Recently discovered statue of Emperor Decius in Rome
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast their cords from us.”
Psalm 2 NRSVue
I came upon an article in the Smithsonian Magazine about the discovery during street excavations in Rome of a statue which likely dates back to the third century AD, or CE. It depicts a man man dressed as Hercules, the hero from Greco-Roman mythology, complete with a club and a lion skin headdress. It looks like other images of the Roman emperor Decius who ruled from 249 to 251 C.E. Decius stressed the worship of the ancient gods, hence the Hercules outfit, and was known for instituting the first organized persecution of Christians throughout the Roman Empire.
These archeological finds fascinate me, as does the realization that the faith this emperor persecuted is still a living religion while worship of those gods ended long ago. And who has heard of Decius? It's usually Emperor Nero who is associated with killing Christians, even though this reputation may be exaggerated.
In every age humanity gets caught up in the excesses, machinations, and power plays of empires, only for them to wane and even disappear. At the moment we are keenly aware of the reckless. unjustified war being waged by Russia against Ukraine. The reasons are unclear but it does seem that "emperor" Putin has a desire to revive the territorial glory of the tsars of the past. NATO nations are supporting Ukraine along with others from the European Union. Yet even as they meet the country is being blasted to pieces. As the United States leads this coalition of resistance it is also cautioning China, a tyrannical superpower in it own right about supporting Russia. China also threatens Taiwan, again under caution by the US. What a world. What a species.
Ukraine six days ago
I've been paying more attention to the Sunday and weekday psalms since our Gift of the Psalms study group. Yesterday, Transfiguration, it was Psalm 2 which begins with a question:Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? This is much more than a rhetorical question. At the conclusion of WW2 the Russians were instrumental in bringing an end to the Nazi German regime. Today Germany is central to the coalition resisting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. An international security conference took place in Munich over the weekend. We do scheme and plot and conspire, only to change allegiances. Do we learn?
Little wonder that the psalmist figures God laughs at our human foibles. And that we will find genuine peace and happiness as we take refuge in God, by any name for God we may employ.
Well, enough of my rambling for today. Enjoy Family Day!
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear;
with trembling kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.
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