Mark Call

Parsha “Re’eh” (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17) begins with the single word “Behold!” Or, more simply, in the modern English, just “See.” Which is what most of xtianity has refused to do for at least 1700 years now. And it’s pretty easy to actually read this one, and see why.

The Erev Shabbat reading and commentary of the entire parsha makes the MULTIPLE reasons for that clear:

One of the elements which cannot be ignored (but, somehow, still is…) is the level of disgust that YHVH makes clear that He has for practices rooted in idolatry. The text goes well beyond even saying that He hates them. And He certainly repeats the point, a LOT, but especially in this portion.

But what Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship frequently refers to as the ‘whore church’ has been doing precisely what He so vehemently forbids for seventeen centuries. Why is this message so poignant NOW? And that is where the emphasis this time around is different.

This week it’s not enough to note that the Torah portion comes right from today’s news.

The key is Deuteronomy 13 verse 3, and again in 7, and again in verse 14 — and Yahuah clearly Writes that it includes a death penalty:

If someone – anyone, even someone we love dearly – says, “let’s go and serve other gods,” it’s not enough just to NOT consent to it, or even pity, spare, or conceal the traitor.

The problem, though seems to depend on just what that means. Certainly, “adding in” pagan practices that He forbids (from bunnies and eggs to xmas trees to sun-god-day, arguably) are, at least to those who finally see it, abominable to Him. But, “He knows my heart,” we’ve all heard. Yeah, and it’s “deceitful above all, and desperately wicked.”

Now, however, there’s another whole dimension to consider. And that’s where we look now.

Fake gods aren’t just made of “wood, and stone,” and metal. The great god Science, and its high priest Fauci, are obvious. And now, the Next Generation of idolatry is silicon. Even mRNA, nanomaterials, and ‘wetware.’

There is a lot of ‘food for thought’ in this parsha, and it could not be more urgent, for reasons He has made clear for centuries, but perhaps not to the degree we should expect.

“Re-eh: It is about Who is to be Master – that is all”