Paul M. Zulehner

Beastly good

Biblical Meditations

Patmos Publishing House

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Contents

Contents

Foreword

Learning from the animals

In the school of the donkey

Donkey of peace and champion's steed

The horses and their apocalyptic riders

The Lamb That Was Slaughtered

Immediately the crowed

The menacing wolf

The Royal Lion

Daniel in the lion's den

The Old Serpent

Plagues of locusts

Sabbath rest also for cattle

Of pearls and pigs

Pigs and Jesus' Power

In the belly of the whale

Fish medicine

Jesus and the Pisces

The billy goat as a scapegoat

The Deer of God's Longing

Like a gazelle

Guileless as pigeons

The Ghost Dove

Ravens save Elijah's life

Eagle – King of the Skies

Honey bees – sweet and poisonous

Carrion from a different perspective

Like dog and cat

Foreword

Father Andreas Werner Ebmer is a Cistercian of Wilhering Abbey, a priest, 55 years as pastor of Puchenau and now emeritus. In his second identity, he is an entomologist in the systematics of wild bees, especially the Halictidae family with a focus on the Palearctic – that is, the region from Ireland to Japan, south to Nepal – and thus internationally renowned. In sixty years of research on wild bees, he has built up a very species-rich collection of studies in his meager free time. During their years of study together in Innsbruck, I was once able to watch him catch a remarkable butterfly with an insect net. The parish of Puchenau, which began in the Carolingian period, has been incorporated into Wilhering Abbey since 1624, i.e. entrusted to pastoral care and provides the pastors from this religious community. Today's magnificent baroque building of the monastery is located in the Danube valley above Linz.

The abbot of the monastery, Father Reinhold Dessl, had invited me to give the convent a three-day retreat during Holy Week 2025. The monks received two spiritual impulses every day. I had been looking for a suitable topic for a long time. If possible, this should have to do with the liturgy of Holy Week, at the beginning of which the spiritual exercises were scheduled. That's when I had the idea to do something meditative about the animals during Holy Week. Animal meditations, as it were, without becoming animally serious.

This project seemed tempting to me. Animals today receive a high level of ecological attention because many species are threatened. They also play an amazing role in the Bible – right up to the readings of Holy Week. The story of Jesus' passion begins with him riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey and the crowd cheering him. Three times a rooster crowed, reminding Peter of Jesus' word that he would deny him three times in his night of suffering. The Crucified One is honored as a lamb that was slain.

So I set to work. I created a dictionary of all biblical texts. Then I picked out the animals from the more than 48,000 words¹ and was also able to determine how often they occurred.²

Quickly, those animals crystallized, which I considered for my project, while I put others on the back burner. I then studied the individual animals. The animal sciences were helpful in advance. Then I looked around to see which idioms animals had made it into. It was helpful to take a look at the mythical tales of ancient cultures, but also into Aesop's fables and Grimm's fairy tales. Finally, with the help of a computer program, I had those passages from the Bible (Standard Translation) filtered out in each case in which the respective animal plays a role. All in all, it was a real battle of materials.

I hope you can enjoy the result I present in this idiosyncratic book. It is both profane and spiritual at the same time, and at the same time ecologically sensitive. A little theology of animals is attempted. Animals are not only farm animals, but have value in them. They praise God only by being beautiful, powerful, cunning, guileless. They participate in the Creation Symphony through their singing and onomatopoeia. And last but not least, they are also good teachers for us humans. We can learn from the animals. For our everyday life and, interwoven into it, for our spiritual life.

Paul M. Zulehner

Vienna, 2025

Learning from the animals

But just ask the animals, they teach you, the birds of the air, they tell you.

Or speak to the earth, it will teach you, the fish of the sea will tell you.

Who among them does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?

In his hand rests the soul of all life and the spirit of every human body.

(Job 12:7–10)

The Praise of God of the Animals

Animals, rivers, stones are not silent. Cattle, birds, fish, the earth teach man. They also praise their Creator. Rivers applaud God with hilly choral accompaniment:

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains rejoice in chorus!
(Psalm 98:8)

A great world praise is heard. All that is shall praise the Lord, so in the Book of Daniel the three young men Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael sing in the lions' den:

Praise the Lord, all their waters above heaven; O powers of the Lord; Sun and Moon; you stars in the sky; rain and dew; ye winds; Fire and embers; frost and heat; Dew and snow; ice and cold; hoarfrost and snow; you nights and days; Light and Dark; you lightning and clouds; praise and glorify him forever.

Let the earth praise the Lord; let her praise and glorify him forever. You mountains and hills; you plants on earth; you springs; ye seas and rivers; you beasts of the sea and everything that moves in the water; you birds in the sky; you beasts, wild and tame; O people; praise and glorify him forever. (according to Daniel 3:60–81)

But humans and animals are not only united in worship. Both lives are heading for death:

Because every human being is subject to fate and animals are also subject to fate. They have one and the same skill. As they die, so do they. Both have one and the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals. Because both are breaths of wind.
(Ecclesiastes 3:19)

On a Little Theology of Animals

Such biblical texts encourage a little theology of animals. Their starting point: The common praise of creation lives from the deep unity of all being. Aristotle, Bonaventure, Ken Wilber capture this unity in the image of the "chain of being". This chain of being extends from the stone to God. Because this is the case, nature is not our environment, but our environment, in which humans are an interwoven part. We are the "One World" with everything. To be read in Laudato si ́ (2014) by Pope Francis.

"Agere sequitur esse", doing follows being, is a time-honored principle. So if everything is one at the level of being, universal solidarity follows at the level of action: if there is only one God, each and every one is one, each one is one of us. Once again, we should refer to our mastermind Pope Francis, who – together with the Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb of Abu Dhabi – in his epochal slice Fratelli tutti takes up the cudgels for a universal fraternity that initially includes all human beings, but then expands to include everything that is:

God "created all human beings with equal rights, equal duties and equal dignity and called them to live together as brothers and sisters".³

Two legends tell with touching tenderness how great saints included the world and the animals in their believing cosmos and thus in their praise. The mendicant monk from Umbria, namesake of the Pope, Francis of Assisi, gave the Canticle of the Sun to the worship liturgy⁴ . He proclaimed the Gospel to birds, a motif that inspired painters such as Giotto and composers such as Franz Liszt to create masterpieces.

The fish sermon of St. Anthony of Padua is also magnificent. Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim paid attention to it in "Des Knaben Wunderhorn",⁵ but at the same time developed it further. Gustav Mahler has written the relevant song verses in an orchestral piece in C minor with the playing instruction "Sedate. With humour."

The legend seems highly topical to me. Antonius has scheduled his sermon in a church. But no one came: The German poets Brentano and von Arnim: The church in which he wanted to preach was "single", i.e. empty:

St. Anthony for the sermonThe church finds single. He goes to the rivers and preaches to the fish.

The church interior proves to be unsuitable for the proclamation. Contemporaries are disinterested in the sermon. Antonius looks for an "other place". However, he not only undertakes a change of location, but also replaces the auditorium. He goes to the river and preaches to the fish.

Brentano and von Arnim captivate in their joint poem with their knowledge of fish. They characterize the fish quite vividly – and it is not difficult to recognize character traits of his contemporaries. Carp open their mouths; pointed pike-mouthed pike are always fencing; Stockfish are dreamers who are always fasting; Eels and Hausen (sturgeons) feast; "Turtles", usually slow messengers, rise.

And the pleasing refrain is sung for everyone: "No sermon will never please the fish so much!" Praise that many of us, who "preach in everyday life" with good preparation and enthusiasm, hear again and again. You have preached beautifully, Mr. Pastor!" Of course, if you ask what was important, many cannot say. Are our sermons beautiful, but meaningless? After all, the fish, according to the poem, listen at God's behest:

Fish big, fish small, noble and common, raise their heads like intelligent creatures! Listen to the sermon at God's request!

But then comes the sobering finale. The fish swim back into their everyday environment - and remain as they were. Antonius did not change the fish. Quite a frustration. And today's everyday preaching? Is this also in vain? Do sermons change people, do they become thoughtful, do they see things differently, do they at least take questions with them, do they question themselves? Don't preachers sometimes feel like their Master, who lamented: "Why do I still talk to you at all?" (John 8:25) The poets are blatantly pessimistic:

The sermon ended,everyone turns. The pike remain thieves who love eels very much; the sermon has fallen.they remain as they all do!

The crabs go back, the stockfish stay fat, the carp eat a lot, forget the sermon, forget it! The sermon has fallen, they remain as they all do, the sermon has fallen, has fallen!

However, it is theologically too superficial if, in view of the futility of preaching, we look for the causes only in the preachers or in the possible heartlessness of many contemporaries. A Pauline sermon comes to mind. The European Apostle preached the gospel in Philippi, in the east of Macedonia. In July 2016, the archaeological site of Philippi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its importance as a Roman city and the oldest Christian community founded in Europe. The Acts of the Apostles report this (Acts 16:12–14). Paul did not stay in the city temple, but, like Anthony, went to the river, where he suspected a place of prayer.⁶ There he found a group of women, sat down with them and told them about Jesus, his teachings and the followers of the way.

Among the listeners was Lydia from the city of Thyatira, an ancient trading city in Asia Minor, in the region called Lydia. The city was known for its textile industry and purple dyeing. Thyatira is now the Turkish Akhisar in Asia Minor. The rich woman Lydia was a purple merchant. She is reported to have been a God-fearing woman. But then comes the homiletically weighty part of the sentence:

The Lord opened her heart so that she listened attentively to Paul's words. (Acts 16:14)

Paul's words would have been in vain if God had not opened Lydia's heart. Could Benedict XVI be right when, during his visit to his native Bavaria, he complained at the airport under the roar of the aircraft engines that people today are deaf to God; that they no longer hear the soft music of God?

A sermon should not only "please" fish, but also the listeners, according to Brentano and von Arnim. In surveys, many complain about the sermons. More would be possible, there is a lot of room for improvement. But even the most "pleasing" preaching cannot open closed hearts. That's God's job while we're preaching. "He anticipates our actions with his grace," said Karl Rahner in a conversation about the theology of pastoral care today.⁷ In view of the precarious futility of our proclamation, does it not seem that God is not doing exactly that today, opening hearts? Shouldn't all those who are entrusted with the ministry of the Word literally besiege God to open the ears of the hearts of our listeners, no matter where His Word is proclaimed, in churches or in other places? In any case, I have stopped, especially when I have put a lot of effort into preparing a sermon, to blame myself alone, when people say that the sermon was well received, but in fact it has no effect and it is frustratingly quickly forgotten for us. Once again Brentano and von Arnim:

Forget the sermon, forget it! The sermon has pleased, they remain like all.

Paul's preaching to the women by the river, on the other hand, was obviously a successful joint venture with God. He had opened the woman's heart during Paul's sermon. Lydia was the first woman in Europe to be baptized by Paul with her entire house. A believing house congregation emerged, which Lydia presided over – probably also at the celebration of the Lord's Supper.

In the last book of the New Testament, the so-called Revelation of John, we meet the Christian community in Thyatira once again. The Risen One, it is reported, works as a divine church advisor in seven churches in Asia Minor. One of the seven "candlesticks" is the congregation from the city of the purple merchant. Christ praises the church in Thyatira:

I know your actions, your love and faith, your service and your patience, and I know that you have done more lately than you did in the beginning. (Revelation 2:19)

But there is also idolatry, which is already castigated as "adultery" in the First Testament. Those who do not desist from it are predicted to be afflicted. The Risen One finally encourages steadfastness, which God will reward. It is precisely what Christians need in our time: church resilience. Steadfastness.

Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations.

In the school of the donkey

Animal meditations are on the program. We go spiritually to the school of animals. Our first teacher is the donkey. There is much to learn from him for spiritual life.

The (domestic) donkey (Latin Equus asinus) comes from Africa. If a donkey is crossed with a domestic horse mare, a mule, a mule or mule is created. Donkeys are popular pets in Israel. They transport goods. They serve as mounts for nobles (Judges 10:4; 1 Kings 1:33). Herds of donkeys formed a valuable possession and are often mentioned as spoils of war: "So they took away their possessions: 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and 2,000 donkeys, plus 100,000 people." (1 Chronicles 5:21) Even more: What would be inadmissible today under international and animal law, Saul was called upon by God himself to carry out the ban in the war against the people of the Amalekites: "Do not spare them, but kill men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys!" (1 Samuel 15:3) In famines, donkey meat was eaten (2 Kings 6:25).

Donkeys were well kept. The Sabbath rest also applied to them: "Six days you can do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your slave and the stranger may catch their breath." (Exodus 23:12)

The donkey plays a leading role in two biblical texts: in the Balaam narrative and in the account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Both stories are worth meditating on and also highly topical. First of all, we turn to the Old Testament narrative.

Bribery of the Prophet

Israel was in the process of taking possession of the promised land. Balak, the king of Moab, noticed this. To prevent Israel from annexing its land (which would be rejected today as contrary to international law), he tries to do so by spiritual means. The prophet Balaam is supposed to curse Israel so that it cannot abandon it from God and thus militarily weaken it cannot conquer the land of the Moabites. He sends emissaries to persuade Balaam to do so.

Balaam receives them, but sends them to the guesthouse for the time being. They are to spend the night with him. He wants to gain time to get God's opinion in the night. The prophet – which translates as mouth of God – is visited by God at night. For example, the minutes of the conversation in the book of Numbers read:

God came to Balaam and asked him, "Who are these men with you?" Balaam answered God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent messengers to me, saying, 'Behold, the people who have come out of Egypt are hiding their view of the land.' Therefore, come and curse it for me! Maybe then I can defeat it in battle and drive it away. God answered Balaam, "Do not go with you." Do not curse the people; for it is blessed. (Numbers 22:9–12)

Balaam adheres to God's instruction not to curse Israel and rebuffs the royal delegation. A prophet adheres to what God intends and not powerful people. Too few prophetic bishops of Hungary therefore had to be admonished by Pope Francis: Read the Gospel rather than Viktor Orban's government statements. The prophet has to let God tell him at night that he stands by the promise to Abraham. He had no intention of withdrawing the blessing from the people of Israel and cursing them.

So the Moabite king tries a second time, but now he tries bribery. Viktor Orban has also won over the bishops because he has made a lot of money available to the Church. Once again, Balaam resists the temptation of corruption. This is now Balak's offer, mediated by his messengers:

I will give you a very high reward; whatever you ask of me, I will do. Only come and curse this people for me! Balaam answered the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak gave me his house of silver and gold, I could not disobey the command of the Lord my God, either in small things or in great things. (Numbers 22:17f.)

But Balaam does not seem to be quite sure. That's why he doesn't send the noble messengers home right away, but offers them another place to stay for the night. He wants to clarify the request for a curse on Israel, animated by the promised high reward, with God again at night. Perhaps he has changed his mind in view of Israel's ongoing disloyalties.

In the night God came to Balaam and said to him, "When the men have come to get you, go and go with them." But you may only do the word that I will tell you! In the morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and went with the courtiers from Moab. (Numbers 22:20f.)

A Talking Donkey and an Angelic Blind Prophet

Now comes the great hour of the donkey, or more precisely the donkey. The often so-called "stubborn" donkey, a model for a person who behaves stubbornly towards God (Psalm 32:9), becomes an incredible instrument for God's prophetic education.

At first, it is surprising in the story that God became angry, although he had left it up to the prophet to go along with the emissaries. Did God distrust his prophet? Did he want to make sure that Balaam did not allow himself to be bribed by King Balak to curse the people of God? Incorruptibility is a hallmark of the ministry of prophets. And yet bribery also seems to pose a danger to prophets. Until today. Isn't the Patriarch of Moscow behaving like a bribed prophet who devotes himself to "blessing" the aggression of the Russian rulers because he hopes for advantages for the Russian Orthodox Church?

To prevent such a betrayal from happening, God taught the prophet Balaam a special lesson. He let him go on to the king. But before that, God sent him an angel who stood in Balaam's way "as an adversary" with drawn sword in hand to stop him.

Balaam, however, did not see the angel. The donkey is different. She avoided the sword angel. Balaam therefore beat her and drove her on. When the angel got in the way again, the donkey wanted to squeeze between it and a wall. Balaam beat her again because he had injured his leg during this evasive maneuver. When the path narrowed to such an extent that there was no way out for the donkey, she simply fell to her knees with Balaam. Now the prophet brutally beat the supposedly stubborn donkey with his stick. But now God had enough: first he opened the donkey's mouth and let her justify herself. Then he opened Balaam's eyes. Here is the original text:

Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and the donkey said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you are now striking me for the third time?" Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you mock me." If I had a sword with me, I would have killed you by now. The donkey answered Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden from time immemorial to this day? Was it ever my habit to behave like that? Then he said: No.

Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing on the road, sword drawn in his hand. Then Balaam bowed down and prostrated himself on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why did you beat your donkey three times?" Behold, I have stood in your way as an adversary, because the way is steep in my eyes. The donkey has seen me and has already avoided me three times. If she hadn't avoided me, I would have killed you now, but left her alive. Balaam answered the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned because I did not know that you had stood in my way." But now I will turn back, if my way is evil in your eyes. The angel of the Lord answered Balaam, "Go with the men, but say nothing except what I tell you." (Numbers 22:28–35)

What a dramatic scene! Incidentally, this is one of the very few passages in the Bible in which an animal speaks. The donkey, but not the prophet, who is obviously not trustworthy in God's eyes, can see the angel.

God's intervention led to the desired result. King Balak tried three times with opulent sacrifices on various mountains, from which the advancing armies of Israel could be seen, that Balaam blesses Moab and curses Israel. Three times Balaam remains steadfast and does not curse the people of God. Outcome known.

The prophet hesitates. God stands firm by the promise.

Prophetic ministry today

Priest, king and prophet, this is what it says about the risen Christ. These characteristics have been passed on to the people of God, all the baptized and among them the ordained. But are the people of God, are the baptized, are the ordained really prophetic in today's world? Do they proclaim God's Word, opportune or inopportune, and not just occasionally?

Pope Francis is such an admonishing prophet. In Laudato si ́ he speaks ecologically to the conscience of the international community. Like his Jesuit colleague Jörg Alt, he defends the "last generation" glued to the streets. He does not spare prophetic criticism of an economy that kills because or when it does not focus on people, the common good and the poor, but on the increase of compound interest. Together with the Grand Imam of Abu Dhabi Achmet Al-Tayyeb, he reminds us of the deep unity of all people. The equal dignity of all people is rooted in this. Universal solidarity grows out of unity in being. What a prophetic speech in the midst of national isolationist tendencies, especially towards the growing number of people seeking protection!

The prophetic ministry is also necessary within the Church. When a reception centre for arriving asylum seekers was to be set up in Eberau in Burgenland in 2009, 95% of the population voted against it. Then the parish council also met on this topic. Again, 95% were against it. The following Sunday, the thoroughly conservative pastor went to the pulpit and read from Matthew the story of the final evaluation of the nations, the Last Judgment: What will we Eberauers say when we hear: "I was on the run, but you did not take me in!" (according to Matthew 25:35)

Prophetic ministry is not easy. It is also not democratic. It is not based on overwhelming majorities. It's not a broad path to popularity. It requires stamina. Prophets swim against the tide because they seek the divine source and draw from it in their words. Prophets live in danger: they have been silenced, killed – as Jesus pointed out with regard to his own prophetic action: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone the messengers who are sent to you." (Luke 13:34) Authoritarian systems still fear prophetic Navalnys and suppress them by all conceivable means. They prevent the freedom of the press. Whistleblowers like Snowden end up in prison; their path to a pardon is arduous and long.

Not easy questions arise: Is the people of God prophetic in today's world: and this also applies to everyday politics? Is the ministry in the church today prophetic within the church? Aren't there some Balaam bishops who need seeing and talking donkeys? This is definitely intended as a contribution to the tiresome topic of women in the church. This can already be true today in the churches of the Reformation and tomorrow perhaps the other way around in the Catholic Church: then bishops need prophetic Balaam donkeys and donkeys.

Our churches, their members, and especially the ordained, who are officially entrusted with the task of ensuring faithfulness in the Gospel, need a constant examination of conscience, that is, an angel who stops those who are called to prophetic speech when they become corrupt, so that God can inculcate His mission in them.

Where and who are, one can ask with a view to the Bileam story, today the talking donkeys? Those who perceive God more than the prophets who are called? Who are beaten when they are guided by what they see, perceive. And all this in order to keep the prophets themselves in line, to protect them from corruption and to remind them that they give a blessed voice to God's passion for his world?

Donkey of peace and champion's steed

In Israel, the donkey was not only a farm animal and mount. He was considered – already in Genesis – a symbolic animal of peace, at least in peaceful contexts he played along and made himself useful (Genesis 42:26 f.; Genesis 22:3; 1 Samuel 16:20; 2 Samuel 19:26; Nehemiah 13:15). An example of a useful donkey is provided by the Isaacer story from Genesis:

After these events, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, "Abraham!" He said: Here I am. He said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will name to you."

Early in the morning, Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, took two of his young servants with him and his son Isaac, split wood for the burnt offering, and set out for the place God had told him. When Abraham lifted up his eyes on the third day, he saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young servants, "Stay here with the donkey." But I and the boy will go there and prostrate ourselves; Then we will return to you. (Genesis 22:1–5)

A donkey of peace made a career when Jesus entered Jerusalem. The evangelists report on this broadly and with theological depth. It was not only an event with a lot of popular participation. The man on the donkey was cheered like a king on his grain train. The city shook, according to Matthäus' report. Some hoped for a secular Messiah who would throw off the Roman yoke. Jesus disappointed these expectations by choosing the mount. He did not come "on horseback" like the military victors, but rode in on a donkey.

The evangelists interpret the event with recourse to Old Testament prophecies about the hoped-for messianic time of peace. During this time, a King of Peace for Israel and all the peoples of the earth will enter the Holy City of Jerusalem, humbly, on the colt of a donkey. War, horses and chariots will no longer exist in this messianic global time of peace:

Rejoice loudly, daughter of Zion! Rejoice, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and saved him, he is humble and rides on a donkey, yes, on a donkey, the boy of a donkey. I will cut out the chariots of Ephraim and the horses of Jerusalem, and I will cut out the bow of war. He will declare peace to the nations; and his dominion extends from sea to sea and from the river to the ends. (Zechariah 9:9f.)

Matthew describes the event in detail. Jesus sends disciples to the next village to untie a donkey and her foal and bring them to Jesus.⁸ The owner, who was apparently known to Jesus and sympathized with him, was reassured by the hints "the Lord needs them" and "you will get them back soon". This is how Matthew reports the event:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethfage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples and said to them, "Go to the village that is ahead of you; there you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me! And if anyone confronts you, say, 'The Lord needs them, but he will soon have them brought back.' This was done in order to fulfill what was said by the prophet:

Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your king is coming to you. He is meek and he rides on a donkey / and on a foal, the young of a beast of burden.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had told them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them. Many people spread their clothes on the path, others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the path. But the people who went before him and who followed him cried:

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city shook, and they asked, "Who is this?" People said, "This is the prophet Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:1–11)

The Church Fathers repeatedly devoted themselves to the theological interpretation of this entry report. They remind us that even at birth there was a donkey at the manger next to the ox. Ambrose of Milan sees in the donkey foal the pagan world, which already recognized the Lord at birth.⁹ Similarly, Augustine in his commentary on the Gospel of John with a view to the entry into Jerusalem:

But by the foal of a donkey, on which no one had yet sat (for this is mentioned in the other evangelists), we mean the people of the Gentiles, who had not received the law of the Lord; but by the donkey (for both animals were brought to the Lord) we mean his church coming from the people of Israel, which was not altogether uncontrollable, but acknowledged the manger of the Lord.¹⁰

For Ambrose, riding the foal points to the humility of Jesus. But we could learn a lot spiritually from the donkey, says the Church Father: "Learn from the donkey how to carry Jesus. Readily learn to offer him the back of your spirit. Learn to be under Christ so that you can be above the world."¹¹

While the donkey signals peace, the horse is a symbol of military violence. The victors of the battles that defeated the Roman Empire rode into Rome on horseback with their spoils of war. Marcus Aurelius is depicted in this way on the triumphal arch in the middle of Rome.¹² Over time, horses became vehicles with horsepower. Reason for a comparison.

