The Old Testament tells of worshippers complaining to Yahweh, “You had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!” Yahweh retaliates against the disloyal worshippers, “the LORD drove in quail from the sea… for the people… but while the meat was still between their teeth… the LORD’s wrath flared up against the people, and the LORD struck them with a very great plague.”
The War Lord Yahweh routinely retaliates against disloyal people, including his own worshippers, and is believed righteous for doing so. Yahweh is believed righteous in his retaliation against people who will not worship him because the men who invented Yahweh believed they were righteous in their retaliation of people who will not worship them. Throughout history, earthly retaliators have upheld worship of their invented heavenly retaliators because they are upholding worship of themselves. Righteous retaliation is the worship system of the MAGA group. Yahweh-like men, believe they are being godly when they retaliate against non-worshippers. This would include women who are not sufficiently subordinate. The most retaliatory men become the earthly deities most worshipped by MAGA. For example, Donald Trump, a retaliatory white supremacist male is worshipped by other retaliatory white supremacist males. Trump has retaliated against poor working men and women his entire life. He has most especially retaliated against dark skinned minorities – because they will not worship him. That is their sin. As non-worshippers, Trump, and his ilk, keep retaliating against them and promote the U.S. culture retaliating against them. Trained by Yahweh, worshippers accept that members of their own group will have to suffer the deity’s retaliation if they are disloyal. Worshippers thus support Trump vowing retaliation against the disloyal Liz Cheney, FBI, DOJ, judges, prosecutors, court personnel, election officials, and any other non-worshipper. Trump was thus applauded by his MAGA worshippers when articulating their shared retaliatory theology, “I am your warrior. I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” Another retaliatory deity worshipped by MAGA is Michael Flynn, a War Lord in the Iraq War. General Flynn is a Putin ally who illegally aided his interference in the 2016 election for Trump but lied about it to the FBI whose evidence meant Flynn pled guilty though he was later pardoned by Trump. Flynn, who has taken the Q-Anon oath and promotes the oxymoronic ‘Christian Nationalism,’ is planning retaliation against non-worshippers primarily through martial law. Flynn may be replacing Trump as the prime MAGA deity worshipped, especially by other military men, for example, Ivan Raiklin. Raiklin is a Lt. Colonel and US Defense Intelligence Agency employee who devised the scheme to give fraudulent Trump elector certificates for Vice-President Pence to count instead of the authentic Biden elector certificates. Flynn and Raiklin are currently touring the U.S. recruiting military and law enforcement officials in their retaliation campaign. All have taken an oath “to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and are fervently applying it to domestic non-worshippers; anyone they identify as disloyal. Raiklin is specifically identifying himself as a “future secretary of retribution.” How is it possible for MAGA to worship so many retaliating deities like the militant Trump and Flynn and Raiklin? It is possible because they worship the retaliating heavenly deity militant men invented, Yahweh of the Old Testament.
MAGA’s willingness to enact Yahweh-like retaliation, is easily contrasted with Jesus’ willingness to nourish. Surrounded by members of the retaliatory Yahweh cult, Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes for thousands of people to eat – from whom he demands no worship. Instead, he offers advice, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” That which perishes is militant rulers who vow retaliation against non-worshippers. That which endures is common people who commit to nourishing each other.
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, nourish me.
Question: What are deeper things that nourish?
August 04, 2024 John 6:24-35 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time