The word of the
Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord
GOD: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the
seat of the gods,
in the heart of
the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you consider yourself as
wise as a god—you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by
your wisdom and your understanding you have gotten wealth for yourself, and
have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in
trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your
wealth—therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you consider ourself as wise
as a god, therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you, the most terrible
of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your
wisdom and defile your splendor. They
shall thrust you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in
the heart of the seas. Will you still
say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you, though you are but a
man, and no god, in the hands of those who wound you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by
the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.”[1]
Upon reading this passage for the
first time, the thought occurred that this is historical—and it is. If it wasn’t historical, then we would just push
it from our minds as an empty threat.
Therefore, we must see that the Lord did what he threatened—which occurred
with, I believe, Alexander the Great.
However, if we do not, also, make this apply to us, of what real benefit
is this passage to us? This is to the
prince of Tyre, correct—not to us? Yes—and
no. Yes, it is to the prince of Tyre;
and, no, it is not correct that it does not apply to us? Well, one might surmise, it applies to us in
the sense it reinforces in our minds that God does what he says. As believers, we already know that, so it has
to apply to us in a way more than that.
As we know, “son of Man” is one of
the expressions that Jesus uses often to refer to himself; therefore, Jesus
jumps out at us. We can picture the
Father saying to the Son, “Son, say to the prince of Tyre.” Who is the prince of Tyre? He would be the leader of Tyre. However, Jesus did not come to preach to one
individual; he came to preach to every human individual. Therefore, each one of us is the prince of
Tyre.
We can hear the objection: “I have
never said, nor do I believe, that I am a go, that I sit in the seat of the
gods!” Correct? It is correct that we have never said it or
that the thought has never occurred to us; however, it is not correct that we
don’t believe it. We believe it because
that is how we conduct our daily lives.
We get angry because we are
not pleased. This makes us the prince of
Tyre. We believe that we are “in the
know”—know the truth—about many things; and, if others disagree, they are
wrong. This makes us the prince of Tyre. “For out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks.”[2] This is one of the reasons why I say we are
our own worst enemy. We
The Jews were told by St. Paul and
Barnabas, “It was necessary that the word
of God be spoken to you first, but since
you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life (emphasis
added)…”[7] Now, the Jews did not, in their minds, reject
their Scriptures nor did they consider themselves unworthy of eternal life. To the contrary, they believed they were believing
and living in accord with God’s will.
Nevertheless, they were rendering an interpretation that pleased
them. Therefore, they were rejecting the
Truth, condemning themselves as unworthy of eternal life. Because they thought they were right, they
could not repent. We must be careful
that we do not allow ourselves to fall into that trap. It is for this reason that we listen to the
Church, of which Jesus is the Head and will not deceive the Body. Mark Twain says, “Truth is stranger than
fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth
isn't.” It is for this reason, I think,
that many people reject the Church’s teachings.
Because we are considering the possibilities, we are considering
ourselves wise in the things we are “sure” of.
In those matters, “you consider
yourself as wise as a god—you are indeed wiser than Daniel. God is not stating that we actively consider
ourselves as wise as a god, that we consider ourselves wiser than Daniel; he is
stating that this is what we actually believe in our hearts, as a result of our
thoughts, words, and actions.
Have you ever gotten angry over what
someone has said or done? You have
judged them, and probably do not forgive them.
You may forget about it, but you do not forgive. You have condemned them. You have made yourself better than them. “Stop
judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be
condemned.”[8] When someone does wrong, they need to be
told, sometimes even disciplined.
However, in the telling and disciplining, we need to reminding ourselves
that we ourselves are probably worse.
This should cause us to confess, repent, and pray for others. Forgive
and you will be forgiven.[9] Even
getting angry over how others are driving shows how we are considering
ourselves as gods, being better than our fellow, sinful, human being. God is telling us that we are alike, that we
are all the “prince of Tyre.” He is
telling us this because it is Truth, in order that we may confess, repent, and
turn to him for healing, for we cannot heal ourselves of this. “Those
who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to
call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”[10] St. Peter asked our Lord, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how
often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to
you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”[11] Our Lord says this because there no number to
his forgiveness of us. This is his
promise to us. All we need to do is see our
sins and confess them. Then we need to
live a life of forgiveness, not blaming others or condemning them, but helping
them. Through St. Mark, we learn from
our Lord: “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and, if he
repents, forgive him. And, if he wrongs
you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him’.”[12] This shows us our Lord’s desire to forgive
us, if only we are willing to go to him.