Hitler versus Jesus: a juxtaposition

It was at the beginning of 1938 when Hitler, from the provincial town of Braunau, moved into the capital of his home country in Vienna. People stood close together along the streets through which the Führer's convoy passed. They shouted "Heil" at the top of their voices. A kind of hosanna call. Literally translated, the call means: "So help!" This is exactly what the people in Austria probably expected: Many were unemployed and without hope of changing their living conditions.

Hitler's speech on Heldenplatz captivated many, many of them from today's perspective. Again and again it was interrupted by thunderous shouts of "Heil Hitler". In his barking, shrill speech, he expressed that he felt himself to be a kind of messiah, led by Providence. So he was convinced – Hitler literally – "to bring about the great turning point in such a short time with God's help".

And still original sound: "I now proclaim its new mission for this country." He promised an end to hopelessness. The people of the city were "in a state of excitement" – at least those on the streets and on Heldenplatz.

Back to the other, already meditated entry almost 2000 years earlier. There, too, someone had moved into his capital, now in Jerusalem. Perhaps at first it was only a modest group of pilgrims who came down from the Mount of Olives to the city. The evangelist Matthew reports: "When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in a state of excitement." And on the way the people around him cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed be he, he comes in the name of the Lord." The reception was for a man from the province, from Galilee. People thought of him as a prophet: that is, one who communicates God's intentions.

Twice men from the provinces. Twice men who claimed to fulfill God's mission. Twice a city in excitement. Twice a man who brings a saving "mission". And twice the cries of salvation and hosanna. But this is more than the end of the similarities. Deep differences and contrasts are opening up.

First of all, there is the donkey with which Jesus rides into the city. An Old Testament prophet named Zechariah, whom Matthew quotes, also has his announced King of Peace ride in with his people on a donkey. The donkey is the traditional mount of the Prince of Peace.

The horse is different: the war king rides on it. And with him his soldiers go to war. Napoleon is depicted on his white horse named Marengo.

By demonstratively riding a donkey, Jesus knows that he wants to bring peace as the promised Messiah. Hitler was different, who moved to the city in a car with a lot of horsepower and soldiers. He brought war. Even more. In his killing factories, he exterminated the Jewish people in a planned manner and exterminated people with homosexual orientation as well as members of the Sinti, Roma or devout Christians.

What a difference: one stands for war, the other for peace. One for violence, the other for love.

The entry into Jerusalem on a donkey opens the finale of Jesus' life. He already suspected that his intercession for his God would cost him his life. In his name, he demonstratively healed on the Sabbath to show that God does not want sacrifice, but mercy. In what he did, people were to get an inkling of God's unconditional love. Jesus had a heart for those who were excluded from society. The lepers. The prostitutes. The customs officers. The sick. He healed many and opened up a horizon of hope for many who were pushed to the margins of life.

In the biblical history of mankind, there has always been violence since the murder of Abel by Cain. Violence begets violence. There is no room for peace. Jesus becomes a victim of this humanity-old violence. But he does not reciprocate it. In his death, it peters out. Space is made for love. For many, this is the beginning of the great transformation of the world, which Jesus is concerned with in the name of God: violence gives way to love.¹³

Christians celebrate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem not only in the liturgy¹⁴, but in their lives. This could distinguish them, that wherever they are, violence peters out and love gains space. And so they could be the light of the world and the salt of the earth: so that more and more people, believers, spiritual pilgrims, skeptics and atheizing violence walk with them in love.

The horses and their apocalyptic riders

Roland Schwab, born on 13.12.1969 in Saint-Cloud, grew up in Munich, is a German music theatre director. In 2022, he had accepted the commission to stage Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in Bayreuth. In a radio interview¹⁵ , he explained what he was up to. He spoke about the world situation. He said: "We smell the apocalypse right now!"

Apocalypse

Apocalypse, Greek ἀποκάλυψις, means revelation, revelation. Religious literature is about the revelation of what will happen at the end of time. The standard religious work of the Apocalypse is the last book of the Bible, the "Revelation of John". A "brother named John", who is respected among early Christians, sees in pictures and events on the island of Patmos what is to come. According to today's biblical scholarship, the work was written during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81–96). The young church is in a beleaguered situation. The exalted Christ addresses seven churches in Asia Minor as an example: because seven is the number of perfection, the whole church is probably meant as the addressee.

The Revelation of John is more than a book of consolation in distressed church times: the seer on Patmos calls on the congregations to remain faithful to Christ and faith in Him in the midst of persecution with a view to a predictably good outcome. Church resilience was already an issue back then and is again today.

Apocalyptic moods have existed at all times, especially around the turn of the millennium. They reflect what moves people in the respective world situation. At the time of writing, the book was about the persecuted young church that refused to join the cult of the self-deifying Roman emperors. The "thousand-year kingdom", in Revelation a picture of the transient reign of Satan, but also the permanent reign of Christ with the martyrs (Revelation 20:1–6), became the model of criminal National Socialism. In evangelical theology¹⁶, in music¹⁷, in films¹⁸, in literature¹⁹, and also in politics²⁰, the vision of the eschatological decisive battle between the divine and the devilish powers is taken up in Armageddon (Revelation 16:16).

Apocalyptic Horses

In the dramaturgy of the Revelation of John, several animals play a role. A fiery red dragon pursues the woman and her child (i.e. the young church) and seeks to destroy them (Revelation 12:1–6). A lamb that has been slain is the only creature who can open that book sealed with seven seals in which it is recorded what is to come (Revelation 5:1–14). When the Lamb opens the first seals, four horses appear with their riders (Revelation 6:1–7). The horses of these "apocalyptic riders" have different colors: white, fiery red, black and pale.

The horse, the horse, as we have already meditated, is the symbol of war, in contrast to the donkey of peace. The book of Revelation is not peaceful, but highly warlike. At Armageddon, the end-time battle takes place. Is the warlike horse even a symbol of our time, in which Pope Francis repeatedly diagnoses a third world war in installments?

In the following, I will try to update Revelation on our reeling world. In doing so, I change the order of the appearance of the horses and the riders who sit on them. In the course of the update, I also invent another apocalyptic horse: a green steed. Finally, we turn to the victorious rider and his white horse.

The fiery red horse

Three of the horsemen bring hardship, distress and disaster. For example, the fiery red horse: its rider carries a large sword. He brings war and takes peace from the earth:

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second creature cry out, "Come!" Then another horse appeared; It was fiery red. And he who sat on it was empowered to take away the peace from the earth, so that men would slaughter one another. And a great sword was given to him. (Revelation 6:3f.)

War is one of the mega challenges of our time. After decades of peace, there is war again in Europe. The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine's neighbour in 2022 after annexing Crimea in 2014 in violation of international law and then destabilising Donbas. The goal of the Russian leadership is to restore the old greatness of the "Russkiy Mir" (Русский Мир: Russian World). This had been lost due to the collapse of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev. Wars are raging in many other parts of the world today: in Syria, in Mali, in Eritrea, in Yemen, in Myanmar and, most recently, between Israel and Hamas in Palestine.

Thanks to the weapons available, but increasingly thanks to the warlike use of artificial intelligence, every war loses its measure and humanity. From Augustine to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), ²¹ the doctrine of a just war was cultivated.²² War was available to a country under clear rules as a last resort to restore justice that had been violated.

However, the ongoing wars confirm Pope Francis' position that in view of the increased destructive power of the increasingly intelligent arsenals of weapons, a "just war" is no longer possible today. Every war is a defeat of humanity.²³ War crimes are constantly taking place. Those moral rules that are supposed to justify a "just war" are constantly broken, by the belligerents, but also by the uncontrolled destructive power of weapons. The civilian populations in particular are suffering enormously. "Men slaughter one another" (Revelation 6:4). However, wars not only cause senseless human suffering, but also enormous ecological damage.

Diplomatic efforts to achieve a just peace are becoming increasingly hopeless. Only victory or defeat count. Many European nations that have lived in peace for decades now set themselves the goal of becoming "fit for war".²⁴ Plowshares are (in the inversion of Micah 4:3 and Isaiah 2:4) forged back into swords. Russia has also converted its peace economy to a war economy. Arms spending on "defense" is rising enormously worldwide. According to the Swedish peace research institute SIPRI, never before has so much been spent on weapons as today.²⁵

"Peace always comes too late," said the Vatican's peacemaker, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, "but it comes."²⁶

The Black Horse

The United Nations has set itself 17 goals for sustainable development: Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. This includes ensuring that no one will have to go hungry by 2030. The second goal is: "End hunger, achieve food security and better nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture." An ambitious goal that is given high urgency. There is also urgency. The facts speak for it. In 2022, there were 735 million people suffering from hunger. 2.4 billion people do not enjoy food security. 148 million children have growth disorders. 45 million children under the age of five are affected by emaciation.

Among the causes, the United Nations cites the increasingly high level of food prices. In addition to conflicts, climate shocks and rising living costs, civil insecurity and declining food production have also contributed to food shortages and high food prices. Wheat and barley have become unaffordable for many people. Is the rider on the black horse already on his way?

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature crying, "Come!" Then I saw and behold, a black horse; and the one who sat on him held a pair of scales in his hand. In the midst of the four living creatures, I heard something like a voice say: One measure of wheat for a denarius and three measures of barley for a denarius. But do no harm to the oil and the wine! (Revelation 6:5f.)

The Pale Horse

What the rider does on the pale horse bundles the destructive activities of the other two riders. Wars and hunger bring death. This was the case in earlier times as well as today. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), combined with famine and plague, decimated populations in large parts of Europe. The war in Gaza has threatened countless civilians, including children, with starvation.

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature cry, "Come!" Then I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and he who sat on it is called death; and the underworld followed him. And they were given power over a quarter of the earth, power to kill by sword, famine, and death, and by the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7f.)

According to the visionary of Patmos, "the animals of the earth" also bring death to humans. This preview has since been reversed: humans are threatening the animal world in the so-called Anthropocene. Due to climate change, which is largely caused by humans, species are becoming extinct: insects, birds, corals, fish. One million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction within the next few decades, according to the United Nations. "The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity already poses a global and intergenerational threat to human well-being. Protecting nature's invaluable contributions to people will be the defining challenge of the coming decades."²⁷

The Green Horse

People react differently to apocalyptic moods. Some say: We have to change something immediately, even more: ourselves. The ecological footprint must become smaller in order to linger on the example of the climate emergency. Others, on the other hand, think: It won't be so bad. The hysteria is apocalyptic, not the threat. We therefore don't have to change anything, but can continue to enjoy prosperity. But it is also possible to get used to the apocalyptic. It is known that change would be necessary. But you don't do anything. You stay in the existing. In the normal. The apocalyptic becomes normal.²⁸

When the seer John looked at the horses on Patmos and those sitting on them, the climate emergency was not yet a threat. Living with nature was threatening for people in some respects, but not on an apocalyptic scale. However, humans had not yet become a threat to nature. But that is the case today, and on an apocalyptic scale. In its 2023 report, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) warns that there are irreversible tipping points: the warming of the oceans, the freezing of the Arctic, the loss of deforested rainforests, to name important ones. If these overturn, climate change will become uncontrollable, chaotic, apocalyptic. Would the seer of Patmos be a climate apocalypticist today – an accusation that was made of the admonisher António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations?²⁹ Would he see another, perhaps green horse today? Would he then have written about the opening of an existing "zeroth seal" in the manner of Anton Bruckner's Zeroth Symphony³⁰ ?

When the Lamb opened the zeroth seal, I heard a voice of thunder crying, "Come! Then I saw and behold, a green horse; and he who sat on it was able to open the floodgates of heaven, so that torrential rain poured down on the earth. From his quiver he hurled lightning that ignited the parched forests. And the people fled from floods and fire. (according to revelation)

It is difficult to say what is putting the reeling world more in an apocalyptic mood today: the possibility of self-destruction through NBC weapons, the use of which in currently raging wars is loudly threatened by beleaguered rulers? The worsening climate emergency that could make parts of the earth uninhabitable? The large refugee movements triggered by wars, political persecution, blatant poverty and climate catastrophes? All three challenges are closely related. Roland Schwab is right: We smell the apocalypse.

The White Horse

Finally, to the white horse that the seer John sees after the opening of the first seal.

Then I saw that the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals; and I heard the first of the four living creatures cry out as if with a voice of thunder: Come! Then I saw and behold, a white horse; and the one who sat on it had a bow. A wreath was given to him and as a victor he went out to win. (Revelation 6:1f.)

In the Revelation of John, the victor in the Battle of Armageddon rides on the white horse. All those who sought the lives of him and his followers are defeated, Satan, who made use of the Roman Empire to exercise his evil rule; the beast out of the sea; the harlot of Babylon. "But Christ carries off the victory, which is described in numerous encouraging images: the victorious rider on a white horse (6:2); the 144,000 and the immeasurably large multitude of the redeemed (ch. 7); the heavenly woman, clothed by the sun, whose newborn child is snatched from the threat of Satan; Michael's victory over the dragon (ch. 12); again the 144,000 gathered around Christ the Lamb (14:1–5); the fall of Babylon (ch. 18); the Millennial Reich (chap. 20). At the end there is the new heaven and the new earth and the heavenly Jerusalem (chap. 21f.)."³¹

Jesus, who rode into his city on a donkey of peace, now rides at the end of time as the Lord exalted in the resurrection on the white horse of the victor. Now the story is complete. Death, tears and grief have passed. Hell and devil are no more. God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, is all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). The divine symphony of creation, in which everything that is, in which above all every human being has played as a unique instrument, has been composed to the end and is sounding. Before the finale, there is a great silence in heaven (Revelation 8:1), a long-lasting fermata that leads into a powerful Te Deum laudamus by Anton Bruckner or Marc-Antoine Charpentier.³²

The Lamb That Was Slaughtered

Aries are male sheep. Lambs are sheep that are not yet a year old. You can't imagine life in Israel without both. Lambs were slaughtered either for their own use or when guests were entertained. The more lambs and sheep a person owned, the richer he was. Sarah and sheep were given to Tobias as a dowry on the journey home (Tobit 10:10). If a people lost a campaign against Israel – or vice versa – people, old people and children, including cattle, were killed in the execution of the ban. This also affected the sheep. Only the healthy and fat sheep were taken away as spoils of war: en masse.

Sheep are among the oldest domesticated domestic and farm animals. The meat, especially the lambs, was considered delicious. The offal was also consumed, sheep liver, sheep kidney, sheep brie were sought-after delicacies by many peoples.

Sheep breeding

It was obvious that sheep were bred for these many reasons. The king of the Moabites had a royal sheep farm. For this purpose, he hired his own shepherds.

In Egypt, however, shepherds did not have a good reputation. Outstanding leaders in Israel, on the other hand, were just that: shepherds. They include Abraham, Jacob, Moses, to name just three celebrities.

The main props of sheep farming are: lush pastureland, a pen, a shepherd dog and a shepherd's crook.

Weiden: There was a dispute over pastureland. The migration of the Brothers of Joseph to Egypt was triggered by the fact that there was no longer enough pasture land available at home. Pastures were conquered and defended by war. The shepherds' task was to "graze" the sheep, i.e. to lead them to good pastureland, but also to water them.

Pen: If shepherds were not wandering shepherds, they had to lead the flock into the pen in the evening. The process of "penning" was an important process. The sheep followed the familiar voice: the sheep, on the other hand, did not react to the voice of a stranger.

Shepherd's crook: The shepherd's crook not only served as a support when standing for long periods of time. He played a helpful role, especially on the way to the pen. This ran through a narrow door. The sheep could only enter one after the other. The shepherd held the staff horizontally at that height, which caused the sheep to slip through it one by one. In the course of this procedure, a shepherd was able to perceive the state of health of each sheep. He then had to take care of the sick and weak sheep. Last but not least, he was able to determine whether all the sheep were there or whether one of the hundred was missing: a perfect template for Jesus' story of the lost sheep. A good shepherd then left the 99 in the stable to go in search of the one lost. But shouldn't all be "lost sheep" before God, #metoo?

A shepherd's crook had a hook at the end. This allowed a sheep to be pulled back into the herd, for example pulled out of a bush. At the end of the shepherd's crook there could also be a metal shovel blade. If sheep strayed, a throw of earth could force them back. It could also be used to take medical samples of sheep excrement or to dispose of dog excrement.

But the shepherd's crook of a shepherd had another important meaning: it served, together with the dogs, to protect the flock.

Sheep shearing: The shepherd's inventory also included a leather strap to hold the sheep together. With his shepherd's knife, he was able to remove thorns from the hooves of the animals. In addition to provisions, a shepherd also carried scissors for sheep shearing in his pocket: However, with large herds, this was an undertaking with many participants from the extended families of the owners.

Flutes: If a wandering shepherd was employed, he was entitled to a lunch break. There he could retreat to his local accommodation, often on wheels, and enjoy a shepherd's hour with women from the village. It is not only in mythology that shepherds own a flute. Playing on it can calm an excited herd, but it can also steer it. Some shepherds used their instrument to "whistle" at their midday lover.

The Slaughtered Lamb

They railed against it: the prophets Amos (5:21-27), Micah (6:8), Hosea. The latter let those who offered bloodthirsty pompous sacrifices know: "I want love, not sacrifice, knowledge of God instead of burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6) Better to remedy the unjust conditions instead of piousness!

The victim of the sacrificial cult was the lamb, of all people. Thousands and thousands of "innocent" lambs and sheep were killed and burned in sacred crematoria. They were not the only victims. Bulls and goats also gave their lives for God. Concrete numbers are also mentioned: one sheep, seven sheep, as many as one had available, a lot, all "firstfruits". Solomon had one hundred and twenty thousand (!) Slaughter sheep, and twenty-two thousand oxen (1 Kings 8:63).

With the destruction of the temple in 587 BC under the direction of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, the extensive slaughter in the temple ended. Of course, the people continued to celebrate the Passover meal together in the Second Temple (530 BC–70 AD). After its destruction by the Romans, the Passover celebration shifted to the family circle. Today there is an evening servicein the synagogue, which is followed by the great "Seder" feast in the family circle. The celebrations extend over seven days, during which devout Jews remember the liberation of Israel from the bondage of Egypt to this day: the blood of a flawless lamb on the lintel had saved the firstborn of the Israelites, unlike that of the Egyptians, from the passing angel of death.

Easter lamb

The evangelist John reports that Jesus died at the exact time when the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the temple (John19:14–24). According to Mark, the day of Jesus' death was the day of preparation for Passover (Arc 15:6–42). The Last Supper, which Jesus celebrates with his followers on the eve of his passion, is also modelled on the Jewish Seder: words of interpretation for the food, prayer of thanksgiving, cup of blessing (Mark14:12–25).³³ While many Passover lambs are slaughtered in the Jewish Passover, in the Christian Easter there is only one "lamb that was slaughtered" and that once and for all (Hebrews 7:27): Jesus, the Christ.

Dispute over the victim

Even the Baptist calls Jesus the true "Lamb of God" at the beginning of his ministry at the baptism in the Jordan. It frees humanity from the "Egyptian captivity of sin." Therefore, the liturgy says of the Lamb of God that He takes away the sins of the world. While the Jewish Passover focuses on thanksgiving for earthly liberation from bondage, the emphasis seems to shift in Christian Easter. It is true that at Easter, in the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, the victory of love (God) over death is celebrated. Thanksgiving, eucharistia, is the focus: We proclaim your death, O Lord, and we praise your resurrection! And yet, in quite a few cases, death and resurrection are interpreted more morally, with a view to sin, which is also found in some New Testament texts. Jesus offers himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" The celebration of the Eucharist must therefore be understood as a sacrificial meal: at least as a visualization of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

What believing Christians celebrate together, especially during Holy Week and here again on Good Friday, is not so easy for many to understand. They do not understand why Abraham should sacrifice his son. All the more reason for them to feel resistance to the idea that God sacrificed his Son as atonement for us humans. In 2012, Meinrad Limbeck, who is well versed in the Bible, wrote a book entitled "Farewell to Sacrificial Death – Rediscovering Christianity." Outstanding theologians such as Wolfgang Huber, Nikolaus Schneider, Eugen Biser, Klaus-Peter Jörns and Burkhard Müller think like him.

The idea of Augustine is also foreign to us, because he is even business-minded. Thus, the Church Father taught, based on biblical images: Because of Adam's sin, mankind belonged to Satan. Jesus paid a "ransom" in his death to free mankind from the power of the devil. Similarly strange to us is the medieval theory of satisfaction of Anselm of Canterbury. Satisfaction, i.e. satisfaction, is familiar to the well-read from duels: God's glory is wounded by sin and his son restores it through his death. Such images show a narcissistically offended and masochistic God, fears pastoral psychologist Hermann Stenger.³⁴

Every age has tried to understand the incomprehensible, to explain the inexplicable. And of course, people of our time want to understand the monstrosity of why a completely innocent person, who is said to have an unsurpassably intimate relationship with God, is maltreated, tortured and executed like a felon. And all this because of the many misdeeds of mankind. In doing so, it is permissible to leave behind the time-related images of ransom or satisfaction and look for better explanations.

Violence in love

The theologian Jürgen Werbick lays a good trail.³⁵ It is not God who demands this sacrifice from Jesus. Rather, Jesus falls victim to the sin of "the world". He becomes a reading aid for the deadly power of sin. By remaining faithful to this cruel death of Jesus, God protests against the deadly power of sin.

Pope Benedict XVI is also digging deep. He had traveled to the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005. There he tried to explain to young people what happens in the Eucharistic celebration that they are celebrating together. Right at the beginning he talks about the death of Jesus on the cross and explains to the young people what happened there.

His interpretation of Jesus' death on the cross is highly topical: violence is transformed into love. It is precisely this monstrous challenge that Jesus faces in the resolute freedom that he won in the Garden of Fear on the Mount of Olives in his struggle with his Father. And he faces this fear of death out of love. After all, he himself said: "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13)

The Victorious Lamb

The young Church suffers greatly in the persecution of Diocletian. On the island of Patmos, a seer has visions that are recorded in the so-called "Revelation of John". An animal is chasing the woman with the child. The entourage of evil is after the churches of God. The mighty battle of Armageddon ensues, in which a lamb defeats "the beast".

The image of the lamb that was slaughtered is transformed into the image of a victorious lamb. On the way there, the Lamb opens a book with seven seals. After the opening of the first four seals, the already meditated Horsemen of the Apocalypse appear. On the first, the white horse, rides the victorious Risen One.

A rather final passage of the Book of Revelation is captivating, because it gives an idea of how the Risen One exercises his rule. In the biblical texts, the lambs and sheep are always grazed by shepherds; it is God himself who feeds his chosen people Israel like a shepherd, as Psalm 23 also sings of. Now, however, it is the slaughtered lamb, that is, one of the flock, that feeds God's new people, nourishes them, protects them from heat, leads them to the sources of life and takes all suffering from them. The Lamb becomes a shepherd:

They [those rescued from persecution] will no longer suffer hunger or thirst, and neither the heat of the sun nor any scorching heat will weigh on them. For the Lamb in the midst before the throne will feed them and lead them to the springs from which the water of life flows, and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16f.)

