Dear Parishioners,

One of the perpetual struggles within the church has been, and continues to be, the notion of change. We rightfully want to know which aspects of the church may change and which aspects may not. In a more specific inquiry one could focus on the church’s beliefs (creed), or on its ritual practices (cult) or on its moral demands and expectations of behavior (code). These “3 Cs” are common to all religious traditions and to most secular organizations and societies as well. What aspects contained in the church’s creed, cult and code are able to be changed and which must be forever constant?

Essentially the church answers this question by asserting that those aspects that are of human origin may change or be adapted according to various times and places in history. Those aspects that are of divine origin, that is ordained by God, may never be changed since God, who himself is immutable, is incapable of error. In other words, if something is of God, it is because God wants it to be and therefore cannot be changed.

I suspect most theologians would agree with this succinct summary as a way of determining the mutable and immutable aspects of the church for we have consistently maintained that the church is both human and divine. The ongoing challenge and endless source of controversy is recognizing which aspects are divine and which are human. This is the arena in which theologians and pastors have wrestled for centuries and, most likely, will continue to do so until the end of time.

I mention all this because I recently re-discovered a thought provoking story from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) in the book of Numbers chapters 27 and 36 – the story of Zelophehad and his five daughters who were named: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Michah and Tirzah. In this narrative, Zelophehad, a man from the tribe of Manasseh, died leaving no sons. Under the law of Israel only males were permitted to inherit land, thus leaving the five daughters without the most valuable resource for their survival i.e., land. Furthermore, with no male heirs, the name of Zelophehad could not be carried on and would therefore disappear from history.

So the five daughters of Zelophehad humbly, yet courageously, approached Moses, Eleazar and the whole congregation of Israel arguing that their father’s name should not be lost from history simply because he had no sons. The response from Moses was that this particular law (that only males may inherit land) was a decree from God and therefore could not be changed. The five daughters persisted however, and begged Moses to take this matter in prayer before God. Moses did so and God responded to Moses by stating that the daughters’ petition was just and that they were entitled to inherit the land that belonged to their father. God’s favor secured the livelihood of the five daughters and was the catalyst responsible for changing Israel’s inheritance laws that, hereafter, permitted women to inherit and own land.

The example of Zelophehad’s daughters, taken from Sacred Scripture, raises the question, “Can divine law ever be changed?” If so, does this mean that God can change his mind and be moved to do so by the prayerful pleading of mortal beings? Answering these questions affirmatively also has implications for how we understand prayers of petition. We claim that intercessory prayer does not change God or God’s mind, but rather aligns our minds to the will of God. Does this story teach otherwise? Another question that emerges is, if God’s mind can be changed, how and through whom is this change interpreted and communicated? One can see how complicated and difficult answering these questions could be, if they are answerable at all.

Perhaps the most significant message we can glean from the story of Zelophehad and his five daughters is God’s desire for justice so that all men and women might receive what is necessary to live in a manner that secures their dignity and livelihood. As for what is of God’s will and what is of human invention, these two realities will most likely continue to exist in tension with each other calling us all to live with the utmost humility and trust in God whose ways are always greater and more mysterious than our own.

Blessings,

Rev. Gabriel O.S.B

BACK TO LIST