Pigs and ancient magic
The Greek poet Homer tells us that Aeetes, the baleful
king of Colchis, had a sister called Circe, a godess who had no love for
humans. She had a palace on the island of Dawn in the middle of a
forest and when some of Odysseus' crew investigated the island they
heard her playing the harp and looked in on her. She smiled, invited
them in, fed them poisoned food and turned them into grunting, feverish
swine.
Silly old story. One gentleman said, "I didn't believe it of course
until one evening when I was passing a group of young men on a street
corner. I heard enough of the lascivious story being told, and I saw the
leers, the flushed faces, the glistening eyes and the muttered
wickedness and I knew I had wandered into the garden of Circe. The spell
was working before my very eyes. These humans were turning into swine."
And so it is, feeding on what has been poisoned, we surrender to a
spell that cheapens and coarsens us, making mere animals of us in our
passions and the way we indulge them. We need somebody wise enough and
strong enough and "ruthless" enough to deliver us from the curse because
in our sinfully weakened state and in a society like ours we aren't
able to do it alone.
It didn't matter to Circe that the humans were turned into animals
that roamed her forest or into pigs to be herded into sties but it
matters to the Holy Spirit who works to make us holy because he cannot
bear to see us continue in our shame. Those who don't care for us will
shrug at our dishonour or give up on us before very long, especially if
their wisdom isn't quickly recognized or heeded.
Hosea speaks more tenderly of the love of God than any other prophet
but he also speaks more trenchantly against sin than any other. Israel
is in headlong flight away from God, going deeper and deeper into
swinish ways and yet God, the Holy Father says, "How can I give you up,
Israel? How can I abandon you?" (11:8) Even for those of us who
presently don't care that we bury our snouts in swill and muck, who are
content to be humans with piggish ways, there's the possibility of full
reclamation because God not only doesn't want us to perish he wants us
to be made whole (see 2 Peter 3:9 and 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). He gives
us the assurance that he will do just that if we will let him (1
Thessalonians 5:23-24).
But what if we're afraid that we don't want to let him? Do we want to want
to let him? Then by his grace we should do what we're able to do and
trust him for the rest. Sin and its power is a great mystery but as C.S.
Lewis has taught us, there is a deeper ancient magic at work in the
cross of Christ. Odysseus cured his men with the fabled white flower of
Hermes and God cures people with the life and redeeming sacrifice of his
Son and he becomes not only our righteousness, and wisdom but our
holiness (1 Corinthians 1:30).
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.