What an idiosyncratic official culture! A shepherd can be someone who falls silent when he is led to the shearing or to the slaughterhouse. Who exercises his dominion in powerlessness, who is strong when he is weak. He who loves the flock so much that he allows himself to be slaughtered like a lamb. Shepherds are thus members of the flock who expend themselves for it. What a moving model for all those to whom authority is delegated!

Immediately the crowed

The book of Job from the First Testament presents us with a person who, in the midst of almost unbearable suffering, feels "hostile" not only to his friends but also to God. There is a kind of justification of God. He "speaks to Job from the wave storm". He asks Job questions. Even more, God asks him: "You teach me"! (Job 38:3). Then, in his self-defense, God refers in detail to his grandiose creation with its wonderful order. And then, among other wonderful things, it says, "Who gave wisdom to the ibis, or who gave insight to the rooster?" (Job 38:36)

In this animal meditation, the insightful rooster is now to be the spiritual teacher. With his hens, he has been a loyal companion of humans since time immemorial. The first finds in Southeast Asia date back to the 6th millennium BC.

Cockfight

Eggs and chicken were not only used for survival. Rather, the rooster provided sporting pleasure: cockfights are still carried out today. Fighting cocks are bred and sold at a high price. Metal spurs are inserted into them. They turn cockfighting into a mostly deadly game. Bets are placed on the victorious rooster, a lot of money is won or lost. For reasons of animal welfare, but also because of criminal machinations in betting, organized cockfights are prohibited in most regions of the world today. In the Philippines, despite all the protests, the World Slasher Cup takes place every year. Hundreds of "Asils" fight against each other. The Asil is a specially bred fighting breed that is characterized by taut muscles, upright posture, a small crest and very aggressive behavior.

The rooster has established itself in our visual language. He struts along, as it says in the book of Proverbs: "There are three who walk proudly, four have a proud gait: the lion, the hero among the beasts, who turns back before none; the that struts along, and the leading goat, and the king, when he appears before his people like a god." (Proverbs 30:29–31). In the midst of the hens, he is the "rooster in the basket". And just as quarreling women are pejoratively compared to "biting mares" (Bissgurn³⁶), quarreling men perform a cockfight.

Not only combativeness and willingness to fight are attested to the rooster. Even among the Celts, the rooster was a symbol of fertility and stood for joie de vivre, love and fertility, for male strength and energy.

Memorial to sincerity

In rural areas, large farms have a bell tower with a rooster on top. With its bells, it announces to those who work in the fields that lunch is ready.

Church towers are also adorned with roosters. Carsten Linneborn's family business in Meschede-Freienohl in the Sauerland region produces around 1,300 weather vanes made of copper or stainless steel every year and sells them throughout Europe. On average, five of the shiny roosters from the Sauerland land on church towers every year. "In order for them to be visible from below, they must be at least 1.20 meters by 1.20 meters in size," says Linneborn. The proud poultry is usually attached to a ball so that it can turn its beak into the wind without maintenance and indicate the direction of the wind. However, the ball must not run too lightly. Otherwise, the tap will start rotating at the slightest breeze.³⁷

However, the manoeuvrability of the weathercock is also interpreted symbolically. If you can't rely on someone, you say of him, of her: He or she turns like a rooster in the wind. Peter is considered the protagonist of this opportunistic attitude with his betrayal of Jesus.

However, the rooster does not only remind us to be truthful. He is also a reminder of the one for whom the Church stands. In most cases, the rooster on church spires is gilded. So it can shine in the morning sun. This is how he announces the rising sun. But this is the risen Christ himself.

Night of Betrayal

The rooster indicates the beginning of the day and thus also the end of the night. In this, according to an old idea, the devil could do his evil work. The First Letter of Peter admonishes: "Be sober, be watchful! Your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour." (1 Peter 5:8) With the morning cockcrow, the nocturnal evil spirits were chased away.

In Catholic churches, a rooster often adorns the confessional.³⁸ It commemorates Peter, who betrayed his Lord in the night on his path of suffering. This leads us to those biblical narrative texts around which this animal meditation on the rooster revolves. They tell of Peter's denial of Jesus. Jesus evidently knew Peter well and had foreseen his betrayal at the Last Supper. "Tonight, before the crows, you will deny me three times." (Matthew 26:34; Mark 14:30).

And so it happened. After Jesus' capture on the Mount of Olives, Peter follows the cohort into the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas. Twice it is a maid, then other people who recognize Peter as someone from the circle of the arrested man. This is how Matthew tells this story:

Peter, however, was sitting outside in the courtyard. Then a maidservant came to him and said, "You also were with this Jesus of Galilee." But he denied it in front of everyone and said, "I don't know what you're talking about." And as he was about to go out of the gate, another maidservant saw him and said to those who were standing there, "He was with Jesus the Nazarene." Again he denied and swore: I do not know the man. A little later the people who were standing there came and said to Peter, "Really, you are one of them, your dialect betrays you." Then he began to curse and swear: I do not know the man. Immediately afterwards a crowed, and Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said, "Before the crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:69–75)

The rooster on confessionals reminds us of both: betrayal, but also remorse. Do the same as Peter when you enter the confessional, is the unmistakable invitation. Confess your sinful betrayal! And weep for him as Peter did in bitter repentance! An old hymn from the common prayer of the church takes up the theme:

O eternal Creator of all the world, whose reign reigns day and night, you set the times their time, give change in the course of time.

The, the herald of the day, calls, the watchman in the darkness.

His cry separates night from night, to the wanderer a light to night.

There the morning star rises, illuminates the black firmament, there the host of dark powers retreats timidly from the path of disaster.

Then the skipper feels new strength, the surf of the sea softens, the rock of the church, Peter, weeps, regrets the guilt of the cockcrow.

So get up quickly from sleep:The wakes up everyone who is still dreaming. The rooster oppresses those who are tardy, the rooster accuses the deniers.

Thou light, penetrate our spirit, from our hearts chase away sleep, to thee be consecrated the first word, to thee praise praise of the morning. Amen.

After "Aeterne rerum conditor"; Ambrose (+ 397)

Three times

The Gospel of John has an epilogue in chapter 21. It reports on an emotionally stirring conversation between the Risen One and Peter. Peter's betrayal is dealt with by Jesus in an almost therapeutically sensitive way. And since Peter, by denying his Lord, had also betrayed his calling, the conversation also revolves around it. The healing of betrayal goes hand in hand with a renewal of vocation. We can learn to hear the cockcrow anew in a healing way regarding our own life calling.

Here is this vocation therapy passage from the Gospel of John:

After that, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples once more, at the Sea of Tiberias, and He revealed Himself in the following way. Simon Peter, Thomas, called Didymus (twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We'll come with you." They went out and got into the boat. But that night they caught nothing.

When morning came, Jesus was standing on the shore. But the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "My children, don't you have fish to eat? They answered him, "No." And he said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find something." They threw out the net and could not haul it in again, it was so full of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded his outer garment because he was naked, and jumped into the lake. Then the other disciples came by boat - they were not far from the land, only about two hundred cubits - and pulled the net with the fish behind them.

When they went ashore, they saw a coal fire on the ground and fish and bread lying on it. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." Then Simon Peter climbed to the shore and pulled the net ashore. It was filled with a hundred and fifty-three large fish, and although there were so many, the net did not break. Jesus said to them, "Come and eat." None of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" For they knew it was the Lord. Jesus approached, took the bread and gave it to them, as well as the fish. This was the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples since He had risen from the dead.

When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." For the second time he asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." For the third time he asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Then Peter became sad because Jesus had asked him for the third time, "Do you love me?" He answered him, "Lord, you know all things; You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:1–17)

This passage from the end of the Gospel of John shows Peter returning to his old life. He had betrayed Jesus, and with him his calling. Now he goes fishing as he did before his vocation and the others join him. And even though they've been fishing all night, they don't catch anything.

Quite different from the way they cast the nets again in the morning at the behest of the unknown and pull them ashore: There are an incredible 153 fish in the net. The message to the disciples seems clear: your vocation does not come from you, but from the mandate of the Risen One. And only if you allow yourselves to be taken into service by the Risen One will you catch something, yes, plenty.

From there, questions also arise for us: In whose service do I work, do I exhaust myself? Do I see my task in casting the nets, but not in "catching"? Are we as a church currently on a nocturnal fish tour without success?

The Unknown

The story says that after the futile night of fishing, Jesus stood on the shore. But they did not recognize him. He told them to change the fishing side and cast the nets on the other side.

Suddenly, the disciple who was said to have loved Jesus recognized him. That is, the disciple who lay on Jesus' breast at the Lord's Supper. The Risen One first revealed Himself to him, showed Himself to him – an expression that is always used in encounters with the Risen One. The beloved disciple could visibly see him with the eyes of his loving heart. You can only see well with your heart, says Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This experience caused the beloved disciple to exclaim: "It is the Lord!" The lover's insight jumps over to Peter. He swims to the shore and is startled by what he sees: a charcoal fire.

Charcoal fire with bread and fish

This is the beginning of Peter's therapeutic remembrance. The charcoal fire brings up the events of the night after Jesus' arrest. A charcoal fire was also burning in the courtyard of treachery. This is only pointed out in the story of the Passion according to John: "The servants and the servants had lighted a coal fire and stood by to warm themselves; for it was cold. Peter also stood with them and warmed himself." (John 18:18)

Cautiously, the Risen One seems to take Peter with him on a healing path. On the fire there is bread and fish. Do they remind Peter of the few loaves and fishes with which they fed a large crowd after Jesus' prayer of blessing (Mark 6:30–44)? In any case, the risen Lord prepares his meal for him and the others, a "Lord's Supper". The message of the Risen One to the slanderer is: I will remain faithful to you, even if you have been unfaithful (2 Timothy 2:13).³⁹

Healing the Wound of Betrayal

But then the Risen One touches the wound of betrayal in Peter's heart. When Jesus complained before his suffering at the Lord's Supper that someone from his closest circle would betray him, Peter asserted: Maybe others – but certainly not him. He even wants to die if necessary.

It must have hurt Peter when, right at the opening of the dialogue, the Risen One not only asks: Do you love me? But: "Do you love me more than these?" And it gets even harder: three times he, who had wept bitterly after his betrayal, is relentlessly asked about his love. Just as many times as he had denied Jesus: three times. Like a knowledgeable therapist, the Risen One works through the dream of betrayal and heals the remaining wounds.

The Greek text of this dialogue oscillates between divine agape and friendly love at the word "love". In Fridolin Stier's translation, this gentle nuance is taken into account. It is clear, as with the disciple whom Jesus loved, that it is not about erotic-sexual love, which is quite popular in the biblical texts. It is much more about standing up, exhausting oneself, devotion, being a friend. It is the love of which Jesus says with regard to himself: "There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13⁴⁰Whatever Jesus did, as the writer of the first letter of John notes: "By this we have known love, that He gave His life for us. So we too must lay down our lives for the brothers (and sisters)." (1 John 3:16)

Pastoral vocation of all

Three betrayals. Three times the question of love. And finally, three times the calling: "Feed my lambs!" This calling was given to Peter again despite the denial (of the Lord and thus of his calling). Peter was rehabilitated for his service in the Jesus movement. He could be seen "before every achievement and in all guilt" before the Risen One. Peter thanked his master with the risk of his life for his movement. The problem is not leaders who make mistakes and sin, but who do not learn from them to engage consistently (which translates as follows) in a loving way.

The visual language in which the appeal is once again broadcast is strange to some today.⁴¹ In our post-agrarian culture, we lack an emotional approach to the profession of the shepherd, who was mostly a wandering shepherd, with the herds on good pastures.

Itinerant shepherds did not (always) precede the flock. They were "bellwethers" who knew about the lush pastures and preceded the herd. Wandering shepherds went with and usually in the midst of the flock. That is why they also smell of the flock, which is supposed to characterize shepherds in the people of God – according to Pope Francis' admonition – even today. However, this way of being a good itinerant shepherd for the pilgrim people of God has been lost in times of clericalism. Shepherds were made arrogant, sheep immature and submissive.

Something similar had already happened in the people of Israel, about which God had his prophet Ezekiel lament. Good shepherds in Israel had become bad shepherds who "feed themselves" (Ezekiel 34:2). God deprived these exploitative self-grazers of their pastoral office and took it over Himself: "I, I myself will feed my sheep and I, I myself will let them rest - says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, the expelled I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will strengthen." (Ezekiel 34:15f.) Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd in the manner of God (John 10:10). In Greek, it is not agathon here, but kalon: which also means beautiful.

Questions arise. What about the pastoral ministry in politics? Do those responsible in politics resist the temptation to corruption and lies? Are they interested in themselves, in their party or in the well-being of the herd, i.e. society, and are they committed to it?

What about the pastoral ministry in the Church of today, which no longer sees itself as clerical, but synodal? Which, as a community in which there is equality of dignity and vocation by virtue of baptism, is on the way together (like a flock)? In which there are persons who are appointed to the pastoral office in the manner of the divine itinerant shepherd? Who is their biblical model, who directs them and, if necessary, also judges them? Do they take a leading role in ensuring that the community entrusted to them does not stray from the path of the Gospel? Is it their concern that the members can develop well and participate in the leadership themselves by helping to shape the life and work of the community with their talents? Do they contribute to the congregation being able to carry out its ministry to each other and in the world well?

In such questions, the image of the shepherd has already been extended to the Church as a whole and to each of its members. For is not the Church appointed to serve as a shepherd in humanity so that it can get through time well? Are not all the baptized – individually and together – commissioned to be such ministering shepherds in the world? Who seek what is lost, who heal the sick and wounded, who make sure that life arises, does not perish? And could not the pastors officially appointed and ordained in the communion of the Church see their most important task in promoting what all are called to do: to be, to become, caring pastors in today's world? Like Peter, everyone could then experience themselves as shepherds. Of course, this presupposes the answer to Jesus' threefold question: "Do you love me?" "Are you my friend?"

The menacing wolf

The myth of the wolf

Wolves appear in mythical tales of many cultures. In these, they contribute to the explanation of the world. They play important roles in the founding stories of nations. Romulus and Remus are kept alive by a suckling she-wolf: Rome was created. These old stories still have an effect on our time. And by no means only in contemplative innocence.

The supreme god of the Norse saga collection Snorra-Edda is Odin. He has two wolves as loyal companions, a greedy one (Geri) and a voracious one (Freki). Another pair of wolves pursued the sun (Sköll) like a shadow and the moon (Hati) like hatred. In Germanic mythology, warriors struggle to adopt the characteristics of wolves: its power and strength triggered fear, awe, but also worship. In addition, the wolf stood for loyalty, fidelity, honesty.

Unlike the stupid sheep, the wolf was considered clever and intelligent. Some names testify to this respect for the wolf: Wolfgang (goes to fight with the wolf), Wolfhard (a bold wolf), Adolf (the noble wolf), Ludolf or Rudolf. But the Fenris wolf (swamp wolf) will also, according to the myth, bring about the end of the world: Odin will also fall victim to it.

Germanic mythology was very popular under National Socialism. For him, wolves were considered symbols of strength and martial strength. Adolf Hitler spent 800 days in the Wolf's Lair during the Second World War, which he criminally triggered. This was the code name for a remote logistics center of the command staff of the German Wehrmacht.

Gray Wolves and Wolf Salute

Educators use the wolf salute as a means of communication. The index finger and little finger remain erect like the wolf's ears, the thumb and the two middle fingers form a wolf's snout. The message: be quiet (Leisefuchs), only whisper (whisper fox), listen (Lauschefuchs).

However, the wolf salute also has a questionable political significance in nationalist circles in Turkey; it is the distinguishing mark of the right-wing extremist Grey Wolves. This organization relies on a myth that has Chinese-Mongolian sources and is spread in Turkish culture today as follows:

At the beginning there is a devastating defeat for the Turks. A few survivors manage to escape to the enclosed valley of Ergenekon. There, descendants grow up to be a great nation. When the valley became too narrow, they finally moved out of the valley with the help of a wolf who showed a way. A blacksmith melted an obstructive iron mountain and made the way out of the valley passable. The Ergenekon legend and the gray she-wolf are also used as motifs in music and art.⁴²

Conclusions are drawn from this for politics. All Turkic peoples were to be united in a single nation stretching from the Balkans through Central Asia to China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region. With the help of the pan-Turkist movement, the⁴³ people, who had been cleansed of enemies, were to be reunited in a Greater Turkish Empire. The collapsed Ottoman Empire is considered a model worth emulating. The wolf salute expresses this objective.

The little finger in the wolf salute stands for Islam. The resulting gap between thumb, middle and ring finger stands for the world. Where the middle and ring fingers meet the thumb is a symbolic stamp. Thus, the wolf salute means that the Grey Wolves want to put their Islamic stamp on the world.⁴⁴

The political goal of a Turkish movement symbolized in the wolf salute is similar to the ideological concept of a "russkij mir" (Russian world of peace). As for Turkish politics, Russia's national insult caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union plays a role. Russkij Mir, according to the well-known ideologue Alexandre Dugin, is supposed to unite all Russians from Lisbon to Vladivostok. If necessary, with military force in violation of international law.

Both the war against the Kurds and the war against Ukraine are consequences of such wolfish concepts. (Right-wing extremist) Nationalism and war are like twins. Even if fundamentalist-minded church members sympathize with right-wing extremism and nationalism, both are not compatible with the gospel. In February 2024, the German Bishops' Conference states in its declaration "Völkisch nationalism and Christianity are incompatible":

Right-wing extremism claims the existence of peoples who can supposedly be sharply distinguished from other peoples in their 'essence' and in their cultural forms of life. There is talk of 'natural' and 'artificial' nations. For this ideology, the people are a community of descent, ultimately a community of blood. The coexistence of people of different ethnic origins, religious affiliations and cultural backgrounds is therefore fundamentally questioned by this thinking, if not rejected outright. The people are thought of as 'ethnos', as a community of ethnically and culturally equal or similar people. This is the ideology of völkisch nationalism.⁴⁵

Ravenous Wolves

When humans began to domesticate wild sheep, they made the wolf their enemy. The wolf's food resources were reduced because humans had shepherds protect the sheep, which had been tamed into domestic animals. In order to survive, the wolf could not help but kill sheep, despite the shepherds and his dogs. Therefore, the wolf was hunted until its extinction was only a matter of time. To prevent its extinction, it is now protected. The wolf population has now recovered well. However, this leads to sheep being killed again. In some cases, local authorities allow the shooting of dangerous wolves: however, the policy of the European Union does not allow for any weakening of species protection.

By domesticating, the sheep have lost the ability to defend themselves against wolves or to flee from them into rough terrain. The sheep became docile and submissive. People sometimes talk about the stupid sheep. It can be sheared and slaughtered innocently. It falls silent. The life and survival of the farm sheep were in the hands of man.

Not only people act wolfishly, but also political entities. The English political theorist Thomas Hobbes characterized the relationship of states to each other with the sentence "Homo homini lupus" – man is a (hostile) wolf to man.⁴⁶

Biblical texts also prove this semantic negative career of the wolf. "What can a wolf have in common with a lamb? – As much as a sinner with a pious man." (Jesus Sirach 13:17) In his criticism of the "blood city" of Jerusalem, the prophet Ezekiel castigates the corrupt officials; they are "like wolves, snatching prey, shedding blood and destroying human lives, that they may make a profit" (Ezekiel 22:23). According to the evangelist Matthew, Jesus warns: "Beware of false prophets; they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15) And when Paul wrote a farewell letter to his church in Ephesus, he admonished: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you to be rulers, that you may shepherd the church of the Lord, which he has acquired for himself by his own blood. I know that after I leave, ravenous wolves will enter you and will not spare the flock." (Acts 20:28)

While in the Christian context the lamb symbolized divine good, the wolf became a symbol of devilish evil. The devil was considered the worst wolf, the "archtwelve". And those who allow themselves to be seduced by him into immoral actions are portrayed with wolfish features: for example, monks who indulge in gambling.

Contemporaries today find it difficult to "believe" in a devil. But isn't it demonic in our days? Isn't "all hell loose"? Many years ago, I had a conversation with the Protestant theologian Heiner Ott in front of the camera as part of the television series "Why Christians Believe". It was about the devil. Shortly before that, I had read Herbert Haag's book "Farewell to the Devil". At least my learned ideas of the mess thrower, the "diabolos", were cracked. Heiner Ott said disarmingly: "Maybe it's good that there is a devil. Then people are not to blame for everything."

These days I read the letters and memoirs of the Polish priest Konrad Szweda.⁴⁷ Four letters from him had been smuggled out of Auschwitz. They report in detail not only on the unimaginable suffering of the inmates, but also on the atrocities committed by the SS camp staff. I wondered how a person could be capable of such brutality at all. Or if you look at the horrific images from Bucha or Mariupol, the destroyed hospitals in Kiev or Gaza City: How is such unbearable action possible? Or Stalin's GULAGs, the extermination machinery of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia? Simply demonic and diabolical.

The Lamb and the Wolf

Martin Luther knew the animal fables of Aesop. One is entitled "The Lamb and the Wolf". It shows the malicious deviousness attributed to the wolf even in Aesop's time. The eloquent reformer has adapted the fable as follows:

A wolf and a lamb came to a brook to drink. When the wolf saw the little lamb, he ran to him and said, "Why do you muddy the water for me, so that I cannot drink?"
"How can I muddy the water for you; you drink over me and would like to spoil it for me!"
"What, are you cursing me on top of that?"
"I don't curse you."
"So did your father six months ago, and you are just like your father."
"If I was not born at that time, how shall I pay my father?"
"But so you have gnawed off and spoiled my meadows and fields."
"How is that possible, I don't have any teeth yet!"
"Oh, and even if you have so many excuses, I will eat you today," and so he choked the innocent lamb and ate it.

The Royal Lion

In the second century after the birth of Christ, an author who was given the name Physiologus is said to have written a "Theory of Nature". In the Christian Middle Ages, this was considered a basic work if one wanted to learn something about the symbolism of animals. The lion, which the following animal meditation looks at, is referred to in this writing as the "king of the animals". He impressed people with his courage and strength over 30,000 years ago, as an Ice Age depiction proves: In an ivory sculpture, a human body carries the head of a lion. Conversely, the Sphinx in Egypt consisted of a lion's body with a human head. The oldest lion bone finds from Africa are perhaps three and a half, but certainly two million years old.

The lion adorns the coats of arms of many rulers. He is the attribute of the evangelist Mark and consequently of both the Republic and the city of Venice. Lions keep away impending disaster at the entrances to the palace. King Solomon had "a great throne made of ivory and overlaid with the best gold. Six steps led up to the throne. Its backrest was round in the upper part and there were armrests on both sides of the seat. Two lions stood beside the backrests and twelve on either side of the six steps. Such a thing has not yet been created for any kingdom." (1 Kings 10:18–20) Lions stand at tombs and guard the once mighty dead. As early as 850 BC, Assyrian rulers imprisoned and bred lions as symbols of their power. European rulers, such as Louis XIV, displayed lions in their menageries. In circus rings, tamers with lions still perform true feats today.

Daniel was thrown into a lion's den in vain: he survived miraculously. In Rome, Christians were hunted to death by lions.

The hero Heracles had succeeded in killing the invulnerable Nemean lion by strangling him. This has adorned the night sky "since" as a zodiac sign. A fable tells that the Roman slave Androclus had to remove the thorn from a lion's paw at the risk of his life. When the slave was thrown to this lion after a failed escape, the lion recognized him and did not touch him.

