I am not sure if you have had the chance to Taylor Swift’s most recent album, Lover, but there is one particularly disturbing track entitled "False God." It basically entails Swift proclaiming that even if her relationship is a false god, she will continue to worship it.
When I first listened to it, I was taken aback by how explicitly she glorifies this relationship, even though she admits she knows it’s a false god. I was reminded of that feeling as I read today’s First Reading (1 Kings 11:4-13) where we see Solomon is worshipping and building high places for his idols.
There is something so vivid and personal about this betrayal, as we know from Scripture that Solomon was wise and zealous for the Lord. In fact, we know that the Lord appeared to Solomon twice before this and forbade him from idol worship. Yet, Solomon follows his wives in burning incense and making sacrifices, a public manifestation of his reservation towards God, even though he knows His presence intimately.
Sisters, I have recently felt like I witness this story unfold every day. In music like "False God," in the lives of women I love, and even in the lives of women I do not know, I wonder how we have come to romanticize our own self-destruction. How do we, like Solomon, end up building altars for idols that we know leave us disappointed?
The antidote to my discouragement is that I worship the Jesus of today’s Gospel: the Nazarene, the Messiah, the One Who drives out demons. Everything changes when I remember He has power over all the falsehood and darkness in the world, and that He delights in saving us.
My heart is consoled when I remember He is the King of Kings. There is no chain that He cannot break and no captivity He could not rescue us from. And there is truly no idol too strong for our God, the only worthy One.
Pray with us today: Lord, we entrust this to You. Like David, may our hearts be entirely with You and for You.
Sarah Erickson is a politics pre-law major at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Born and raised in Arizona, she finds great joy in mountains, lattes, American history, and the piano. She is constantly discovering Christ's wild love in the little things. You can find out more about her here.
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