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Brother Joe Speranzella

Twisted Oaks, Bare Trees, and Hurricane Earl

  • Psalm 29:9 The Voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forest bare. And all in his temple cry "Glory!"

    In the original language, this can be translated as " the gods in His palace cry 'Glory'".. These are the angels and celestrial beings in awe of the power of God in nature. In mythology this is percieved as the primordial forces given names and duties. In the Christian mind this is of course the One God and his" Voice", the terrible winds of destruction. Such destruction begets awe, wonder and praise from  the cherubim and seraphim.

    As a Jungian analyst, this to me follows closely with Jungs view of spirit (CW 9i) as a two-sided entity. To say that there is a good and a bad side to Diety, a violent and a peaceful side, a destructive and a creative side, is very close to heresy, if it were not so plain to see. Perhaps this is why it is also true of man. What we know as the "dei Imagio" in man causes us to have the same traits, or at least the ability to project them on God. Both Zeus and Yahweh gave up on man, destructively. Both flooded the earth in a cleansing measure. Man had become corrupt, diety had to correct.

    Tonite a hurricane is approaching the Carolina and Virginia coasts. Not a deluge by any sort but with high winds and rain which is damaging enough. Twisted oaks and bare trees. And while we hunker down for the storm, all the gods in His palace cry "Glory!"

    We just cry "Mercy!"

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