Threatening and threatened

The lion is one of the largest and most dangerous land predators. For big game hunters, it is one of the "big five" along with the African elephant, the rhinoceros, the Cape buffalo and the leopard. The high hunting value of their trophies has led to dramatic declines in populations in recent centuries. The mighty lion became an animal worth protecting. If once the lion threatened man, now man threatens the lion.

Linguistically, the Leo has a rather good reputation. The fact that someone owns or gets a lion's share of something has to do with a timelessly wise fable by the legendary poet Aesop.

The Lion, the Fox and the Donkey

A lion, a fox and a donkey went hunting together, after they had previously agreed to distribute the robbery equally among themselves. Their loot was large. The donkey received the order from the lion to divide, which he also carried out as conscientiously as possible, and then asked the lion to choose. But enraged, the lion tore him to pieces and gave the fox a new division. The latter piled it all up, laid the donkey on top, and asked only a little for his trouble. "Very well, my friend," said the lion, "tell me, who taught you to divide so beautifully?" "The fate of the donkey," was his answer.

The lion has found its place in several word combinations in a positive way. The Guelph Duke Henry (1130–1195) is nicknamed "the lion". Newborns are given lion names such as Leo, Leon, Leonardo or Leopold. The name of the English King Richard I (1157–1199) was extended by "Lionheart". There is talk of salon lions or construction lions. Companies, sports teams (such as the English national football team "Three Lions") or service clubs have the lion (or English lion) in their name. In poetry, the lion becomes a lion.⁴⁸

However, there are also word combinations in which the lion has negative connotations. Two examples: dandelions – because the arrangement of the leaves looks like the teeth of a lion. Then there is predatory capitalism, whereby the predator is first and foremost thought of as a devouring lion. In times of synodalization of the Church, some play with the word predatory clericalism.

Hero among the animals

In the Bible, the lion is considered "a mighty man among the beasts, who repents before none" (Proverbs 30:30). Characteristics and habits of the entire lion family are often used for comparisons.

"Like the growling of the lion is the wrath of the king" (Proverbs 20:2); a wicked ruler resents like a lion over his weak people. (Proverbs 28:15) In domestic life, too, the lion has to serve as a point of comparison. Jesus Sirach, for example, admonishes: "Do not be like a lion in your house!" (Jesus Sirach 4:30). There is a misogynistic variant of this: "I would rather live with a lion or dragon than live with an evil woman." (Jesus Sirach 25:16)

Human weaknesses are interwoven with lions. For example, a lazy person in his comfort can make good excuses for a lion: "The lazy person says: A lion is outside, I would die in the middle of the street." (Proverbs 22:13; similar 26:13)

In the lion imagery, social grievances are lamented. In the poverty account of Jesus Sirach it says: "The prey of the lions are wild asses in the desert, so the poor are the pastures of the rich." (Jesus Sirach 13:19) It is not only social sins that are warned. Rather, the danger of sinning is generally described with lion images. Sin as well as sinners should be avoided: "As from a serpent, flee from sin, for if you come near, it will bite you! Dandelions are their teeth, they destroy people's lives." (Jesus Sirach 21:2) "The lion lies in wait for prey; so sin on those who do wrong." (Jesus Sirach 27:10) Using the example of the sin of pride: "Mockery and insult strike the haughty, like a lion vengeance lurks for him." (Jesus Sirach, 27:28) Duplicity "follows them like a lion and tears them apart like a panther" (Sirach 28:23). But it is the lion-like opponent of God who seduces us into sinning. Therefore, the First Letter of Peter admonishes: "Be sober, be watchful! Your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

God and the Lions

In the biblical narratives, God often appears as an animal keeper, as a concerned world zoo director, as a lion tamer in the world circus. In God's dispute with Job, God appears as a concerned lord over the animals. He directs the animals in a way that a human would not be able to do. The lions are specifically named.

Will you bring out the stars of the zodiac in its time, will you guide the lioness and her cubs? Will you hunt prey for the lioness, will you satisfy the hunger of the young lions as they crouch in caves, lie in wait in the thicket? (Job 38:32; 39f.)

The lions "know" about this providence of God. "The young lions roar for prey, they demand their food from God." (Psalm 104:21) However, one of Job's interlocutors insinuates in their dispute with God that God is by no means always good to the lions. Just as he receives them, he also destroys them: "By the breath of God they perish, they fade away before the breath of his wrath. The lion's roar, the lion's growl, the young lion's teeth are disappointed. The lion dies for lack of prey, the lioness's cubs disperse." (Job 4:9–11)

Martial

The irresistible strength of hunting lions is fascinating. They lurk crouched in hiding, in the thicket (Psalm 10:9), in ambush (Psalm 17:12), get up, rise, strike, tear their prey, roar when they have made a catch (Amos 3:4) and do not lie down until they have eaten their prey (Numbers 23:24). Such behavior of the large roughcats is ideally suited to the language of war and criticism of it.

Reprehensible bounties

A text from the Book of Ezekiel sounds highly topical: Who does not think of attacks by dictators on peace-loving neighboring countries in violation of international law in our days? Ezekiel is about the tribe of Gog of Magog. The seer of Patmos makes two peoples out of them, who in the end-time vision will go into battle with the devil dragon against the finally victorious Christ (Revelation 20:8). In the time of the prophet Ezekiel, Gog was preparing for a raid against peace-loving neighbors, which angered God not only at that time:

Thus says the Lord God: In that day it will come to pass that thoughts will arise in your heart and you will devise an evil plan. You say, 'I will go up against the unprotected land, I will come upon the peaceful people who dwell there in safety—for they all dwell without walls, and they have no bars or gates—to make booty and plunder, to turn your hand against these inhabited ruins and against the people who have been gathered together from the nations, which has again acquired flocks and possessions, and now dwells on the navel of the earth. Then Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all his lions will ask you, "Are you coming to make booty?" Have you gathered your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away flocks and possessions, and to make great booty? (Ezekiel 38:10–13)

It sounds like a divine threat against such nations that oppress another people. In a similar way, the prophet Nahum formulates relentlessly in the first discourse against Nineveh in the imagery of lions. In his justice, God is on the side of the victims of inhuman political violence. This is not without consequences for the perpetrators of violence:

Where is the hiding place of the lions now, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion goes? The lioness, the lion cub, is there and there is no one there to startle. The lion made rich robbery for his cubs. He choked for his lionesses. He filled his caves with robbery, his hiding places with loot. Now I will proceed against you, declares the Lord of hosts. I will make your chariots go up in smoke, your young lions will be devoured by the sword. I will put an end to your robbery on earth, never again will the call of your messengers be heard. (Nahum 2:12–14)

Lion's Roar of Israel

Israel also acts like a lion on its enemies (Numbers 23:24). Memories of the recent Gaza war and its atrocities are awakened. As soon as its enemies are destroyed, Israel starts a lion's roar: "All together they roar like lions, growl like young lions." (Jeremiah 51:38)

When the Moabites feel threatened by the approaching Israelites, the Moabite king wants to hire the prophet Balaam with a lot of money to curse the all-powerful Israel. God, however, forbids him to do so with the use of a talking donkey: for God remains faithful to his blessing for Israel. We have already meditated on this scene. A detail from the report contains a comparison with a lion and should therefore be quoted here. God tells the Moabite king Balak through the prophet: "He [Jacob] crouches, lies there like a lion, like a lioness. Who dares to hunt them down? He who blesses you is blessed, and he who curses you is cursed. (Numbers 24:9)

God Himself is like a Lion of War

On other occasions it is God himself who behaves like a lion towards his people: "As the lion, the young lion, hisses over what he has torn, just as he, against whom the abundance of shepherds is called, does not cower before their voice, so the Lord of hosts descends to fight on Mount Zion and its hill." (Isaiah 31:4) The prophet Hosea writes in a similarly threatening way: "For I am to Ephraim as a lion, as a young lion is to the house of Judah. It is I who tear and go away; I carry away – and there is no one who can snatch anything from me." (Hosea 5:14) The prophet Hosea goes on to say about the behavior of the disappointed divine lover: "Like a panther I lurk by the wayside. I attack them like a bear whose cubs have been stolen, and tear their breasts over their hearts. Then I eat them like a lioness, and the wild beasts of the field tear them to pieces. You will perish, O Israel, because you are against me, against your help." (Hosea 13:7–9) What harsh words from a prophet who constantly struggled to purify the image of God in the direction of love.

There is disturbing evidence of such aggressive action by God against His people elsewhere in Scripture. For example, when the hearts of the Israelites became arrogant and they forgot God, their Deliverer, He became "a lion to them" (Hosea 13:7).

The prophet Amos begins the lamentation against Israel. That is why some long for the day of the Lord to shorten the calamity. Amos has no comforting words for them: "Woe to those who long for the day of the Lord! What is the use of the Lord's day to you? He is darkness, not light. It is as if someone escapes from a lion and then a bear attacks him; if he comes home and leans on the wall with his hand, then a snake bites him." (Amos 5:18f.) In short, there will be no escape from the wrath of God!

Enemies of the Pious

Not only is God compared to lions, but also the enemies of the pious or the people, who tear to pieces in greed (Psalm 17:12). "They have opened their mouths against me, like a ravening, roaring lion." (Psalm 22:14) The battle cries of the Assyrians occupying the land are equated by the prophet Isaiah with the roar of a lioness and her cubs (Isaiah 5:29). "Israel was a scattered sheep, hunted by lions." (Jeremiah 50:17)

The enemies of Israel behave like lions towards Israel, but by no means only out of their own malice. Rather, God uses them to punish his faithless people. The texts use a belligerent imagery with which the image of God that Jesus conveyed to us is not easily compatible. God leaves his people who have broken the covenant to other peoples as prey: "Above him lions roared and sounded their voices. They made his country a desert; its cities are burned and deserted." (Jeremiah 2:15) Something similar is written at the beginning of the book of Joel: "For a people came against my land, great and innumerable; his teeth are the teeth of a lion and his teeth are those of a lioness." (Joel 1:6)

The "lion's punishment" was not always imposed on the entire people. Sometimes it only affected those people who did not worship the true God. The king of Assyria had people resettled. They refused to worship God. That is why God sent lions to kill some. (2 Kings 17:24–28)

The Book of Wisdom tells of God's ability to punish through animals, but also to do good through them. First, it wisely says: "They should know that one is punished by that by which one sins." Then it is written: "It would have been no difficulty for your almighty hand, which created the world out of unformed matter, to send a multitude of bears or fierce lions against it." (Wisdom 11:16f.)

True prophets had a special closeness to God. But there have always been false prophets who did not fulfill their mission. God punished such insubordinate prophets. It is told dryly: When such a man was on his way home, a lion attacked him and killed him (1 Kings 13:24; also 20:3f.)

God saves from lion-like threats

At the same time, it is God who helps his people, but also people who are faithfully attached to him, against those enemies when they attack them like lions. God proves to be a savior from lion-like persecutors and devouring enemies: "Lord, my God, I flee to you; help me from all persecutors and save me, so that no one will tear my life apart like a lion, seize me, and there will be no one to save!" (Psalm 7:2f.) "Save me from the mouth of the lion" (Psalm 22:22). "Smash the lions' teeth!" (Psalm 58:7) King Hezekiah survived a serious illness. In his traditional prayer of thanksgiving to God, he says: "I cried out until morning. Like a lion, he breaks all my bones." (Isaiah 38:13)

Under the protection of the angels of God, the pious man walks over lions and vipers, steps on young lions and dragons (Psalm 91:13). The writer of the second letter to Timothy – called Paul – experiences himself as having been "snatched from the mouth of the lion" by the Lord (2 Timothy 4: 17).

But such a rescue does not always end well for everyone. For most of Israel, the prophet Amos does not have good news on the day of God's visitation. For "thus saith the Lord: Just as a shepherd saves from the mouth of a lion only two calf bones, or the tip of an ear, so the sons of Israel will be saved, who sit in Samaria on their divan and on their cushions of damask." (Amos 3:12)

Faith makes you strong as a lion

The comparisons with the world of lions are by no means always in a martial context. In the Song of Songs, the bride descends from Lebanon, "from the beds of the lions, from the mountains of the panthers" to enchant her lover (Song of Solomon 4:8f.). A righteous man can feel safe like a lion, while the wicked flee, even if no one pursues him (Proverbs 28:1).

"Fighting like a lion" expresses strength and courage. Samson was praised because he was stronger than the young lion he had torn with his bare hands in the vineyards of Timna (Judges 14:5–9). The letter to the Hebrews shows how faith can make lions strong. In doing so, he refers to a long line of witnesses:

And what else can I say? There would not be enough time for me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and of Samuel and the prophets; they have conquered kingdoms by faith, have done righteousness, obtained promises, stopped lions' mouths, extinguished the embers of fire; they have escaped the edge of the sword; they gained strength when they were weak; they became strong in battle and put enemy armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:32–34)

When it came to the question of who should stand against the Philistine Goliath, David, just mentioned by Paul, offered himself. In order to convince the headhunters of his suitability, he talks about his achievements as a shepherd in his application: "If a lion or a bear came and dragged a lamb away from the flock, I ran after it, beat it and tore the animal out of its mouth. And when he stood up against me, I grabbed him by the mane and beat him to death. Your servant has slain the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall fare just as they do." (1 Samuel 17:34–36) Lion's strength also distinguished David's predecessor: "Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and dear, in life and death they are not separated. They were faster than eagles, stronger than lions." (2 Samuel 1:23)

The lion liberated in the end times

Beauty, courage and strength, but also mortal danger are characteristics of the king of animals: the lion. It plays a vivid role not only in the historiography of Israel, but also in visions of the eschatological struggle of good against evil. The lion symbolizes the side of the devil more often than that of God.

At the end of time, however, according to the biblical visionaries Isaiah, Micah or John, lion-like evil is finally defeated. After all, this also frees the lion from its dark side. His good sides can now unfold unhindered: his beauty, his powerful grace, his elegant gait, his courage and his strength, which was often mentioned in the same breath as that of the bear. At the end of the days there will be great peace, both in the animal kingdom and between animal and man, in the real as well as in the symbolic sense. Many texts tell of this:

Cow and bear feed together, their cubs lie together. The lion eats straw like cattle. (Isaiah 11:7)

Calf and lion graze together, a little boy leads them. (Isaiah 11:6)

The wolf and the lamb graze together, and the lion eats straw like the ox, but the serpent's food is the dust. (Isaiah 65:25)

Such images are also used to sing about the messianic peace between the saved remnant of Israel and the neighboring peoples:

And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion in the midst of flocks of sheep. (Micah 5:7)

Daniel in the lion's den

At the time of the second caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb (634–644), the intact body of a man was found in Persia. He wore a signet ring engraved with a lion and a lioness. Between them sat a boy whom the lions licked.

For the Islamic world of faith, it is clear that both the dead man and the boy on his signet ring were Daniel, the protagonist of the Old Testament book that bears his name. The image on the signet ring captures the legend of Daniel's miraculous salvation at the beginning of his life. This is how it is told:

The Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar had been prophesied when he took office that someone born in his time would kill him. So he, like the copycat Herod later, had all newborns killed. Daniel's mother acted like Moses' mother: she did not abandon Daniel in the reeds, but in an impenetrable thicket. Then God comes into play in the story of Daniel's salvation. He sent a lion to protect the boy. A lioness suckled him, as a she-wolf once fed the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

Daniel, miraculously saved in this way, must not be missing from this animal meditation on the lion. Lions not only saved his life. They were also supposed to take his life – according to the plan of his corrupt civil servant colleagues – but miraculously they did not do so (Daniel 6:2–29). These lions had been kept in a pit by the Babylonian ruler as a deterrent to evildoers and traitors. Doomed people were thrown into it. Daniel is one of them. He had been the victim of an intrigue.

This is how this happened: Daniel was the ruler's favorite. The latter wanted to make him the highest satrap of the empire, which the other satraps disliked badly. Driven by jealousy, they forged a diabolical plan, but God was to thwart it. They made the ruler decree: "Anyone who makes a request to any god or man except you, king, within thirty days, shall be thrown into the lions' den." (Daniel 6:8) Daniel, a faithful Israelite, continued to pray to his God privately in the upper room despite the royal decree. This did not go unnoticed by his competitors; they sensed an opportunity to get rid of him. They tracked him down in the upper room, praying. Then they accused him of the ruler. The latter disliked the intrigue. He did not want to lose his proven satrap Daniel. But his ban bound him. Daniel was thrown to the hungry lions for food. A large stone was rolled in front of the pit. The royal seal was affixed: the fate of the pious seemed sealed.

After a sleepless night of prayer and fasting, the king went to the lions' den in the morning. Full of pain, he called for Daniel, whom he thought was dead. Then he heard him cry, "O king, may you live forever. My God has sent his angel and closed the mouths of the lions. They did me no harm, because I was found innocent before him, and I did not commit any crimes before you, king." (Daniel 6:22f.) For Daniel, the intrigue ended well, but not for the intriguers: Together with their wives and children, they now ended up in the lions' den. "They had not yet reached the bottom of the pit when the lions pounced on them and crushed all their bones." (Daniel 6:25)

The miraculous rescue of Daniel from the lions' den by God led to the fact that in the whole kingdom of Darius one should now "tremble before the God Daniel s and be afraid of him": "For he is the living God; he remains forever. His kingdom never perishes; his reign has no end. He saves and liberates; he performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions." (Daniel 6:27f.)

This story of the miraculous deliverance from the intrigue of corrupt competitors reflects the meaning of the name Daniel. The Hebrew word translates as: "God has provided justice". God protects and saves those who are loyal to Him. The book of Daniel first conveys this message to fellow believers who did not have an easy life in Babylonian exile. But even in later times of persecution, for example in the young Christian church, the story served as an encouragement to persevere for the sake of faith. In the end, God will also deal with them as he once did with Daniel, thus "giving them justice".

The story of Daniel's salvation from the lions' den was therefore like a song of comfort for the persecuted Christians. In the sermons of the Church Fathers, therefore, reference is made to this miraculous event.

Apocalyptic Books of Consolation

In times of persecution, Christians have also resorted to Daniel's vision of the world empires, which is written down in the seventh chapter of his book. This, too, was intended to provide comfort and confidence to those who were oppressed for their faith. The good news of Daniel's vision: All tyranny, no matter how brutal, against the "pious" will come to an end. Mary's song resonates: "He overthrows the mighty from the throne!" (Luke 1:52; based on Ezekiel 21:31; Psalm 147:6; Job 5:11; 12,19)

The book of Daniel refers to the rulers of the great empires of his time: those of the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians and the Greek Empire of Alexander. They are symbolized by animals: first and foremost a lion with eagle wings, a voracious bear, a panther with four wings and four heads, and a fearsome animal with ten horns, with another growing back. A "very old man" will end their rule. The kingdom of God will replace the oppressive world empires. It is the reign of God that the Son of Man, who comes down from heaven, will establish at the end of time. Until this end, however, there will be great need. But those who belong to the chosen people (Israel) and are recorded in the book will be saved.

Jesus was familiar with the book of Daniel. During his public appearances, he refers to himself as the "Son of Man". His heart's desire was to establish the kingdom of God on earth, which is a kingdom of peace, justice, truth and freedom for all.

The author of the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of John, again experiences a bloody period of persecution in the Roman Empire. He also wants to give comfort to the oppressed through his vision. In describing what he sees, he adopts images from Daniel's vision: the very old man on the throne, the sealed book, the symbolization of the rule of power by animals and the victory of God. The lion, bull and eagle are now not symbols of tyranny, but characteristics of beings who stand around the throne of God; the cherubim bear a lion's face as well as a human face.

At the end of time, the Lion of Judah will be victorious (Revelation 5:5). This is what the chosen people of God was already called in the early history of Israel (Numbers 24:9; Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24). In the end-time vision of the Revelation of John, this lion of Judah is identified with the Lamb who was slain: with Jesus, the Son of Man, who died on the cross and whom God did not leave to die. It was the Lamb who was able to open the seven seals. The book, which Daniel still had to seal, could be opened by him. In this way, it was revealed how the history of the world ends and how the suffering of the persecuted comes to an end.

Then with the clouds of heaven came one like the son of man. He reached the very old man and was brought before him. He was given dominion, dignity and kingship. All peoples, nations and tongues served him. His reign is an eternal, imperishable dominion. His kingdom never falls. (Daniel 7:13f.)

Persecuted for the sake of their faith

The old consolation stories of the Bible have power to this day. They are and will remain highly topical. After all, even today people are persecuted for the sake of their convictions and faith. Faith is often not the only reason for oppression. Because the respective faith is linked to belonging to a certain group, an ethnicity, a country. Jews are once again being discriminated against around the world today. Anti-Semitism is increasing alarmingly. The "Never again!" seems to be forgotten. Muslims are also persecuted, sometimes by Christians, in order to save the supposedly Christian West. Hindus are victims of persecution, as are Buddhist minorities. There is hardly a religion that is not suppressed today and whose followers are not socially disadvantaged, imprisoned and murdered.

This is illustrated by the example of persecuted Christians. 193 nations are currently members of the United Nations. In addition, there are two nations (the Vatican, Palestine) that are not admitted to the UN. The Opendoors platform compiles a World Persecution Index every year. Here is an excerpt from the 2024 dossier:

Currently, more than 365 million Christians in 78 countries worldwide are exposed to intense persecution and discrimination because of their faith. In the 50 countries of the World Persecution Index, this is even true to a very high to extreme degree; this affects 317 million of the 756 million Christians living there. ⁴⁹

In the report, persecution specifically means violent discrimination in the areas of private life, family life, social life, life in the state, church life. The top ten inglorious countries in the persecution statistics in 2024 were North Korea, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Brunei and Eritrea.

Two conclusions can be drawn from such distressing analyses. On the one hand, there is a great need for political action in many countries to protect the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion and the free exercise of religion. These human rights belong to all convictions: even those who believe in a world without God, or those whose conviction is a skeptical lack of conviction. It is a fundamental right to which the Catholic Church has decided in the decree Dignitatis humanae (1965)⁵⁰ at the Second Vatican Council. It has thus given up its resistance to such civil liberties out of religious conviction. Pope Pius IX had still expressed such resistance in the Syllabus Errorum of 1864 for political reasons. Religious freedom is now an inner moment and prerequisite for faith.

On the other hand, those who are persecuted – for whatever reason – need comfort and confidence. These experiences and attitudes promote faith resilience in times of persecution. The attachment to God, in particular, then proves to be stronger than the threat from those in power. The lion shows its two sides. Lion-like stamina builds up in the face of ravenous lions who want to devour the lives of believers with demonic violence. This gives new strength and power to the old books of consolation in the Bible, in which lions also play both roles. Divine lion strength protects against demonic lion-like violence.

The Old Serpent

The following animal meditation was written on World Snake Day. This Day of the Snake is celebrated worldwide on July 16. On June 28, America celebrates a National Serpent Day as a precursor. Such days of remembrance draw attention to the threat to the approximately 3,600 snake species. Today, snakes are less endangered because they are hunted as a danger to humans; rather, their habitats are shrinking: oceans are polluting, forests are being cleared.

Such a day is useful in view of the bad reputation that these animals enjoy widely. For many, snakes are considered cold by their appearance, slippery, dangerous or simply scary. Her forked tongue has gone down in a figure of speech. The English word snaky means false and sneaky. In German, too, there is talk of a "false snake". In Psalms, it is called insidious (Psalm 58:5; 140:4).

