethel, golden calf, idols, Jeroboam

Ezekiel 8: The Mystery of the Temple

Ezekiel 8: The Mystery of the Temple

Friday, July 1, 2022

Throughout this reading the Spirit continues to ask us as we encounter the world: Have you seen enough yet? How do we reply, and how do we react?

We might turn away in fear or disgust when our fellow human beings behave in abominable ways; yet how does this witness to the love of God that is somehow present everywhere at every time?

We might collapse in anxiety or denial when our friends and neighbors behave brutally toward us and others; yet how does this move us into solidarity with those who suffer so horribly?

We might despair in pain and sorrow when our loved ones betray or abandon us; yet how does this enact God’s love in a world looking for peace and serenity?

Ezekiel describes vividly how the Temple is desecrated with obscenity, greed, and idol-worship; yet who is this angry God we hear described in verse 18? Can this be the same God of hope and peace and love who comes to walk among us with mercy? What happens to this holy dwelling place and how are we to see God’s presence amid the rubble and ruin of what was once beauty and light?

Despite the deep corruption we see today, God abides in this place and with this people. Despite the brutality we read about today, God persists in converting harm into blessing. And despite the horror that we witness today, God pardons, heals and calls. This is the mystery of God’s sacred place and time: it is a temple of a healing, transforming, persisting, loving force that cannot be denied. This temple is a living essence that struggles to remain and grow within each of us. And life in this living temple is a mystery that we are invited to enter.

Do you see what the elders are doing here in the dark, each one before his favorite god-picture?

Who are our little gods and how do we express God in our everyday actions and voice? Do we operate in the dark or in the open light? When and where and how do we see the Mystery of God’s love amid the abominations of the world? And do we plan to accept the invitation that this mystery of sacred space and time has laid before us?

For a study on the Ezekiel temple, click on the image above or visit: http://israelmybeloved.com/the-ezekiel-temple/

July 1, 2022

God’s love, God’s presence, idols

Psalm 115: Silver and Gold

Monday, October 11, 2021

Psalm 115

Silver and Gold

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

From footnotes, This is “a response to the enemy taunt, ‘Where is your God?’ . . . [I]t ridicules the lifeless idols of the nations, expresses a litany of trust of the various classes of the people in God, invokes God’s blessing on them as they invoke the divine name, and concludes as it began with praise of God”. (Senior 726) True silver and gold are trust in the work of the Lord’s hands. There is no need to exact revenge.

Yesterday’s first reading at Mass was another look at the character of silver and gold. In Wisdom 7:7-11 they are seen as useless as the lust for power and control because all truly good things come from God, and God values our prudence and humility above supremacy. I prayed and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches as nothing in comparison with her, nor did liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

When we feel ourselves struggling to gain an upper hand or to mercilessly wield authority that has been vested in us, we must give God thanks for the goodness we have seen; and we must turn to songs like this one that remind us of our proper place in the universe: The heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth is given to us . . . It is we who bless the Lord. Hallelujah!

Amen.

A reflection written on October 12, 2009 and posted today as a Favorite.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.726. Print.

Image from: http://www.goldingot.org.uk/gold-and-silver/

October 11, 2021

control, idols, love not revenge, power, thanksgiving, Wisdom 7:7-11

Tag: idols

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