This does not mean that we are
able to withhold forgiveness if our brother does not come to us. Just as the Lord desires to forgive us and
works to bring us to repentance, likewise we should deal with our brother. It begins with us praying for that brother,
that the Lord brings him to repentance. If
we do not desire to forgive, then we become as gods, desiring to condemn. We desire that God forgive us; therefore, we
also need to have a constant forgiving heart.
It is then that we prove that we are children of God, born of the Divine
One.
…by
your wisdom and your understanding you have gotten wealth for yourself, and
have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in
trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your
wealth… There are three aspects to
this passage. First, there are those who,
by their own wisdom, is able to accumulate wealth, and this causes their hearts
to become proud. They do not understand
that intelligence comes from God, who gives much to some and little to
some. What intelligence we are given, we
are supposed to utilize it in order to help others, to the glory of God. It is a gift.
Therefore, no one can gloat that they are more wise than another. It is a gift for those that receive much
intelligence; it is also a gift for those that receive less. It is a gift; therefore, no one can
gloat. They, however, see that their
intelligence is self-derived, making themselves believe they are god. Hence, condemnation awaits them. Secondly, there are those who think they have much understanding but
have little wealth. For those, God is
ridiculing them. “You think you have
wisdom and understanding, and you think you are prospering or are going to
prosper.” Many of these people will be
involved in illegal activities. Their
hearts, also, become proud in the “wealth” they have; and condemnation awaits
them, too. Thirdly, there are those who
desire to be wealthy. Their hearts
become proud in the wealth they desire.
They also await condemnation. All
of three of these aspects are comprised of self-seekers, who exhibit their pride
through their self-seeking.
For the Psalm reading to go with
this passage, the Church, being led by the Holy Spirit, has given us some
passages from Deuteronomy 32: I would
have said, “I will scatter them afar,
I will make the
remembrance of them cease from among men,” had I not feared provocation by the
enemy, lest their adversaries should judge amiss, lest they should say, “Our
hand is triumphant, the Lord has not wrought all this.” “For they are a
nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.[13] How
should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their
Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up?[14] Vengeance
is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day
of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly. For the Lord will vindicate his people and
have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, and
there is none remaining, bond or free.[15] I will only show the significance of this for
believers. These passages show us that,
since we are his children, he is going to destroy this pride which remains in
his children. He is going to make his children humble. They cannot make themselves humble; he must
make them humble. Because he has given
us wills, he will work through our wills to make us humble. We need to be willing, asking him to do this
work in us.
The Gospel account from St. Matthew
brings this to a good summation. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I
say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
God.” When the disciples heard this they
were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them,
“With men, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Lo, we have left
everything and followed you. What then
shall we have?” Jesus said to them,
“Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious
throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone
who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal
life. But many that are first will be
last, and the last first.[16] For
the word, “rich,” we can insert the word “proud.” That makes it apply to each one of us, for
each of us is the prince of Tyre. This
should cause us concern, causing us to visit the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
and partake of the Eucharist in order that we may become the image of our Lord,
Jesus Christ.
[1]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Eze 28:1–10.
[2] Ibid.,
Mt 12:34.
[3] Ibid.,
Ge 3:5.
[4]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Mk 7:20–23.
[5] Ibid.,
Je 17:9.
[6] New American Bible,
Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, 2011), Mt 19:17.
[7] Ibid.,
Ac 13:46.
[8] Ibid.,
Lk 6:37.
[9] Ibid.,
Lk 6:37.
[10] Ibid.,
Lk 5:31–32.
[11] Ibid.,
Mt 18:21–22.
[12] Ibid.,
Lk 17:3–4.
[13]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Dt 32:26–28.
[14] Ibid.,
Dt 32:30.
[15] Ibid.,
Dt 32:35–36.
[16] Ibid.,
Mt 19:23–30.
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