The crawling stimulated some cultures to connect the snake with the underworld. The deadly poison transports people and animals there. The lover of the singer Orpheus, Eurydice, was snatched from him by a fatal snake bite. This prompted the grieving lover to sing himself down into the underworld to bring Eurydice back from Hades

Snakes are peaceful by themselves. They only take a threatening attitude or attack when they feel attacked or irritated: a passing horse can be bitten into its shackles by a snake (Genesis 49:17). Then adders, for example, smash their poisonous teeth or hurl their poison for meters like the vomiting snake (sprays poison like a viper: Proverbs 23:32): Accordingly, we call some people "poison slingshots", "poison syringes".

The venom is also used by snakes to paralyze or kill a prey. This deadly power of poisonous snakes has dug deep into the unconscious of humans. If children who have not yet had any experience with snakes are presented with the image of a snake, it evokes an archaic primal fear in many of them.

In the German vocabulary⁵¹, we often encounter associations with snake: snake, queue, car queue, paper snake, heating snake, snake as a medieval gun with a small caliber. We are talking about the meandering of a stream. Snake also signals negative things: snake eating, snake brood, snake pit, The snake has to serve to characterize a devious woman. In Friedrich Schiller's Kabale und Liebe, Ferdinand says to Luise: "Snake, you lie. You're fascinated by something else here."⁵²

Several generations of impressive Aesculapian snakes live in my garden. I made friends with them. The young snakes sunbathe on the leaves of blooming water lilies, which thrive luxuriantly in my biotope. The old mother snake, almost two meters long, sheds its skin on the pile of wood. The Aesculapian serpent is the symbol of the good serpent. It adorns the logo of our pharmacies. In Greek mythology, she was the faithful companion of the god of healing, Asclepius. Other myths also know good snakes, good goddesses and angels in the form of snakes. The Serafines, who appear in the song of thanksgiving and praise "Great God, we praise you", were upright walking serpents with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet and with two they flew. Together they sang the liturgically well-known "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his glory." (Isaiah 6:3)

The oriental tales therefore know both the good and the evil side of the snakes. In Mesopotamia, dangerous snakes were brought into the temple and then released in the hope that they would lose their dangerousness. Snakes were considered sacred and evil at the same time. This made them taboo for the people, untouchable. You should stay away from them for your own protection. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, a serpent robs the hero of the herb of immortality. Because of its skinning, the snake was valued as a symbol of rejuvenation, even immortality.⁵³ The uraeus, the upper part of a menacingly erect cobra, adorned the headgear of the goddesses as well as the pharaohs. The deterrent power of the cobra was thus symbolically transferred to the pharaohs.

Snake charmers provoked the cobra to this threatening attitude. That didn't always end well. The dark book of Ecclesiastes notes almost gleefully: "The snake charmer has no advantage if the snake bites before he has summoned it." (Ecclesiastes 10:11) "Who feels sorry for a snake charmer when he is bitten, and for all those who approach wild animals?" (Jesus Sirach 12:13)

The Nehushhtan

In the biblical tradition, snakes are protagonists several times. Snakes play a role in the procession through the desert, which is both evil and healing. The evangelist John refers to this. God punished the insubordinate Israelites on their way through the desert by an invasion of deadly poisonous snakes. Moses reached with God that there was salvation for those who were mortally bitten. At the behest of God, he placed a bronze serpent on the tip of a staff, visible to the public from afar. Anyone who looked up to it was saved. Again this double game: the snake as a deadly danger and as a rescue from death.

This serpent standard called Nehushhtan was kept in the temple for a long time: it was only King Hezekiah who had it removed in the course of his cult reform (2 Kings 18:4): perhaps because it reminded not only of the God of Israel, but also of the pagan goddess Quju?⁵⁴

The evangelist John reports on a nocturnal conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, the seeker of God. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent on a "pointer" to save those doomed to death, so too can the believing look up to Jesus, who is lifted up on the rod of the cross, save from death: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him" (John 3:14f.). In art, the saving power of the cross is sometimes represented by a snake coiling around the trunk at the foot of the cross. Now the skinning snake is becoming a symbol of immortality, of eternal life.

Snakes appear in Jesus' speeches. He insults the scribes and Pharisees as a "brood of serpents" (Matthew 12:34). A good father would not give the children snakes instead of fish. (Luke 11:11) He advised his followers to be "wise as serpents and guileless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). He immunized His disciples against the poison of serpents, real and symbolic, i.e. against real serpents as well as against serpentine evil: "If they touch serpents or drink deadly poison, it will not harm them" (Mark 16:18). He also gave them the authority "to tread on serpents and scorpions and over the whole power of the enemy. Nothing will be able to harm you." (Luke 10:19)

In the same way, in the speeches of Jesus, good and evil snake images are mixed. In the course of the Christian period, however, the serpent was robbed of its good mythical qualities. Two great stories from the Bible contributed to this. One is found in the first book of the Paradise narrative of Genesis, the other at the very end in the apocalyptic book of the Revelation of John.

We will be inspired by the snakes of these two biblical events in the following. We start with paradise and end with the apocalypse.

The Primal Serpent

Since serpent⁵⁵ is masculine in Hebrew, I will simply call the primordial serpent of Genesis the "primordial serpent" in this passage.⁵⁶ He was human-like, clever and useful. He was ordained by God to be the king of the beasts. He walked upright like a seraphim.⁵⁷ Thanks to its six wings, it was very mobile.

In addition, the original serpent could speak intelligibly for the first human couple. This enabled him to get involved in a profound dispute with Eva. His cunning main weapon: sowing doubt. Eve was to doubt God's commandment, which Adam had passed on to her, not to eat from the tree of knowledge (Genesis 2:17). According to a rabbinic interpretation of the story⁵⁸, the original serpent touched the tree of knowledge with his hands and feet and shook it without dying. In doing so, he had invalidated for Eve the commandment of God given to Adam and passed on to her by him. The fruit fell into Eve's lap. She passed this on to Adam and both enjoyed the wholesome fruit. It is precisely there that they "recognize". Their eyes are opened. The disaster takes its course.

Original and unusual for Christian ears, rabbinic scholars interpret the so-called story of the Fall of Man, which ends in the curse of all those involved. In a commentary on the Mishnah tractate Avot, the ulterior intentions of the original serpent are revealed. He was not only human-like because he had limbs and was able to speak. He could also feel like a human being. This is how the rabbinic interpretation tells us: The original serpent fell in love with the beautiful Eve and wanted to marry her. As a result, Adam became his rival. This had to be cleared out of the way. The violation of the divine prohibition seemed to be a promising strategy to boot Adam out. This made the love-mad Urschlang the main culprit. He coveted what did not belong to him. And the strategy: sow doubts in Eva. So the original serpent was punished not because of his wickedness, but because of his arrogance. But he also became a major loser as a result: he lost his seraic angelic appearance and his prominent position in paradise. The serpent was degraded, "deified". From now on, she had to crawl in the very dust from which humans had been created.⁵⁹ It retained its danger to humans. Since then, she has also had to serve for malicious disparagements. Especially submissive people are accused of crawling, fawning, i.e. submissive, obedient, submissive, doggy, blindly devoted, servile, slavish, saliva-licking, servile.

The paradisiacal fruit feast served by the Urschlang also had fatal consequences for the human couple. It became clear to them why their lives are the way they are.

Myths tell in a temporal story what is always and everywhere the case. This is also the case with the myth of the fall of man. He teaches us to "recognize" what man is and why life is the way it is: laborious and transient. In the mirror of the story, these are a few lasting insights about the "conditio humana", the earthly fate of every human being.

1. Man experiences his nakedness: he recognizes who he is. In contemporary mysticism, the recognition of the "naked now", the undisguised truth that man is, is considered the epitome of self-knowledge.⁶⁰

2. Man knows good and evil. Like God, he can distinguish the two. So the Lord can say in history: "Behold, man has become like one of us, that he may know good and evil." The place of this knowledge is the conscience that every human being has. His saying ultimately counts before God, even if it is wrong.

3. The fact that God created the world and man well, indeed very well, obviously clashes with the everyday conditions of human life. "Post-paradisiacal" life on earth is arduous. Even the ground is cursed because of man. In the sweat of his brow, Adam must eat his bread until he returns to the ground; from which it was taken: "You are dust and to dust you will return," the funeral liturgy quotes from the story of the Fall. The countermovement would be to "get out of the way".

4. If Adam has to work hard, Eve's fate is the laborious birth of that life that makes her the mother of all living beings: also of the child who will grow up to be the adversary of the accursed serpent.

5. Last but not least, the expulsion from paradise explains the mortal wound of man. Again, it is told with mythological ease. By eating the fruit, man has gained insights into his nature and can understand the hardship of his life and his reproduction because he has eaten from the "tree of knowledge". But, according to the narrated intention of God, the human being who longs for godlike immortality was to be prevented from attacking the other tree, the tree of life.⁶¹ Therefore, man must be expelled from paradise. So all people have a migration background as those displaced from paradise. They have lost their paradisiacal homeland, but long for it back. All people have paradise behind them and in front of them.

From then on, man experiences himself as mortal. But he remembers the lost immortality in paradise, from which he was expelled "through his own fault" with the participation of the Primordial Serpent. Even more, in the form of an immeasurable desire, paradise is still alive in the mode of longing. Longed-for immortality rubs up against mortality suffered. Such an experience unsettles and threatens people. The need to die and the reliable prognosis of death can make you think. If the longing for paradise is subject to the fear that death has the last word, this can lead to a lifestyle that is more concerned with one's own happiness than with the happiness of all in solidarity. A primal fear can develop. This makes people rivals among themselves of the scarce transient happiness. Primal fear desolidarized. It makes you evil.⁶² This is probably the reason why a Christian anthropology interprets man ambivalently: basic good and gifted with basic trust, and at the same time inclined to evil, because and when the primal fear of transience gains the upper hand.⁶³ Who can redeem us from this tendency to evil, this imprint of primal fear? so Paul laments in his letter to the Christians in Rome (Romans 7:15-23).

Back to the original snake. He pays a high price for his seductive cunning. This has severely damaged the image of the snake in Christianity. Good qualities are largely forgotten. But this is not the end of the story of the Urschsnake. Because part of the curse is that the love for the cunningly desired Eva has been transformed into a fatal enmity with the woman and her son. This enmity escalates at the end of the times told about in the last book of the Bible. So here we change from the first to the last book of the Bible in its present form.

The Dragon

In what Christians in the communities of Asia Minor experienced during the time of brutal persecution by the Roman rulers, they experienced the struggle of evil against good. The seer from the island of Patmos wants to console the communities with the fact that the battle in which they are fully involved will end well in their favor. Good, or more precisely, good, i.e. God, is in the process of triumphing over evil. But the evil one is "the great dragon, the old serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). At Armageddon there is an eschatological battle, which the devil loses.⁶⁴ He is thrown down from heaven to earth. There he pursues the woman and the child, i.e. the young church; a dramatic escape begins:

When the dragon realized that he had fallen to earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the son. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place. There she is fed for a time and two times and half a time, far from the face of the serpent. The serpent spat a stream of water from its mouth behind the woman so that it would be swept away by the floods. But the earth came to the woman's aid; she opened her mouth and devoured the stream that the dragon had spat out of his mouth. Then the dragon became angry with the woman, and went forth to wage war with the rest of her descendants, who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:13–17)

When the battle is over, the new city of Jerusalem descends from heaven. In it there is no more death, no tears and no more sorrow. The time of the "Great Exile from Paradise" has come to an end. Access to the tree of life is free. The immortality of the lost garden has been regained.

In heaven, according to the seer of Patmos, the redemption that is hoped for on earth is already being celebrated. The victorious Risen One will lay everything at God's feet at the end of days. Then God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:26–28). And because the victory of God will be completed, there will be no more room for sin, death and the devil. They are then destroyed.

But destruction is only one way to describe God's victory at the end of time. Annihilation is the male variant. The dragon is killed by George. This is exactly what is found in the visions of the prophet Isaiah: "In that day the Lord will punish Leviatan, the fleeting serpent, the Leviatan, the twisted serpent with his hard, great, and strong sword, and he will kill the monster that is in the sea." (Isaiah 27:1)

But there is also a female version in the cultural narratives. It is associated with St. Margaret. She does not kill the dragon, but tames it. She puts a collar on him – like a dog being taken for a walk. The devilish serpent has lost all its dangerous malice. According to the prophet Isaiah once again, it is paradisiacal again: "The infant plays before the snake's loophole, and the child stretches out his hand to the serpent's cave." (Isaiah 11:8)

What wise guidance in dealing with evil. One can, as the Moscow Patriarch Kirill I constantly demands, go to war against the dragon of evil (especially the West and the invented Nazis in Ukraine) highly armed to kill the evil snake. But it is also possible that a space of the Sermon on the Mount opens up in which no violence is used, the peacemakers are blessed. People of the Beatitudes do not fight evil, but tame it through nonviolent love. Violence, as on the cross, is finally transformed into love.

Plagues of locusts

In 2019–2021, huge swarms of locusts invaded East Africa, which voraciously moved on to the Indo-Pakistani region. They were able to develop through unusual rainfall in African desert areas. Experts see a connection with climate change and the associated extreme weather phenomena such as droughts and floods. Now cyclones brought unusual rain to the desert. For months, desert locusts found a lot of food and multiplied rapidly. In search of food, they formed swarms that moved on as soon as they had eaten a strip of land bare. The consequences for the already impoverished populations were devastating. There was a food emergency. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 25 million people, especially in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania, were acutely threatened by hunger. International help was needed and was forthcoming.

Such experiences make it understandable that King Solomon, who had built a magnificent temple, also implored God in it to protect the people from locusts, among other things:

When there is famine in the land, when pestilence breaks out, when grain blight, rust, locusts and vermin appear, when enemies besiege them in their own land, when some plague or disease strikes them, when prayer and supplication arise from every single person and from all Israel, because all know the need of their hearts and stretch out their hands to this house, then hear them in heaven, the place where you dwell, and forgive! Intervene and reward everyone as they deserve! You know their hearts; for you alone know the hearts of all men. So they will fear you as long as they live in the land that you gave to our fathers. (1 Kings 8:37–40; 2 Chronicles 8:37–40)

It sounds like God's answer to this prayer of the wise king:

After Solomon had completed the house of the Lord and the royal palace, and had accomplished all his plans for the house of the Lord and for his palace, the Lord appeared to him in the night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place as a place of sacrifice for myself." If I shut up the heavens and no rain falls, or if I command the locust to eat the land bare, if I send the pestilence into my people, and my people, over whom my name is called, humble themselves and pray, seek me and turn from their evil ways, then I hear it in heaven. (2 Chronicles 7:11–14)

Biological profile

Grasshoppers are six-legged insects with wings, which can be up to 25 cm long in the case of the giant locust. Crickets, a grasshopper subspecies with typically long antennae, use the wings not only for flying, but also as a musical instrument: To do this, the wings are rubbed together.

Some of the 28,000 different species of locusts are herbivores, others carnivores, some both. As threatening as locusts in swarms can become for humans, today a quarter of the approximately one thousand locust species in Europe are threatened by agriculture, fire and loss of mostly manageable habitats.

The name of the grasshopper has to do with "to frighten" in Old High German: By suddenly jumping up, these small animals, which are well adapted to their environment, frighten people. Measured by their smallness, grasshoppers are true jumping masters. Muscular jumping legs allow many species even one-meter jumps. Aging locusts dragging themselves along serve the author of the book of Ecclesiastes as an image for the unpleasant sides of growing old:

One is even afraid of the hill and of the horrors along the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags along, the fruit of the capers bursts, but a man goes to his eternal house and the mourners go through the streets. (Ecclesiastes 12:5)

Usually, locusts live solitary, are harmless and so silent that they can be compared to falling snow (Jesus Sirach 43:17). Sometimes, however, they turn from "solitary" to "sociable" animals and join together in buzzing flocks of unimaginable proportions, in which they search for food together. And this in an order in which no one leads them, as it says of them in the Book of Wisdom: "The locusts have no king, and yet they all swarm out in an orderly manner." (Proverbs 30:27)

Swarms of locusts are rightly experienced as threatening in biblical times: "The locusts ate your fig trees and your olive trees bare" (Amos 4:9). Right at the beginning of the book of Joël, the destructive power of locusts is described as follows:

What the grasshopper left behind, the migratory locust ate; what the migratory locust left, the larva ate;
what the larva left behind, the rodent has eaten. (Joel 1:4)

The menace of locust swarms must serve to characterize a hostile country such as "Cush, the land of winged locusts" (Isaiah 18:1). What's more, all the inhabitants of the earth "are like locusts" (Isaiah 40:22).

The prophet Amos tells of a locust nightmare with a good outcome:

This is what the Lord God has made me see: Behold, there was one who formed a swarm of locusts when the late seed began to grow. And behold, the late sowing follows the cut for the king. They set about devouring all the greenery in the country. Then I cried, "Lord and God, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He's so small. Then the Lord had compassion, "It will not happen," said the Lord. (Amos 7:1–3)

In the figurative language of the locusts, the prophet Nahum moves in his third threatening speech against Nineveh:

Then the fire will devour you, the sword will destroy you, the sword will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Become numerous as the locusts, numerous as the migratory locusts! You've made your merchants more numerous than the stars in the sky. The locusts shed their skin and flew away. Your courtiers are like wandering locusts, your clerks like a swarm of locusts encamped on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they flee away in a hurry. You don't know their place – where have they gone? (Nahum 3:15–17)

One of the Ten Plagues

Twelve species of locusts are considered migratory locusts. They caused recurring plagues of locusts. In Europe alone, there are said to have been 400 incursions in the Middle Ages; those in the years 1338 and 1408 were particularly bad.⁶⁵

In 1784, 300 billion insects devastated 3000 km2 of land in South Africa. They ate 600 tons of plants every day. Wind often drove swarms out to sea, where they perished. Dead locusts were then washed back. Over a coastal strip of 80 km, the carcasses were piled up to over a meter. -It was one of the largest documented locust incursions.⁶⁶

Probably the most famous plague of locusts is told in the Bible. It is part of Israel's dramatic exodus from Egypt. There, the Israelites were kept as slaves by the all-powerful Egyptians, who "are more numerous than locusts—they cannot be numbered" (Jeremiah 46:23). This had not gone unnoticed by God. The suffering of the enslaved cried out to heaven. God hears the cry of the poor, according to a basic melody in the biblical image of God. The cry of the oppressed in Egypt touched God in his innermost being and moved him to stand up for his chosen people. To do this, he made use of the shepherd named Moses, who had fled to Midian. In the story of the commissioning of Moses by God, which is also considered the founding story of Israel, it is told:

The Lord said, "I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their loud lamentation against their oppressors. I know his suffering. I have come down to snatch it from the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring it up from that land to a beautiful and wide land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the territory of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now the loud lamentation of the Israelites has reached me, and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress it. And now go! I am sending you to Pharaoh. Bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt! (Exodus 3:7–10)

When Moses demanded that Pharaoh allow the Israelite slave laborers to conduct their belongings, Pharaoh resisted. To get him released, God sent ten plagues over the land. Nile water turned to blood, a frog invasion broke out, dust turned into lice and mosquitoes, flies tormented people and animals⁶⁷, cattle fell ill with the plague, people got painful ulcers, hail and fire, and swarms of locusts destroyed the harvest, darkness lasted three days in the land. Finally, the firstborn of the Egyptians died, while in the houses of the Israelites no one perished if the doorpost was smeared with the blood of a sacrificed lamb. In a grandiose psalm, the singer reminds the people, who are prone to breaking the covenant, of these events, which are as miraculous as they are cruel:

They no longer thought of his hand, of the day when he delivered it from the enemy,
when he performed his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the realm of Zoan. He turned their rivers and streams into blood; * They could no longer drink from it. He sent a swarm of flies against them, which devoured them, * an army of frogs, which they devoured. He left their harvest to the crickets and the locusts the fruits of their labors. Their vines he smashed with hail, * their mulberry trees with grains of ice. He left their cattle to the hail and their flocks to the plagues.

(Psalm 78:42–48)

Biblical research is trying to clarify whether there were real events behind these stories. Some suspect that the plagues were the effects of an eruption of the Thera volcano.⁶⁸ Notwithstanding such attempts at explanation, which are controversial in the professional world, the spiritual message seems clear:

God is on the side of the oppressed, whose suffering cries out to heaven. God hears their cry. God's commitment is aimed at liberation. God liberates through the political commitment of people.

This basic message is then unfolded in concrete stories and painted through narratives. These show how useless it is to resist God's will for liberation. Those who nevertheless risk it must expect hard lessons from God for themselves and their subjects. The reported plagues appear to be successful actions of God to change the mind of a supposedly powerful but recalcitrant Pharaoh. Locusts finally deterred him as well.

Valuable food

Locusts are better than their name and reputation. Today, 28 species are used as protein-rich foods. Thanks to this property, locusts contribute to relieving the tense food situation of the world's population. John the Baptist would make a good patron for this. After all, it is said of him: "John wore a robe of camel hair and a leather belt around his hips; Locusts and wild honey were his food." (Matthew 3:4; also Mark 1:6)

For European cuisine, eating locusts sounds like it takes some getting used to; the protein-containing mealworms are not inferior to them in this respect. The European migratory locust was (only) approved as a food in 2021. In other cooking cultures, they are eaten whole, crushed or ground. People in Cambodia have praised locusts as a sought-after dish since time immemorial. They are stuffed with peanuts, fried and served as a treat.

In Jewish cuisine, grasshoppers are among the kosher animals. The relevant instruction from the book of Leviticus reads:

All small animals with wings and four feet are an abomination to you. Of these small animals with wings and four feet, however, you can eat those that have jumping legs to hop on the ground. From them you can eat the different species of the migratory locust, the solam, the hargol and the Hagab locust. But all other small animals with wings and four feet are an abomination to you. (Leviticus 11:20–23)

In the future, more than ever, locusts will not only serve as valuable food. Owners of terrariums also feed their domestic reptiles with them. Some breed the locusts themselves.

Like locusts

In the biblical world, locusts were not only useful as food. Some of their characteristics served as comparisons. When Israel was to enter the land promised to it by God, not a few opposed it. A reconnaissance party was sent out to calm down. He returned with good news and bad news. The good news first: They brought a giant grape on a pole. The bad news:

The land we have wandered through and explored is a land that eats up its inhabitants; all the people we have seen in its midst are of enormous stature. We even saw the giants there – the Anakitians belong to the giants. We felt as small as locusts to ourselves, and we seemed like that to them, too. (Numbers 13:32f.)

Gideon

Gideon's great appearance in Israel's history is twice compared to locusts. As a prelude to his meteoric career is a gloomy report on Israel's military situation, which is illustrated with locusts:

The hand of Midian became strong against Israel. Before Midian, the Israelites prepared for themselves the ravines in the mountains and the caves and the mountain nests. But whenever the Israelites had sown, Midian, the Amalekites, and the people of the east came and marched against them. They besieged the Israelites and destroyed the harvest of the land as far as the Gaza area. They left no food in Israel, not even sheep, ox or donkey. For they went up with their flocks and with their tents. They came in as many numbers as locusts. Countless were they themselves, and so were their camels. They came and devastated the land. So Israel became very impoverished because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord. (Judges 6:2–6)

The frightened Israelites scream successfully. God himself decides to act. To do this, he uses the young Gideon. He "was just threshing wheat in the wine press to bring him to safety from Midian. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord be with you, mighty hero." (Judges 6:11f.) Gideon takes the liberty of replying that he does not feel that the Lord is with his people. Otherwise the enemies would not be able to attack his people in such a way. Today we would call such belligerent actions contrary to human rights. War against the civilian population by destroying food production. It happens, as the prophet paraphrased it: "They gather up booty, just as locusts gather everything together; as the grasshoppers leap, so one jumps and robs." (Isaiah 33:4) In addition, Gideon told the angel of God, he was not a hero and commanded only a few warriors.

