Fall of Giants

Learning to lean only on the kingship of Christ

07/22/2018

Jeremiah 23:1-6 Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

I am now knee-deep into a novel I cannot put down. It is called Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, and it’s a fast-paced story, a real page-turner – just like my Sunday sermons. The story takes place in the years leading up to World War I, the so-called, “war to end all wars.” The part of the book that fascinated me the most was the interaction of imperial powers as the world teetered on the brink of war. You might remember that at that period in history – the early 1900’s – monarchies were still mighty, like dinosaurs roaming the earth. This was long before the rise of free-market democracies and state-sponsored communism.

At one point the novel referenced the “Willy and Nicky correspondence.” Have you heard of that? It’s the personal letters that the tsar in Russia, Nicholas II, exchanged with his third cousin, the kaiser in Germany, Wilhelm II. Both men were great, great grandsons of Paul I of Russia. They were so close and affectionate with one another that they referred to themselves as “Nicky” and “Willy.” I’m going to start calling Fr. Stephen, “Stevie.” Here’s an excerpt of one letter by Tsar Nicholas II: “I foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try to avoid such a calamity as a European war I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going too far. [Signed] Nicky.” And Willy replied with similar sentiments to stave off the impending bloodshed. But we know what happened next. Willy and Nicky’s respective armies – the Germans and the Russians – tried to annihilate one another off the face of the earth. No matter how great men grow, in power and prestige, in weapons and warfare, as tsars or as kaisers, sooner or later history will witness the “fall of these giants.” It is a truism that human leadership perennially proves too weak to avoid war, even when the opposing leaders are third cousins; there will never be “a war to end all wars.”

The Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, also points out the problems with human leadership of God’s people, and prophesies that ultimately, God alone will be able to lead his people perfectly. Jeremiah warns: “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them…I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.” And this warning, by the way, was not just for notorious kings like Ahab or Jeroboam, but was also intended for every king of Israel. Abraham faltered in faith and had relations with his servant, Hagar. Moses lost his patience and struck the rock twice, disobeying God. Samson betrayed his sacred Nazorite vow and allowed his head to be shaved. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, Uriah. Solomon’s wisdom led him astray to marry 700 wives, and so on and so forth. Each human leader of the Chosen People had a fatal flaw, just like Willy and Nicky.

Only Jesus, the Son of God, would one day lead all humanity in holiness and humility. We read in today’s gospel the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophesy: “When [Jesus] disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” In other words, anyone who does not have Christ for his shepherd is essentially like a sheep without a real shepherd. Only the lordship and the leadership of Jesus will one day “end all wars.”

My friends, we do not live in the early 20th century in a world ruled by tsars and kaisers, but we still have political and even personal giants roaming around and running the world today. Are you shocked when they stumble and fall? How easy it is to cast stones and aspersions on presidents and prime ministers when they commit blunders, their stumbles are spread all across social media. Isn’t it human failures that prompt “roaming Catholics” of Fort Smith to move from parish to parish looking for greener pastures, or at least shorter sermons? No priest is perfect. Sometimes the giants in our lives were once our own parents, who as they grow older also evince short-comings of mind, body or spirit. We match their short-comings with our short-tempers! We can even pick apart our popes. “Pope Francis is too liberal with the environment,” some complain. Or, “Pope Benedict was too strict with the liturgy,” others criticize.

All human leaders, all human shepherds, are in the end imperfect, in order to highlight, by contrast, how good the Good Shepherd, Jesus, will be. Only when we put all our trust in Jesus will we be able to repeat with Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” Only when the Prince of Peace reigns supreme “on earth as it is in heaven” will there be an “end to all wars.” In the meantime, we will wearily watch the fall of giants.

The core of Follett’s novel can be captured in one brief reflection by a leading character, a German diplomat named, Walter. Walter secretly marries a British duchess named Maud, which was very taboo. The eve before the war, Walter reminisces ruefully: “My fate is in the hands of two monarchs…the tsar and the emperor. One is foolish, and the other geriatric; yet they control the destiny of Maud and me and countless millions of Europeans. What an argument against monarchy!” (Fall of Giants, 185-86). And the only answer to that argument is the kingship of Christ.

Praised be Jesus Christ!