After a clarifying dispute, Gideon must first declare his allegiance to the Lord and destroy the altar of Baal. What he does. Then he gets the order to move against Midian. To make sure that God actually goes with him and his men, Gideon tests God with two strange demands: He should let the nightly dew fall in such a way that it only falls on wool laid out by him; and vice versa for the second time. What actually happens. Now mutual trust has been established between God and Gideon. The war campaign can begin.

But once again God delays the start of the warlike action. Gideon has too many people in God's eyes. He is supposed to send a large number of them home. But God, who even after this retirement of many still fears that the people will not credit the victory to him, but to Gideon and his people, demands a further reduction in the number of men. A touching scene ensues. Those who are still left should go to the watering hole and drink. Those who kneel down to drink properly are also to be discarded by Gideon. Only those who bring water to their mouths with their hands in passing are fit for combat. It is worth meditating on the original text just because of the choice of words:

But the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are still too numerous. Lead them down to the water; there I will examine them for you. Of whom I say to you, 'Let him go with you,' let him go with you, let him go with you, and everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' shall not go." Gideon led the people down to the water, and the Lord said to him, "Put in a special place all those who lick up the water with their tongues, as a dog does, and also all those who kneel down to drink." The number of those who licked – with their hands to their mouths – was three hundred men. All the rest of the people, however, knelt down to drink the water. The Lord said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who have licked up, I will save you and give Midian into your hand." All the rest of the people are to go to their own place. (Judges 7:4–7)

A small company, with God in their midst, against the overpowering enemies! In order to remind us of their overwhelming superiority, the locusts come into play once again in the Gideon story: "Midian and Amalek and the people of the east had invaded the plain, numerous as locusts, and their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the shore of the sea." (Judges 7:12)

Then it starts. With a cunning tactic, Gideon's few warriors apparently surround the enemy camp at night. They make a huge noise with their ram's horns. At the same time, they smash the jugs in which blazing torches had been hidden and carried along. Noise and fire cause confusion and panic in the camp. Many kill each other and finally flee. A small flock inflicts a crushing defeat on the locust-like enemy army. And God takes credit for this crushing victory.

A similar fate is threatened by the prophet Jeremiah against the populous Babel: "The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself, 'Even though I have filled you with men as with locusts, yet they will strike up the battle cry against you.'" (Jeremiah 51:14) In carrying out this threat, horses come up, "like bristly locusts" (Jeremiah 51:27).

Litmus test for employees in the churches

The situation of the church is perceived by the renowned pastoral theologian Rainer Bucher as hardly less "precarious" than that of Israel in view of the superiority of its enemies. And it is. The relationship between available employees and the challenges of proclamation is one-sided, as it once was with Gideon. Gideon's question to God is also permissible in today's church: Is God really on our side when things are so bad for the church? Even more: Aren't some of our own ranks busy worshipping Baal? Are there traces of an "ecclesial atheism" (Josef Fischer) in the midst of the church?

But doesn't what God expected of Gideon also apply to the church: that few are enough in God's eyes to prove his power of love "victorious" in the world: that is, to establish the kingdom of God in the world now? Should the only requirement today be that the few seriously rely on God?

And then the litmus test for the fit warriors at the waterhole. Wouldn't this test also be useful for those who are in some way in the service of God in his church? Are those unfit who kneel down before the spring and drink themselves "sitt", which makes them satisfied, tired and unfit for the mission? Or are those who are far more suitable who, in passing, only drink what is absolutely necessary in order to thirst unquenched for God and for a commitment for the coming of his kingdom to the earth passionately loved by God (Joel 2:18)? Such contemporary people of God could find themselves in this psalm, in which the locusts appear again:

But you, God and Lord, deal with me according to your name. * Yes, good is your lovingkindness, deliver me. For I am bowed and poor, * my heart is pierced within me. Like a fleeting shadow I fade away, * like a grasshopper they shake me off. My knees tremble from fasting, * my flesh decreases and becomes lean. Yes, I became a mockery to them, * they shake their heads when they see me. Help me, O Lord my God, * in your lovingkindness deliver me.
(Psalm 109:21–26)

One last appearance

In the apocalyptic visions of the seer of Patmos, seven angels appear with trumpets. They each announce oppressive events. At the sound of the first four trumpets, disaster comes upon the land, the sea, the rivers and springs of water, as well as the sun and stars.

At the sound of the fifth trumpet, locusts make their last biblical appearance. A falling star opens a shaft in the earth. Smoke rises from it, which darkens the sun and air. Then locusts fly out of the smoke. They are drawn in detail as mythical creatures. Images flow into each other. The locusts have human faces, they are like horses that are not only prepared for battle, but are about to plunge into it. Her chest is armored. They have a set of teeth like lions. As they fly, their wings create a war roar. Like scorpions, they carry tails and spikes. In these is their poisonous power (Revelation 9:7–10). So their appearance is equipped with body parts of big cats and poisonous scorpions. This increases their threateningness.

What is unusual is that they are not intended to harm the grass, green plants and trees. Rather, they are to torment those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads for five months. The torment is so unbearable that the tormented – albeit in vain – wish for death, but do not find it.

The locusts, at first wonderful creatures of God, but then more and more often henchmen in divine punitive actions against a recalcitrant Pharaoh, against the covenant-breaking people of Israel and against their enemies, merge completely with the evil that is destroyed in the end.

Unlike the lion, there is no prospect of an apocalyptic happy ending for the locusts. At the end of days, the lion loses his unredeemed dark side. He then gets along with the lamb, just as the child is no longer endangered by the snake. The snake and dragon also become paradisiacal peaceful. There is no longer any talk of locusts in the new heaven and the new earth. Have they had their day because God's punishment has come to an end? Or are they simply an unnamed being in that creation that groans for salvation (Romans 8:22) and finds it in a new earth?

Sabbath rest also for cattle

Insults are often animalistic. People snap at each other as dirty pigs, scaredy-cats, stubborn bucks or envious hamsels. The cattle also have to serve for hearty names: cattle, horned ox or stupid cow. Such a pejorative use of words does not do justice to the cattle, which are the subject of this animal meditation.

With horses and pigs, cattle belong to the large cattle. Those who were rich in Israel had many of them: "Abram had a very considerable possession of cattle, silver and gold." (Genesis 13:2). The farmer Amos said to Amaziah, who successfully lured him away from his flocks because God needed a prophet: "I am a herdsman and graft mulberry figs." (Amos 7:14) King Hezekiah, on the other hand, "had procured for himself donkeys and a rich possession of sheep and cattle; for God had bestowed upon him a very great fortune" (2 Chronicles 32:29).

At the same time, however, the warning that was also appropriate today was valid, which drove the evangelist Luke. She opposed an attitude of believing oneself secure through possession and forgetting God: "When your cattle, sheep and goats multiply, and silver and gold accumulate with you, and all your possessions increase, then take heed that your heart does not become arrogant, and that you destroy the Lord your God, will not forget." (Deuteronomy 8:13f.)

Those who were rich, like Pharaoh in Egypt, owned an enormous number of cattle, including cattle. He considered himself to be stewards and shepherds. When old Jacob and his sons moved to the land of Goshen with their belongings because of the famine in Canaan, Pharaoh asked Joseph to choose "capable people" from among their retinue. He was to appoint them "as overseers over my (Pharaoh's) flocks." (Genesis 47:6).

It was probably no coincidence that the Pharaoh then dreamed first of seven fat cows and then of seven lean cows. For Joseph, who was thrown into a cistern by his "unbrothers", freed by passing merchants and sold in Egypt to Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, the chief of the bodyguard (Genesis 37:1–36), this was a veritable opportunity. He understood, like today's economic sages, that these cows were good symbols of the country's impending economic situation (Genesis 41:1–26). Pharaoh was so impressed that he placed Joseph over the entire land of Egypt (Genesis 41:43).

What alienates us today is the firm assumption in Israel that only those people who remain faithful to God are doing well. Bible scholars speak of the doing-going connection, which, however, is critically evaluated in the book of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 6:11 – 9:6). This affected health, but also livestock. A positive example: "If you listen to the voice of the Lord your God, keeping and keeping all his commandments to which I bind you today, the Lord your God will exalt you above all the peoples of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and reach you if you listen to the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed are you in the city, blessed are you in the country. Blessed is the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your field and the fruit of your cattle, the litter of your cattle and the increase of lambs and goats." (Deuteronomy 28:1–4) After all, it sounds like a successful courtship of God. But it also works the other way around: When proclaiming the Ten Commandments, God has the prophet Moses say to the people: "I will punish the fathers for the children, for the third and fourth generation, for those who hate me." (Exodus 20:5)

However, the story of the sufferer Job does not fit perfectly with this assumption. He clings to God even when he is devastated. A story from the Warsaw Ghetto is entirely along this line. The rabbis sat in judgment on God in the face of the catastrophe of the believing Jews. Then they pronounced the verdict. One rabbi after another said: "God, you are guilty!" The Chief Rabbi was the last to arrive. His words: "God, you are guilty. So let us worship!"

Jesus did not subscribe to this traditional view of punishing descendants for the sins of their ancestors. It did not represent a smooth doing-going connection. This is shown by an incident reported by the evangelist John. On the way, Jesus meets a man who has been blind since birth. So his blindness could not be the result of his own evil deeds. But perhaps it is the punishment for the evil deeds of his ancestors – after all, God punishes over generations, according to tradition. But then Jesus says categorically: Stop: "Neither he nor his parents have sinned, but the works of God shall be manifested in him." (John 9:2) And if we do, we are not punished for our sins, but far more by our sins, because they wound others and ourselves.

Cattle were essential for survival

However, cattle were not only a sign of wealth, but also vital pets for the entire population. They were fully involved in the everyday life of ordinary people. When the prophet Jonah nevertheless agreed to give his threatening sermon of repentance to Nineveh after his adventure in the belly of the fish, he was immediately listened to by the townspeople. Everyone, including cattle, joined in: "They proclaimed a fast... All people and animals, cattle, sheep and goats, shall not eat, graze or drink water." (Jonah 3:5–10)

In Israel, cows were needed in the fields for ploughing as well as a sought-after food. Because they were cloven-hoofed animals and ruminants at the same time, their meat could be served. Serving beef meat was a sign of high hospitality. This is what old Abraham did when the three men came to see him. He welcomed them and instructed his wife Sarah to bake flatbread. He himself "ran on to the cattle, took a tender and beautiful calf, and gave it to the servant, who quickly prepared it" (Genesis 18:7). A story that made the couple, who had become old and barren, not only hosts for the God of the Three Figures, but also unexpectedly good hope.

At least three hours apart from eating meat, cow's milk and milky dishes prepared from it could also be consumed according to the Jewish dietary law Kaschrutz. However, these would be unacceptable directives for contemporary vegetarians, vegans and those who oppose the consumption of beef for ecological reasons. After all, cattle breeding, for which huge areas of forest have been cut down in Amazonia, produces too much methane, which threatens the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere and drives up the earth's temperature. At that time, however, such considerations did not have to be made.

How vital cattle were for survival was also shown by the conduct of war. The Midianites, who resisted being driven out by the "chosen people" on their way to the promised land, systematically destroyed the livelihoods of the invading Israelites. They starved the opponents. (Joshua 6:3–6)

In the long run, the Midianites could not stop the advancing armies of Israel. They conquered the land and killed all the kings. Among the fallen was the pagan prophet Balaam, whose donkey was able to speak, although he had refused to curse Israel. Then the war chronicle describes Israel's struggle for annihilation in the conquered territory in brutal vividness: "The women of Midian and their small children took the Israelites with them as prisoners. They plundered all their cattle and their possessions and their belongings. They burned down all the cities in the Midianite settlement area and their tent villages. They took all the people and all the cattle they had captured and stolen with them." (Numbers 31:9–11)

The Decalogue proved to be God's commandment for peaceful fair-weather times. In times of war, it was no longer true: "You shall not covet the house of your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, not his slave or his female slave, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17; also Deuteronomy 5:21) Is it enough to argue that enemies were not "neighbors"? It is also irritating that women, slaves, donkeys and cattle were considered equally low. On Mount Sinai, had Moses understood God's instructions for life through the filter of the patriarchal culture of the time, in which women were part of the property? On the other hand, the psychologically meaningful admonition sounds insightful: "Do not exalt yourself in the desire of your soul, so that your strength is not robbed like that of a bull!" (Jesus Sirach 6:2)

Bane and loot

The bitter thing about this procedure, which is inadmissible according to today's human and animal rights, even in times of war, is that it was the normality of martial law at that time. When you see the images of modern wars in Ukraine or the Gaza Strip, for example, it seems to be no different today.

The two main measures after a defeat of the enemy at that time were: execute the ban and make booty. The program was called annihilation. The ban was carried out by killing all men fit for military service and destroying the flourishing cities. Valuables such as gold and silver were looted. Women, children and the elderly were kidnapped as slaves. The healthy and strong animals were also taken as prey. The weak, on the other hand, were killed.

Animal ethics

The rules of war, in their unimaginable harshness today, once again prove how important cattle were for the survival of humans. However, not all rules were as brutal as those for the wars of the time. This is shown by legal instructions for peacetime. Here are examples that concern the cattle: If someone had not covered a well and a cow fell to its death as a result, the well owner had to pay compensation. If an ox killed another ox by pushing it, the animal had to be sold and the proceeds divided (Exodus 21:33–35). If someone stole an ox and it could not be returned, the thief was sold as a slave (Exodus 22:2). There was a milder version: "If someone steals a cow or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he should give five head of cattle for the cattle or four head of small cattle for the sheep as a substitute." (Exodus 21:37)

If, on the other hand, a cow kills a person, "then you have to stone the cow and you can't eat its meat." If this was not the first time this had happened, "the cattle should be stoned and its owner must also die". (Exodus 21:28–30) The pasture land required for cattle farming was also strictly protected: "If someone grazes a field or a vineyard and lets his cattle run free so that they graze someone else's field, then he should give the best yield of his field or vineyard as a substitute." (Exodus 22:4)

There are biblical passages that dig deeper and can serve as a foundation for practical animal ethical instructions. First and foremost, animals are considered good creatures of God. From an evolutionary point of view, it is remarkable that, according to the first account of creation, they were brought forth from the earth, as was the case with man afterwards. The animals are then named by man and entrusted to him for administration (Genesis 1:24-26). "Administration" is probably an appropriate translation for the "dominion" of which Psalm 8 speaks, but which means dominion in the sense of God's heger-nurturing rule:

You have appointed him ruler over the works of your hands, * you have put all things under his feet: sheep and oxen, all of them * and also the wild beasts, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, * which travels in the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:7–9)

Jesus takes Sirach the same line: "Do you have livestock? Pay attention to him, and if he is useful to you, he shall remain with you." (Jesus Sirach 7:22) Cruelty to animals does not fit into this animal ethics. Thus, before his death, Jacob can complain in his testamentary "blessing" about his sons Simeon and Levi that they are instruments of violence. He therefore wanted nothing to do with them: "For in their anger they killed men, wantonly paralyzed bulls." (Genesis 49:6)

In our society, which tends to work through even on Sundays, it may sound strange that in Israel the commandment of Sabbath rest applies to everyone: to son and daughter, slave and slave, cattle and donkey, to all cattle and, last but not least, to the strangers who are in the city. (Deuteronomy 5:14; Exodus 20:10) Such a Sunday rest would also be advantageous today not only because of the time of worship, family and social services. It also creates that time of leisure that makes one wise. For "how will he become wise who holds the plow, who boasts of the driving stick, who drives cattle and occupies himself with their work and converses with young bulls?" (Jesus Sirach 38:25)

The End of the Victims

God's chosen people were exceedingly self-sacrificing. A variety of sacrifices were offered. Some sacrifices were named according to their purpose: the burnt offering was for the worship of God, the thanksgiving offering was offered for grace received and experienced blessing, the sin offering was to forgive sins. Other names are due to what was sacrificed: drink offerings, food offerings.

In Israel, cattle were sacrificed with preference, along with other pure animals. In this respect, the people were no different from their surrounding cultures. Cattle sacrifices were common in Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire. The Greek Olympus was quite familiar with the bull. When the womanizer Zeus was once again in heat, he turned into a bull in order to kidnap the extraordinarily beautiful daughter of the king of the Phoenicians Agenor named Europa from Tyre across the Mediterranean Sea to Crete. What a shallow founding story of an emerging continent! According to another version, Zeus was not yet married to Hera at that time and was looking for a bride when he came across the beautiful Europa and he stole her as a bull-strong bride.

In Hinduism, cows are sacred. They must not be killed. "Old people's homes" are being built for old cows. Mahatma Gandhi is said to have said: "The protection of cattle is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism will live as long as there are Hindus who protect the cattle."⁶⁹

In Israel, sacrifice had not only a religious side, but also an economic side. If the gift was not cremated as in the case of the burnt offering, much of the gifts remained. This secured the livelihood of the priests. These all came from the tribe of Levi. When the conquered territories were distributed to the twelve tribes of Israel, they received no land (Numbers 18:1–8). Rather, the Levites were appointed for temple service.

The Levites were able to live well on the offerings. Israel was happy to celebrate and thus to make sacrifices. The identity as a people was based on its festivals.⁷⁰ Over the course of a year, a series of joint feasts took place in the temple in Jerusalem. The list, which is by no means exhaustive here, begins with the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which not only celebrates the beginning of the year, but also commemorates the creation of man. On the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the forgiveness of the sins of the people is celebrated; on this day, the "goat for Azazel" is driven into the wilderness, where he perishes, and with him the sins of the people, which had been charged to him by the high priest (Numbers 16:6–10, 20–22). The Sukkot Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the wandering through the desert. Its seventh day of the festival is known as the Palm Festival Hoshana Rabbah and is concluded on the eighth day with the festival of Shmini Azeret. The festival of Simchat Torah is dedicated to the joy of the Torah. On Hanukkah, the festival of lights, candlesticks are lit for eight days. Outstanding of all the festivals is Passover, as it were the founding festival of Israel, which owes its existence to the liberation from Egypt. Passover is a family festival. Only in the time of the Second Temple, i.e. also in the time of Jesus, did everyone make a pilgrimage to the temple. Jesus died – symbolically – on the afternoon before the Passover, when the lambs were slaughtered in the temple.

Many offerings were donated at the joint festivals. In addition, there were "private" thanksgiving offerings. Above all, however, the male firstborn fell to the temple as a secure permanent income, both human and animal, because they belonged to the Lord: "The firstborn among your sons you shall give me. You shall do the same with your cattle, sheep and goats. They shall stay with their mother for seven days, and on the eighth day you shall hand them over to me." (Exodus 22:28f.) This regulation reminded us that before the Exodus from Egypt, the firstborn of the Egyptians had perished, while that of the Israelites had been spared. The firstborn of humans and unclean animals were "redeemed" by money, while the flawless pure animals were handed over to the temple servants and slaughtered. (Numbers 18:15–18)

The Bible reports unimaginable numbers of sacrificial animals, especially cattle. The wise King Solomon is to serve as an example, who did not ask God for wealth when he took office, but for a listening heart. He wanted to become a good ruler of his people by listening to the welfare of the people. That would be good advice for politicians in our days, when politics has a bad reputation.⁷¹ Already at Solomon's accession to the throne it says: "The next day they offered sacrifices to the Lord. They offered a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs and the drink offerings that belonged to them as burnt offerings. In addition, there were a lot of sacrifices for all Israel." (1 Chronicles 29:21) Even more sacrificial animals had to lose their lives for the lavish inauguration of the famous "first temple":

Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. King Solomon had twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep slaughtered as sacrifices. Thus the king and all the people performed the consecration of the house of God. The priests did their duty and the Levites played the instruments for the songs of the Lord. King David had these utensils made to praise the Lord, for his lovingkindness endures forever. While the Levites were praising David, the priests blew the trumpets in front of them, and all Israel participated. Solomon consecrated the center of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord when he offered the burnt offerings and the fat pieces of the salvation offerings there. The bronze altar that Solomon had made could not contain the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the pieces of fat. (2 Chronicles 7:4–7)

The Jewish sacrificial cult was tied to the temple. Therefore, the destruction of Solomon's temple, built around 950, by the Neo-Babylonians around 587/86 BC brought about a temporary end to the temple sacrifices. After returning home from Babylonian exile, a new temple was built in 515 BC with Persian funding and sacrificial work resumed. However, Roman troops plundered this "second temple" in 70 AD and destroyed it. At the western perimeter walls built by Herod, pious Jews pray to this day and lament their fate. Popes have also put prayer notes in the cracks of the wall when visiting the Western Wall and remained in silence for a while.

The end of the temples and the sacrificial operation gave impetus to think more deeply about "sacrifice". Such victim-critical reflection will now be told in this meditation on the sacrificed cattle.

After its destruction, sacrifices could no longer be tied to the temple and thus to the priesthood. Jesus, who cleansed the temple in Jerusalem of sacrificial dealers, would have considered this a very good development. One day, when he was talking to a Samaritan woman at a well, the woman raised the question of where God could be worshipped. First of all, she recalls the practice of her own people. The Samaritans had settled because of the religious reform by Ezra and Nehemiah in 440 BC.  Christ. separated from the temple cult in Jerusalem. They built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, where God had blessed selected tribes of Israel (Numbers 27:12). There, their priests organized their own services. This is how the woman was able to speak to Jesus:

Our fathers worshiped God on this mountain; but you say that Jerusalem is the place where one must worship. Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem." You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know; for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and it is already here, when the true prayers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for this is how the Father wants to be worshipped. God is spirit and all who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:20–24)

In the folk mass set to music by Franz Schubert in 1827, it says in the spirit of Jesus' announcement:

Lord, you have heard my supplication, blissfully it throbs in my breast,out into the world, into life now follows me the joy of heaven.There also you are close to me, everywhere and at all times. Everywhere is your temple, where the heart is devoutly consecrated to you. (Text by Johann Philipp Neumann)

But it was not only with regard to the place of sacrifice that questions arose. Rather, it was also about the quality of victim practice. According to the criticism of the great prophets, this often lost its connection to everyday life practice over time. Sacrificial piety was decoupled from "doing justice", although in Israel this was a prerequisite for being allowed to enter the temple at all (Psalm 15:1): only those who practiced "justice and justice" were capable of worship.

Cult criticism was thus always at the same time social criticism for the prophets. This made the prophet Amos say in the name of God: "I hate your feasts, I detest them and cannot smell your feasts." (Amos 5:21) So did the festivals serve more the identity politics of the people than a life-changing worship of God? The prophet Hosea argued in the same vein: "For I delight in love, not in sacrifices, in the knowledge of God more than in burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6)

On two occasions, according to Matthew, Jesus takes up this quote from the prophet Hosea. When the pious and scribes sharply criticized him for sitting down at a table with the sinful tax collector, he reminded us of the prophet Hosea: "It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick. Go and learn what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice! For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:12f.)

And Jesus used this quote a second time. On the Sabbath, of all days, his disciples plucked ears of corn to satisfy their hunger. Again, Jesus was criticized by the scribes. Jesus provoked them by asking if they had forgotten that the priests also eat in the temple on the Sabbath—which they could not deny. "I say to you, here is greater things than the temple. If you had understood what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent; for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:6f.)

The cult criticism of the prophets, including that of Jesus, can be seamlessly applied to our Christian worship practice. A Eucharistic celebration is the commemoration of the unique self-sacrifice of the true High Priest Jesus, which is different from the "blood of bulls and goats ... take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). Whoever commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus nestles as it were in the gift of Jesus. This allows him to participate in the transformation that began on the cross: into the transformation of violence into love. This transformation continues in the transformation of the gifts and the gathered community. Celebrations therefore leave a Eucharistic celebration in a different way than they do in it: they have just been walked. In this way alone, they contribute to the transformation of the world. These were prayed for in the celebration when the Lord's Prayer was sung together. Would not some Old Testament prophets still complain today: I want justice, not sacrifice!? Or Isaiah: "He hoped for a good regiment (צְדָקָה), but lo and behold: blood regiment. On community loyalty (מִשְׁפָט) but lo and behold: cry for help." (Isaiah 5:7⁷²) And this is because some celebrants go into the celebration resistant to change and thus refuse to become an instrument of the transformation of the world through God himself. For such refusers of conversion, meditation on a warning by the prophet Micah could do you good: "It has been told you, O man, what is good and what the Lord expects of you: Nothing else than this: Do right, love kindness and walk mindfully with your God." (Micah 6:8).

This animal meditation began with swear words that we use to insult each other. In the end, there should be one that the prophet Hosea intended for his people Israel in the name of God. This had betrayed the covenant with its God, which the psalmist sings of: "They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a bull eating grass." (Psalm 106:20). This angered God, which he also let the people know through the prophet: "Yes, Israel has become stubborn like a stubborn cow. And now the Lord should feed them like lambs in a wide field?" (Hosea 4:16)

In the Romanesque church of St. Georg zu Obernzell on the island of Reichenau, there is an old fresco in the left part of the presbytery. Four little devils hold a large tanned cowhide. It is described to the brim. Above are two women who are talking animatedly. What an artful representation of the proverb, which is not at all women-friendly: "That doesn't go on a cowhide!"

Of pearls and pigs

Not pearls before the pigs

Jesus' program in life was to bring the kingdom of God, which he also called the kingdom of heaven, to earth. He also explained how important this commission of his God was to him in the parable of the precious pearl. A merchant who found them sold all his possessions in order to acquire them (Matthew 13:44f.). On another occasion, Jesus places the holy and a pearl on the equal level, and then warns not to give the holy thing to the dogs and not to throw the pearls to the swine.

But pigs are not pearl eaters. Pearl food could frustrate the pigs, which are considered intelligent animals, and trigger aggression in them. They would, as Jesus paints it, crush the pearls and then turn against the pearl throwers and tear them apart: which wild boars, boars that feel threatened, or brooks that defend their young are quite capable of.

The pigs do not have a good reputation in this wise saying of Jesus. Here the shining pearls – there the dirty pigs. Our feeling for language has taken over the negative tone. This led to the common phrase "throwing pearls before swine": You give someone something valuable that this person does not appreciate.

By the way, it is not the only idiom with pig or "sow". In other idioms, connections to and comparisons with a pig are made. Some of these are benevolent, such as: Someone has (had) a pig. In order to have this in the New Year, pigs made of marzipan are given away on New Year's Eve; Happiness and prosperity may come in the new year. When I lead courses on the development of a parish, I take a giant porcelain piggy bank with me; if you complain, you have to put a fifty-euro note in it. The term "jack-of-all-trades" cannot be surpassed.

In Swabian, word combinations with "sau" are a bridge between good and less good connotations. Someone is very nice, something is damn good. But then there is: Someone or something is stupid. This brings us to the well-staffed "piggy" dark field. There you will find piggy, piggy or: No pig can read that. It appeals to the inner weaker self, which should be overcome. Although pigs can't whistle, Spontis of the seventies said: "My pig whistles!" to express outrage at the outrageous. The expression is very coarse: You are a pig (morally meant)! There is an analogous sexist phrase in the Bible: "A golden ring in the trunk of a pig is a woman who is beautiful but immoral." (Proverbs 11:22)

Perhaps in this animal meditation on the pig it will be possible to understand the bad reputation on the one hand, but on the other hand also to bring the good sides of the pig into the light.

Impure

For Jews, as in Babylonia and Egypt before them, the pig, like other cloven-hoofed animals that were not ruminants, was considered an "unclean animal" (Leviticus 11:1–8, 26; Deuteronomy 14:8). Roast pork was therefore not on the menu of Jewish families. Just touching such an animal made you unclean.

A nice anecdote tells of a (at least mental) circumvention of the ban. A rabbi goes shopping. He passes a butcher's shop and sees a wonderful pork ham in the display. He bravely passes by. But after a few meters he turns around, enters the shop and says to the butcher: Please give me 200 grams of this fish in the display. To which the butcher replies: But Rabbi, that's not a fish, it's a ham. To which the rabbi replied: Did I ask you what the fish out there was called?

Islam has adopted the taboo on pork from Judaism with some flexibility.

"He has forbidden you only to eat what is naturally dead, blood, swine, and that about which anything other than Allah has been invoked. But if anyone is compelled to do so without coveting and without exceeding the measure, then he is not guilty." (Qur'an 2:173)

Experts discuss how this food taboo came about. It can hardly be health considerations. Science has only known since the 19th century that there are trichinella in raw pork that cause harm to humans. Another tentative attempt at explanation is that pig farming has something to do with sedentariness, which Israel resisted.

In any case, pigs were considered unclean at the time of Jesus. Eating meat from pigs was contrary to the law of Moses. This Jewish dietary order led to a fierce dispute in the young Christian church, which was still closely linked to the Jewish religious community. Petrus wanted to keep it with a view to Jewish culture. Paul, who wanted to bring Christianity into Greco-Roman culture, did not.

In ancient Greece as well as in the Roman Empire, unlike in the Middle East, the pig was an important source of food. From the epic of Homer we learn that Odysseus had herds of pigs. The shepherd of his pigs, Eumaius, has received him on arrival home after his long odyssey.⁷³ In the oldest cookbook in Rome by Caelius Apicus⁷⁴ , most of the dishes proposed there are prepared with pork. Pork was essential for the survival of the inhabitants of Rome. Rome's rulers had it distributed free of charge among the inhabitants for decades. Gradually, pork found its way onto tables throughout the Roman Empire.

This remained the case in Europe in the Christian Middle Ages. To ensure that pork was available throughout the year, it was cured, dried or smoked. Separate smokehouses were built for the bacon. Clothing was also hung in these to protect them from moths. My grandfather's rarely worn suit therefore smelled of bacon.

All this had become possible because at the Apostles' Council in the year 70 (Acts 15:1–35; Galatians 2:1–10), it was not Peter but Paul who had prevailed. This conciliar church assembly decided, as is reported, together with the Holy Spirit: Whoever becomes a Christian does not have to become a Jew. It is not the adoption of the law that is needed, but the reliance on God's gratuitous grace. Thus, no circumcision, but black pudding and pork on the menu, especially of the poorer sections of the population. To this day, pork schnitzel is cheaper than the real Viennese veal schnitzel.

After all, Christianity has freed the pig from its impurity with this decision. Pigs could now be again, unhindered by religious regulations, what they had already been in Neolithic primeval times: useful domestic animals of humans. However, their benefits were comparatively limited. Unlike horses or cattle, they could not be harnessed to a wagon. The possibilities of pig farming were also limited. Pigs do not tolerate bright sun, need their own feed and sufficient water. They clean themselves in mud baths. They could therefore not simply be led to pastures like cattle. However, forests with oaks, so-called Huthwälder in municipal ownership, offered adequate pasture land for pigs. Pig drive to such pastures was possible. But it shouldn't be long distances to get there. Pigs, which were bred even in some areas of Israel in times of need, were thus relatively tied to a specific location. That was also an advantage. Camels, cattle and horses are mentioned as spoils of war, but not pigs.

Pig sacrifice

The religious world in Israel shaped not only the menu, but also the temple operation. Some suspect that pigs were (also) considered unclean so that they could not be sacrificed in the temple (Peter Heine⁷⁵). Was this an attempt in Israel to shield its (monotheistic) belief in God from the (polytheistic) divine cultures of neighboring peoples? In view of Greek and Roman cult practice, this seemed plausible. In the Greek Olympus of the gods, the pig had a secure place: a pig accompanied the Greek goddess of fertility, Demeter. In both cultures, pigs were sacrificed to gods in advance.

There were now times in Israel's history when large parts of the people became unfaithful to Yahweh and his commandments. They "modernized" themselves, as it were, and adopted the practices of the admired neighboring peoples of their own accord: grammar schools as well as pig sacrifices. The prophet Isaiah therefore had God accused:

All day long I stretched out my hands for an apostate people, for those who walk the way that is not good, after their own plans, for the people who constantly offend me to the face: those who slaughter in gardens and smoke on bricks, who sit in burial chambers and spend the nights in caves, who eat pork and have unclean broth in their pots.
(Isaiah 65:2–4)

Such unfaithfulness to the covenant enrages God and will have fatal consequences for the apostates, the prophet continued.

For with fire and his sword the Lord will judge all flesh, and those pierced by the Lord will be numerous. Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves by the gardens behind the one who stands in the middle, who eat swine, abominations, and mice, all together they come to an end, declares the Lord. (Isaiah 66:16f.)

In other times, Israel's traditional faith was suppressed and eradicated by occupiers. "Pagan" cults were forcibly introduced in order to destroy the identity of the oppressed people from within.

In order to test people's loyalty to the established religion, the occupiers required Jews to do what was an abomination according to their law. This is reported from the time of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He ruled in the Seleucid Empire, one of the successor states of the Greek Alexander Empire, to which the land of Judah with its capital Jerusalem belonged. He strove for a cultural unification of all areas of his empire. That is why he also demanded that the people of occupied Judah give up their religious peculiarities. "You could neither keep the Sabbath nor celebrate the old feasts, yes, you were no longer allowed to profess to be a Jew at all." (2 Maccabees 6:6) To this end, the king decreed a series of religious-political measures: He banned the temple cult, with it the traditional festivals and the usual sacrifices. "Instead, one should build altars, sanctuaries and temples for the foreign gods and sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals." (1 Maccabees 1:47) The observance of the Sabbath and the circumcision of the sons were prohibited. Mothers who did not comply were threatened with a cruel public execution: "Women who had had their children circumcised were executed by order of the king; the babies were hung on the necks of their mothers." (1 Maccabees 1:60f.) A large part of the fickle people willingly submitted to the royal orders and abandoned the faith of their fathers. "Nevertheless, many from Israel remained firm and strong; They did not eat anything that was unclean. They would rather die than make themselves unclean by the food and profane the holy covenant. That's how they died." (1 Maccabees 1:62f.)

The refusal to eat pork and participate in pig sacrifices is the moving and instructive story of the martyrdom of the seven sons before the eyes of their brave mother.⁷⁶ The sufferings of the sons are described in detail, presumably to make the martyrdom seem all the more astonishing: pans and kettles were heated; the tongue was cut off, which one of the sons immediately stuck out voluntarily; the scalp was peeled off in the Scythian manner and nose, ears, hands and feet were chopped off piece by piece. A horribly mutilated man, who was still breathing, was brought to the fire and roasted, so that the mist from the pan spread in all directions.

With the youngest son, the king, who had already been unsuccessful with six men and was therefore frustrated, made another attempt to change his mind. The mother herself was to persuade him to apostate. At the same time, the corrupt ruler tried bribery and promised wealth and high offices. But the mother also encouraged her last son in her mother tongue to remain steadfast. She, and not the corrupt king, succeeded. The last son, after mocking the king, was tortured even more brutally than the others and bravely went to his death. "Finally, after her sons, the mother died." (2 Maccabees 7:41)

Interspersed in this narrative (2 Maccabees 7:1–42) are messages to the reader that can also make us spiritually thoughtful today. The author of the second book of Maccabees had already made known in the introduction his pedagogical intention; he tries to make the ultimately incomprehensible understandable:

At this point, I would like to admonish the readers of the book not to be discouraged by the terrible events. You may remember that the punishments are not meant to destroy our people, but to educate them. For if sinners are not spared for long, but punished immediately, this is a sign of great goodness. With the other nations, the Lord waits patiently until the measure of their sins is full; only then does he strike. With us, however, he decided to proceed differently so that he would not have to condemn us in the end if we had taken our sins to the extreme. Therefore, he never withdraws his mercy from us, but educates his people through misfortune and does not abandon them. This should be said to us for heed. After this short digression, however, let us continue with the narrative. (2 Maccabees 6:12–17)

These are just a few of the key messages, insights, and exhortations:

A truly believing Jew is more likely to die than to "transgress the laws of our fathers" (2 Maccabees 7:2). Such beliefs were not only held by people in Israel, but also by other religions. Quite a few faith-resilient Christians have endured and continue to withstand persecution to this day.

It is only in these late writings of the Bible (which, by the way, were not included in the Hebrew Bible) that the hope of resurrection appears. "You [King] are taking this life from us; but the King of the world will resurrect us to a new, eternal life." (2 Maccabees 7:9) For the tormented, the hope of the resurrection relativized the significance of the earthly, transient life. It strengthened stamina. What bothered the martyrs was torture rather than death. Is that why it was staged so brutally in order to create unbearable pain, in the hope that it is not the fear of death but the agony of torture that will bend the victim?

Biblical narratives already consider the meaning of the suffering of believers in particular. This question was asked in Israel not only with regard to individual martyrs, but with regard to the whole people. The prophets, who had to speak to the conscience of the people in the name of God, saw a connection between the unfaithfulness of the covenant people and their often immeasurable suffering. Suffering seems like a divine educational measure that is supposed to lead to conversion. Repentance, however, begins with the insight: "For we suffer only because we have sinned. Even if the living Lord is angry with us for a short time, to educate us by punishments, he will still be reconciled to his servants." (2 Maccabees 7:32f.) Of course, this is not a comprehensively satisfactory answer. For those who – deviating from the mainstream of the people – have not broken the covenant are also suffering: the martyrs of the faith. Are they suffering vicariously? To remind the timid who were in danger of adapting to the foreign way of life, to encourage them to be steadfast as well?

In all clarity, gloomy threatening words are spoken about the persecutors. They would commit grave injustice, desecrate the temple, mock the true God, murder his followers. The knowledge of the resurrection is also applied to them. This time, however, the resurrection message does not provide hope. Rather, this knowledge ensures that the injustice of the powerful will not go unpunished. For the sake of final justice, there must be a resurrection. Otherwise, the blatant misdeeds of history would remain unpunished forever. According to the document "Our Hope" of the post-conciliar synod in Germany (1972-1975), it would be deeply inhumane to forget and suppress the question of the lives of the dead. "For it means to forget and suppress the past sufferings and to surrender to the senselessness of these sufferings without contradiction. After all, no happiness of the grandchildren makes up for the suffering of the fathers, and no social progress reconciles the injustice that happened to the dead."⁷⁷ Thus the youngest of the sons can hurl in the face of the king before his torture and murder: "But you wicked one, you greatest criminal of mankind, do not exalt yourself in vain in the arrogance of uncertain hopes, when you lift up your hand against the children of heaven! For you have not yet escaped the judgment of Almighty God, who sees all things. Our brethren have now died, after a short suffering, with the divine assurance of eternal life for the covenant of God; but you will pay the just penalty for your arrogance at the judgment of God." (2 Maccabees 7:34–36) Could not the punishment for the fiends in the end be that they will be destroyed forever because of the condemnation in the court? The book of Maccabees seems to think in this direction: "God has given us the hope that he will resurrect us. We like to wait for this when we die at the hands of humans. But for you there is no resurrection to life." (2 Maccabees 7:14)⁷⁸

Pigs and Jesus' Power

Pigs that appear in the proclamation of Jesus do not enjoy a good reputation either. This has already become apparent in the aforementioned saying of Jesus not to throw pearls before the pigs. In the account of an exorcism of demons as well as in a parable of Jesus, this negative pig evaluation persists. Jesus probably took over the hallmarking of the pigs as an unclean animal that was not allowed to be eaten or sacrificed in Israel. He did not problematize this view. Apparently, Jesus, as a Jew, was not bothered by the negative image of pigs, which was taken for granted at the time. There is no trace of creation-theological animal ethics.

Demons in the herd of pigs

The story is quickly told.⁷⁹ Two possessed people, one of whom is the spokesman, stand in Jesus' way. Her profile is terrifying. They live like the dead in burial caves, can hardly be tamed, scream at Jesus. He tries non-violent communication and asks for the name. The spokesman cryptically replies: "Legion. Because there are many of us." A formula that literally catches your ear: it appears in songs of pop culture⁸⁰ that comes across as more pious than one might expect in view of the religious illiteracy in our culture. Then the possessed, as the mouthpiece of the demons, admit that Jesus as the "Son of God" is superior to them and can finally disempower them. But they still want to remain "incorporated" as spirit beings and propose a huge herd of pigs to Jesus as a new place of activity instead of the possessed. Jesus gives his OK. Then the story takes its gruesome course: The two thousand pigs into which the demons had driven drown themselves in the lake. With this, the demons finally lose their earthly abode. The possessed are freed from them.

Design traces

This story, which is only simple at first glance, has been interpreted in a variety of ways. In circles more concerned with tradition, it is read the way children hear fairy tales and legends. An exciting story. It proves the power of Jesus. Anyone who hears them can breathe a sigh of relief in the face of the defeat of the devil and his demons. The fact that two thousand pigs die hardly irritates her. For them, it is the word of God and not an animal welfare report. In addition, humans are always counting more than so many pigs.

Others reflect more deeply. Political references are also made in the process. Questions arise that ultimately remain open.

The question of power

The story of the exorcism of demons is about power and violence. Whatever could constitute possession according to today's knowledge, Eugen Drewermann was thinking of epilepsy and borderline⁸¹: For the biblical narrative, it was clear that the demons turned these concrete possessed people into uncontrollably violent people. Through them, they exercised a destructive form of power, i.e. violence. But then the two "occupied" men faced the one from whom a different kind of power emanated: the healing power of love, which can take away demons' destructive power. The divine power of love liberates, demonic violence enslaves. Divine power lifts up, demonic power executes.

Bible scholars also discover hidden political allusions in the healing narrative. They point out that a legion of the Roman occupying forces called "Legio X Fretensis" (Legio Decim Fretensis) was stationed in the area of the event. She was hated by the Jews because, under the leadership of Titus, she played a major role in the destruction of the land and the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. The disgust of the Jews was increased by the fact that the legion had an "unclean" wild boar in its coat of arms. Roman legionnaires as an unclean herd of pigs; as a demonized symbol of the threatening occupying power that holds the country in its power like the two possessed?

Demonic Destructive Power

The way in which Jesus breaks the violent power of the demons in the stories of the evangelists is irritating. A herd of pigs with two thousand animals plunges into the Sea of Galilee and drowns. From an economic point of view, this is a high price to pay for the healing of the two men. Too high, animal rights activists complain. But human life is always worth more than animal life, argue sedate preachers.

Perhaps in such different interpretations, the message of the healing narrative is being speculated over. Rather, the bizarre scene expresses the destructive destructive power of the demonic. Does the reverse also apply: Where destruction on an enormous scale takes place, is it demonic?

But then the story of the possessed and their confrontation with Jesus proves to be highly topical. There seems to be a return of the demons at the moment. "No sooner has the Enlightenment abolished demons, i.e. chased them to the devil in the truest sense of the word, than they return to the stage as man-made monsters" of world history. At the opening of the 2024 Salzburg Festival, Salzburg Governor Wilfried Haslauer, quoted in this statement⁸², did not hesitate to say: "The demons, ladies and gentlemen, are back. They are in us and around us, disguise baseness and lies as normality, dominate the canon of insinuations, sing the praises of exclusion and degradation, their religion is intolerance, only one's own opinion counts; Dissatisfaction mutates into a victim role through the hygiene agent 'blame' and receives its outlet through incitement. Finally, contempt for humanity instigates wars." The speaker then joined the poet Stephan Zweig. In his work "Fight with the Demon", he saw the demonic in man as "the fermentation substance, the swelling tormenting ferment that urges to everything dangerous, to excess, ecstasy, self-renunciation, self-destruction". In his updated demonology, Haslauer also referred to the novel "The Demons" by Heimito von Doderer. There, demons appear "as an expression of social and historical forces. Demons of history – war, political upheaval, social tensions – influence the lives of his characters, who also have to face their own inner demons, whether in the form of guilt, despair or moral corruption."

Recent events prove the return of the demonic. Aren't the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and many other parts of the world downright demonic? Is it conceivable that humans alone are capable of such atrocities? I am thinking of Bucha, Mariupol, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv and many places of inhuman suffering of innocent children, the elderly, women, indeed the entire civilian population; not to mention the many deaths of the senseless war. Isn't all hell loose in today's reeling world? Aren't those in power obsessed with national megalomania?⁸³

The expulsion

The finale of the healing narrative both in the evangelist Matthew and in the textual accounts in Luke and Mark is thought-provoking. The swineherds reported the dramatic drowning of the huge herd in the lake in the city. The residents rushed to the scene. They were relieved to find that the two possessed endangerers were now behaving peacefully. At the same time, they were annoyed by the economic damage. They politely expelled Jesus from their territory.

Religion and economics do not always have an easy time with each other to this day. The shirt is closer to us than the stranger.

Life messed up

He had reached the lowest point of his life. He had left his father's comfortable house. The inheritance to which he was entitled had been paid out ahead of schedule. Now he was able to take his life into his own hands. He enjoyed his new freedoms extensively. His pleasures were costly. In an unbridled life, his fortune was quickly squandered.

Jesus skilfully tells the story that is titled "Parable of the Prodigal Son" (Luke 15: 11–32) in the Bible editions.

Then the globetrotter reached his lowest point in his new career. The money had run out. Now pigs are making their appearance. I give Lukas the floor:

When he had done everything, a great famine came over that country and he began to suffer hardship. Then he went to a citizen of the country and forced himself upon him; he sent him out into the field to herd pigs. He would have liked to satisfy his hunger with the fodder pods that the pigs ate; but no one gave him any of it. (Luke 15:14–16)

In the ears of the Jewish listeners it was clear: the young man could not fall any lower in his hunt for happiness in life. Because he ended up as a shepherd with pigs, the unclean animals. With these, he had to starve while the pigs ate their food pods. He was finished. To stay in the language of the animal that is being meditated on here: The young man has completely messed up his life. Literally.

This story of Jesus is considered the heart of the Gospel of Luke. Whoever knows this understands the whole Gospel. She, he senses how God is to us and what constitutes his innermost being: unconditional mercy, before every achievement and in all guilt. The message: No matter how messed up your life is, God won't let you fall.

This good news is told in a touching way in the further course of Jesus' speech. It begins with a change of heart of those who are at the bottom. "Yes, I want to go home again and to my father. My father will forgive...", wrote the French Dominican priest Auguste-Maurice Jean Cogagnac (1924–2006) in a sensitive chanson (Le fils prodigue). Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) painted an expressive picture of the reception of the prodigal son by the old father, which is located in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Henri Nouwen has written a touching meditation on the subject.⁸⁴

The point of Jesus' parable, however, is that he recites this story precisely to those who know the Scriptures who do not trust God to have such mercy on the "fallen ones". In the parable, the elder son is the placeholder for them. In his story, Jesus leaves it open whether the older son, angry as he was about the reception of the depraved son, went into the house at all for the feast for the returnee. After all, his father had tried to persuade him to be like himself.

The younger son has in fact passed on the designation "lost" to his older brother. Even the pious can obviously spiritually mess up their lives with false images of God.

In the belly of the whale

Moby Dick

Captain Ahab was driven by blind revenge. A white sperm whale had torn off his lower leg. He was to be killed for this. Ahab put everything on the line, his crew and his whaling ship Pequod. The finale of the narrated event is dramatic. The whale rams the ship, Ahab gets caught in his harpoon and is dragged into the depths by the whale. Only Ismael, who had signed on at short notice, survives in a coffin floating on the water. He is rescued and can therefore tell the story. The American writer Hermann Melville (1819–1891) wrote down the story in a novel.

In this concise animal meditation, as in Moby Dick, a whale plays a role. Aristotle, unlike today's zoology, still counted it among the fishes: It was not until 1758 that the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linnaeus assigned the whale to marine mammals rather than fish for the first time. So far, however, this has not changed the fact that we speak of the whale in everyday German language. Even the Duden still knows the word combinations whaling or whale catcher in addition to whaler and whaler.⁸⁵

No salvation outside...

The Bible tells a whale story of its own kind. It is a teacher's narrative. The believing Israelites were to learn that God had not only chosen them as his people, but that he cared for all nations. It is precisely this attitude that Christian churches have had to laboriously acquire over time. The principle "extra ecclesiam nulla salus" – "no salvation outside the church" – was turned upside down out of good theological insights and now reads: "Where salvation is, there is the church" (of the saved). But because it is always love that saves, one can also formulate: "extra amorem nulla salus" – "outside of love no salvation".

Thus, in the story of the Last Judgment, Jesus can teach that those who have loved deeply will be saved (cf. Matthew 25:31-46). Could God find a grain of love gold in everyone at the end of life in the final evaluation? Today we can ask this question in the mode of hope, unhindered by the Magisterium. Although Origen was condemned for his doctrine of universal salvation (apokatastasis panton), Origen probably knew too much and hoped too little in the eyes of those who had condemned him.

The teacher's narrative of the Book of Jonah proceeds in a religiously pedagogical way. The wise teacher who tells the story obviously suspects that he will meet with massive resistance with the idea of a God of all people, especially among the pious Jews. Didn't he choose Israel as his people: exclusive, not inclusive? Even among Christians today, questions can be heard such as: Where do we end up if we ask whether God will save everyone in the end? Wouldn't that be a carte blanche for all imaginable immorality, crime, injustice, inhumane violence, genocide, and above all the Holocaust of 600 million Jews?

In order to alleviate the agitation of the anxious, God sends the prophet Jonah to the wicked Nineveh with the request to repent and at the same time threatens them with destruction if they do not change. But that convinces the pious, and thus not the prophet either. He refuses to go to Nineveh and instead boards a ship in the opposite direction.

Now the whale comes into play. A huge storm is roaring. The sinking of the ship is imminent. The crew blames Jonah for this. They throw him into the sea in order to survive themselves. A whale swallows it, swims to the beach and spits it ashore after three days.

The Prophet understood the divine lesson. He travels to Nineveh and, still reluctantly, fulfills his mission. To his annoying surprise, he succeeds with his threatening sermon. The king orders a forty-day fast for humans and animals. This reconciles God and at the same time literally "worms" the prophet. Because when he wants to protect himself from the sun under a castor bush, a worm eats into it and steals the prophet's sunscreen. Jonah is angry because his protective shrub withered. This gives God the opportunity to change the self-pitying prophet's mind once and for all: You have compassion on the bush. But the city is about much more: "Shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh, the big city where more than one hundred and twenty thousand people live, who can't distinguish between right and left – and so many cattle besides?" (Jonah 4:11)

What a wide heart full of empathy that God shows. He is interested in the followers of other religions, in the religiously and morally clueless, in those who live for the day, who resign themselves to the superficial, who have little idea of their dignity and vocation to something far greater than this transient life. He cares about all those who have already forgotten that they have forgotten God, about those for whom the happiness of the sparrows in the hand of transient life is worth more than the happiness of the pigeon on the roof of eternal life. God also and especially has compassion on all these people and their peoples; he suffers with them.

The Jonah story appears in a discourse of Jesus with the biblically versed theologians of his country. It will happen to him like Jonah. Like the prophet, he will also spend three days in the dark: Jonah in the belly of the whale, Jesus in the dark belly of death. After three days, the whale vomited Jonah out. Likewise, he himself will escape the darkness of death after three days. He called it resurrection. (Matthew 12:38–42)

Fish medicine

Fish frolic in idioms. If something seems unclear to us, it is neither fish nor meat. Someone who spreads attractive unrest is the pike in the carp pond. Daredevil charmers are considered great pikes. Silencers are as silent as a fish. If someone has received a good order, then he has a big fish on the hook. Those who are not well feel like a fish out of water. And who doesn't know organizations that stink like a fish from the head? Butter to the fish: I hope that I too will get to the essentials in this meditation.

An old sign of recognition

In ancient Rome, "followers of the way" (Acts 9:2), i.e. the Jesus movement, were persecuted. They refused to sacrifice to the emperor who made himself a god. They only bowed their knees before the true God of Jesus Christ. Like Christians in anti-religious communism, persecution forced them to live their faith underground in the extensive burial grounds, the catacombs. In the superbackground of everyday life, they remained unrecognized. I was friends with the Cardinal of Prague, Miloslav Vlk. I worked for him as then President of the Council of the Conference of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) with the French theologian Hervé Legrand as an advisor. Once, when I was in Prague for this purpose, he showed me the apartment in which he had lived as a window cleaner ordained a priest.

If, in such dangerous times, when no one could trust the other, Christians nevertheless wanted to identify themselves as a sister or brother in faith, they drew an arc on the floor. The opposite person complemented the picture with an opposing arch. Both arches together resulted in the contours of a fish. This made it clear that the other did not pose a danger. The fish served as a reliable identification mark in times of persecution.

That also made sense in terms of content. The Greek word for fish is ἰχθύς (ichthýs). This can be read as a so-called acronym, in which each of the five letters is used as the first letter for a word. Together, this results in ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, ΘΕΟΥ, ΥΙΟΣ, ΣΩΤΗΡ (Iēsoûs, Christós, Theoû, Hyiós, Sōtér – Jesus, Anointed One, God's Son, Savior).

This identifying symbol was forgotten after the Constantinian turn. Christianity had become the state religion. No one had to hide anymore. This centuries-long era has definitely come to an end today. Being a Christian is no longer a matter of course. It is ridiculed by some. For others, it is considered antiquated, is out. In such times, the old identification mark makes sense again. Confessors stick it on the rear of the car and thus signal to those behind them: We exist. We still think the gospel of Jesus Christ is cool.

Fish at the table

In the world as well as in the environment of the Jewish people, from whom the founder of Christianity came, fish played a culinary role. Fish were considered pure and could therefore be consumed: "Of everything that lives in the water you may eat the following: Everything that has fins and scales you may eat. Anything that has no fins and no scales, you must not eat." (Deuteronomy 14:9f.)

Fish could be bought at the market. This is shown by a scandal excitedly reported by the prophet Nehemiah: traders from the coastal city of Tyre, where there are now twelve refugee camps for Syrians, sold their fish on the Sabbath, contrary to all laws, and thus caused offence. The fact that Jews also shopped with them was evidence for the man of God of how hollowed out the Sabbath commandment was among his people for economic reasons (Nehemiah 13: 15–22).

Today, the churches are facing a similar erosion of the Christian Sunday commandment. Not only churches are fighting against these in the name of a philanthropic God, they are doing so together with trade unions that defend themselves against exploitative Sunday work. Sunday rest can prevent people from losing their freedom and being degraded to workhorses. That would be a loss of humanity. After all, humans are the "first freedmen of creation", as Jürgen Moltmann once aptly put it.⁸⁶

Not only in Israel, but also in Egypt, where the people had to perform slave service for four hundred years (Genesis 15:13), fish were an important food. When the people of Israel under their leader Moses wanted to go to freedom, the powerful Pharaoh Ramses II – or his son Meneptah – stood in the way. The well-known ten plagues were intended to extort an abandonment of his refusal. One of the plagues was a large fish die-off in the Nile and its tributaries. A similar thing is written in a threat by the prophet Isaiah about Egypt: "The water runs out of the sea, the river becomes desolate and dries up. The canals stink, the Nile arms of Egypt are shallow and desolate, reeds and reeds are withering. The rushes on the Nile, at the mouth of the Nile, the whole seed of the Nile has dried up, blown away and gone. The fishermen lament and mourn, all those who cast their rods in the Nile. Those who lay out the fishing net on the water are worried." (Isaiah 19:5–8)

What an ecologically questionable strategy Moses had adopted! One understands the uproar of the conservationists when a company today discharges toxic substances into the Oder and thus causes a gruesome fish mortality over kilometers. In the first account of creation in the Bible, God found what he created on the fifth day to be good, and also knew that he was responsible for the "great aquatic animals and all living creatures that move after their kind, with which the waters swarm". They also should be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the sea. (Genesis 1:20–23) That has also happened. 32,500 species of fish are known today. They make up half of all living vertebrate species. New species are still being discovered. But at the same time, marine life is threatened: not by divine, but by man-made plagues such as global warming, pollution of the oceans, overfishing and trawl nets.

How important fish were for the diet of the enslaved Israelites in Egypt is shown by an incident on their protracted journey through the desert, which was to last forty years in the end. At the latest after the last Egyptian plague, the death of the firstborn of man and cattle, the Pharaoh had let the Israelites go. After crossing the Red Sea, they were traveling in the desert. There was a shortage of water, bread and meat and also of fish. The people grumbled. He received water, which Moses struck out of the rock with his staff. The people grumbled again. He was given the unaccustomed food called manna, which fell like dew from heaven. Manna, however, was, as the saying goes, "neither meat nor fish". There was a lack of tangible food. As always, it didn't stop at grumbling Nostalgia for Egypt came up, just as today some in Eastern (Central) Europe develop a nostalgia for communism and not a few East Germans develop a brown-tinged GDR nostalgia. The starving people lamented and lamented: "If only someone gave us meat to eat! We think of the fish that we got to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers and melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. But now our throats are drying up, we get to see nothing but manna." (Numbers 11:4–6)

Moses could not escape the rebellious dynamic. He immediately negotiated with his divine employer and told him that he saw no solution in view of the large number of people: "Six hundred thousand men on foot are the people in whose midst I am, and you say, 'I will give them meat so that they will have food for a month?' Should all the sheep, goats and cattle be slaughtered for them, so that it is enough for them? Or can you catch all the fish of the sea for them so that it is enough for them? The Lord answered Moses, "Is the hand of the Lord too short?" Now you will see whether my word comes to pass for you or not." (Numbers 11:21–23) God immediately supplied the starving people with swarms of quail every day.⁸⁷

Fish medicine

Tobit was a law-abiding and charitable Jew. He lived in Assyrian exile. When one of his fellow countrymen was strangled, he fetched the dead man contrary to all state regulations and laid him down in a hut to bury him after sunset. Afterwards, as he says himself, he "lay down to sleep on the courtyard wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat. But I didn't know that sparrows were above me in the wall. Her warm feces fell into my eyes and led to white spots." (Tobit 2:9–10) No doctor could help him. He was blind. He was also deeply struck by the fact that people mocked him for his law-abiding rule that had caused him to go blind. He was heavy on his lot and did not want to live any more: "For it is better for me to die than to see much hardship in my life and to hear ridicule." (Tobit 3:6)

With death in front of his eyes, he taught his son Tobias extensively about a life pleasing to God. He then sent him to his brother in Media, to whom he had lent money years ago. As an "identity card" he gave him half the promissory note: the other half was with the borrowed money.

Tobit's "autobiography" is also about marriage matters. The young Tobit is given the daughter of his brother named Sara as his wife. Her father does not conceal from the groom that he had already tried to marry her off seven times. But each time the demon Ashmodai killed the newlywed men on their wedding night. Sara therefore wanted to take her own life.

Conclusion: two law-abiding people who want to take their own lives, Tobit and Sara. The bitter message of the two tragic stories of blindness and the tragic death of the married men is: If you are law-abiding, you will feel bad! But it wouldn't be a biblical story if it stayed that way. An angel and a fish now determine the events on stage.

The angel, unrecognized as such, already offers himself as a companion on Tobias' departure. As it turns out, it is the archangel Rafaël. His name translates as: God heals. The name of Tobit, who is in need of healing, fits in well with this: God helps. This story demonstrates so impressively that the messenger of God is responsible for healing that the archangel Rafaël was chosen as the patron saint of the sick and pharmacists, but also of travellers, pilgrims, emigrants and sailors.

Then the fish. On the way to Media, the angel and Tobias camp on the Tigris. The boy stretches a foot into the water to cool down:

Then a large fish sprang up out of the water and wanted to swallow the boy's foot, but the boy screamed. The angel said to the boy, "Take hold of him and take the fish into your power." Then the boy overpowered the fish and pulled it ashore. The angel said to him, "Cut open the fish, take out the bile, heart, and liver, and put them aside for yourself." But throw away the innards! Because his bile, heart and liver are an effective remedy. (Tobit 6:2–4)

Tobias does as he is told. He takes bile, heart and liver from the fish. Shortly before arriving in Media, he asks his companion what healing power is contained in these three exempted organs. The answer sounds like Harry Potter:

He answered him, "Let the heart and liver of the fish go up in smoke before a man or woman who is attacked by a demon or an evil spirit, and every attack will be driven away." The demons will not remain with him forever. With bile, on the other hand, anoint the eyes of a person in which white spots have appeared. After that, breathe on the white spots on the eyes and they will heal. (Tobit 6:8–9)

And so it happens. The man-killing demon is disempowered by the smoke of the heart and bile. The bile frees the father from his blindness. Two dramatic stories with happy endings! Perhaps they should spread a glimmer of hope in the midst of the dreariness of exile. God, like Tobit and Sarah, will also help the desperate people. The banishment of the people will come to an end, as will the misfortune of the two law-abiding men. "God helps". His messenger heals.

Healing also shaped Jesus' public activity. This earned him the honorary title of "Savior". His movement, which he triggered and which self-confidently calls itself the church, could become a "healing land" in the succession of the Saviour. A moralizing church could become a therapeutic church.

Like the book of Jonah, that of Tobit is also a wise teacher's narrative. The two grippingly told stories of Tobit and Sara are rather just the ephemeral framework in which lasting wisdom is put into a picture worth seeing. The heart of Tobit's brief autobiography is the instruction of his son by his suicidal father. He should live wisely. The stories about the two law-abiding men are only prologue and epilogue. The main part is like a successful wedding sermon for the future groom, who brings home not only the money, but also his bride. Perhaps it forms a kind of legacy of the blind and yet spiritually clairvoyant old man not only to his son, but to all Jews in exile. And to all those whose hearts are touched by this biblical story.

Jesus and the Pisces

In the three years of his public ministry, Jesus had to deal with sturdy fishermen. He obviously knew and appreciated their craft, from which he drew them. With pictures from the fishing industry, he was able to teach them vividly what he needed them for. Pisces also repeatedly play an enlightening role in his public work. And even after his resurrection, they find a place.

Fishers of men

"Fishermen know their craft. And not only this. They must be able to assess the wind and the weather. You need a feel for the current and know how to get a boat going, steer it and land it safely. They need an expert look at the stability of the nets as well as the suitability of the boats. You need to know where the good fishing grounds are, which fish are edible and which are not, and when is the best time to go out. And on top of that, it is also important to keep an eye on the supposed 'small stuff': Holes in the nets can noticeably reduce the success of the work. Repairing the broken nets is therefore part of the trade."⁸⁸

Fischer with exactly such competences Jesus for his movement. They were seasoned personalities who knew something about the fishing trade:

As Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew Simon's brother casting their nets on the lake; they were fishermen. Then he said to them, "Come here, follow me." I will make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he walked a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; they were in the boat and preparing their nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with his hired men, and followed Jesus. (Mark 1:16–20)

The terse invitation "Come here, follow me!" has changed her life from the ground up. Did the promise: You should continue to fish, but differently: as fishers of men, make the decision easier for them? They were to enter the school of the itinerant rabbi to learn how to win people over to the new movement as fishers of men.

Jesus stated that the goal of the movement was the coming of the kingdom of God. Heaven was to be sung down to earth and put down. Even now. At least in traces. The world was to become more celestial, that is, more just, more truthful, more peaceful, more humane. And all this will happen if God and his passion for the world are respected. He brought the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus was concerned with, closer to the excited listeners in the language of the fishermen:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught fish of all kinds. When it was full, the fishermen were drawn to the shore; they sat down and gathered the good fish in baskets, but threw away the bad ones. So it will be at the end of the world: the angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47–50)

Vocation, like that of the seasoned fishermen, is the key to today's performance of the Christian churches. Whereas in the past their existence and actions were guaranteed by state regulations and cultural traditions, today it is important that people – like the fishermen on the lake once did – accept their non-delegable calling, follow Jesus, the messenger of God, enter the Jesus movement called the church, become gospel apprentices and work in deed and word together with others for the kingdom of God movement of Jesus.

The metaphor "people fish" needs to be explained to today's ears. It usually doesn't end well for fish when they are caught: they end up on the menu or in an aquarium. In the process, they lose their freedom to swim wherever they want. In our self-determined cultures, however, people can only be "fished" for the movement of Jesus in freedom, i.e. won over and convinced.

Meditated more deeply, it is about the feat of lifting the vocation placed in the heart by God. However, this can be an existential provocation for the individual, which, like the first disciples, cannot be escaped so easily as soon as it becomes clearly audible. It can also turn the previous life upside down. "Follow me, says Christ," is sung in church services. Will the words not only penetrate the ears but also the hearts of the singers? Whatever the case, fishing for people today is vocation coaching. This is both an art and a craft.

Networker

The fishermen Jesus called brought with them a crucial skill for their work as fishers of men, namely rich experience with nets and networking. Jesus called "fishermen, not fishermen", as Anna Hennersperger, trained organizational developer and experienced supervisor, aptly put it. I quote a longer passage from one of her texts, in which she also talks about the pastoral networking of the churches:

Networker

Fishermen are not anglers. They do not hold their fishing rod in the water in solitary place next to each other. Rather, they depend on good cooperation in their work. Fishermen are "networkers". In the truest sense of the word. They work with networks and with networking.

Jesus wants to establish a new network with the "network experts" Simon and Andrew, James and John. A sustainable network of people for people and between people of all origins and generations. This is his "kingdom of God project". That's why he makes them fishers of men. In this way, the core competence is retained. However, the bread-and-butter profession that has been learned and probably practiced for a long time takes on a new quality through the service of Jesus.

The People of God as a Network

What began at the Sea of Galilee now spans the whole world as a network of God's people. We are a part of it. It has changed over the centuries. It was very hierarchical at times. Now, in the age of the Internet and networks, there is a need for reform in this respect. Because in a network there should be no upgrades or downgrades. No more significant and less significant connections. In some places it grows and condenses, in others it dissolves.

The nodes are crucial in the network

In our latitudes, we currently tend to be rather concerned about the frighteningly larger holes in the church network. Many have terminated their church membership, for various reasons. However, the decisive thing about networks is not the holes, but rather the nodes. They bundle and structure the network. The bonds are tightened on them. In this sense, each node also bears responsibility for the whole.

We are all – with our talents and in our diverse communities – nodes in this great network project of Jesus.

To be a hub means to provide support for those who are in danger of falling through the social net of society. It means catching those who threaten to sink into abysses due to illness or difficult living conditions. To bring people ashore and give them solid ground under their feet, who are in danger of drowning at sea as refugees. Fishers of men or fishers of men in the spirit of Jesus have in mind those who are up to their necks in water – under whatever circumstances. This is precisely where Jesus' call applies to all of us: Follow me and net those from the edge!⁸⁹

The English word for net is also in the term "Inter-net". This connects people. Do modern human fishers also fish with this net? Her name would then be gospel-influencer. At the Synod 2022–2024 of the Catholic World Church, there was a separate commission for this modern form of "human fishing".

Futility

A crowd pressed Jesus during a sermon. In search of a safer pulpit, he found Simon Peter washing the nets on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He asked him to go out a bit in his boat; it was intended to serve him as a "fisherman's pulpit", as one stands in the church in Altmünster on Lake Traunsee from the 18th century. From there he wanted to continue preaching unmolested.

When he had finished his speech, he suddenly asked Simon to go out to where the Sea of Galilee is deep, and to cast the nets at that point. Simon felt a little fooled. They had just fished a long night and caught nothing. Night fishing is more productive than day fishing. Simon was still frustrated by the nightly fishing flop. Nevertheless, he agreed with the words "at your word I will cast the nets".

The catch was overwhelming. Another boat was called in to take in the large number of fish. Both were so full that they almost drowned. Simon and his work colleagues were not only pleased with the giant catch: "He and all his companions were horrified by the catch of fish they had made." But Jesus staged all this only to give Simon a vivid idea of his upcoming task as a fisher of men. (Luke 5:1–11)

Anyone who observes the "fishing" of Christian churches in Europe today will not be able to report a huge catch, neither during the day nor in the "nights of the churches". A variety of nets are being cast: in schools, in parishes, in the media, in unusual places, in movements and organizations, in aid organizations, in ecumenical projects. There is preaching, teaching, sending, serving. And yet only a few "fish" are currently caught in church nets. Even worse: At the same time, many fish that have already been caught fall out of the holey net. Perhaps the story of rich fishing is comforting especially in such times and contains practical tips for times of futility.

1. There are long nights when there is nothing to catch. This is frustrating and frightening. Such feelings must be endured on the shores of time. Often work on the net then remains: washing, patching holes. Aren't the Christian churches currently busy patching up such nets? Structural reforms are certainly frustrating. But without suitable nets, fishing is not possible either. Wouldn't it sometimes be even better to weave new networks than to patch up the old ones? With regard to wine, Jesus was of this opinion. After all, who fills young wine into old wineskins? (Mark 2:22) But perhaps the problem of the churches in Europe is not that their nets are full of holes and their "skins" have become brittle, but that they do not have young wine. Nevertheless, it remains comforting: Every "long night of the churches" comes to an end.

The prophet Isaiah tells of a vision in which he had the task of a watchman. The office of watchman is a job often mentioned in the Bible in times of peace and war: "At the lookout post, Lord, I stand unceasingly during the day, and at my guard post I stand ready every night." (Isaiah 21:8) While he is on duty, people call out to him: "Watchman, how long is the night left?" Custos, quid de nocte? Do the churches, does the reeling world of today have such watchmen who know the "hour"?

2. A good knowledge of the lake is needed: that is, of the cultures in which the churches "fish". It is important to know where this lake has its depths, where the fish cavort. What are the deep joys and hopes, the sorrows and fears of the people of today? What is on your mind? What questions move them? In the words of Richard Rohr, where does "great love and great suffering" take place, in which God likes to hide? For Pope Francis, immersion in cultures is a basic requirement of effective evangelization.

3. The unsuccessful night fishing was directed by the experienced fishermen. However, in the rich fishing she took over Jesus and coached Simon. He advises him: Don't hang on to your frustration. Go out. Search the depths of the lake. Cast the net there. The seasoned men were surprised at how many fish were in the net. It makes sense to cast the church nets "on his word" even after long nights of failure. To do this, however, it is important to listen carefully to Jesus' word.

Unheard-of Prayer

On one occasion, his disciples watched Jesus pray. They then asked him to teach them to pray. The world owes the Lord's Prayer to her spiritual desire for further education. Prayer is, as it were, the hymn of the Kingdom of God movement. We are to pray for his kingdom, sing to it, even more: "Thy kingdom come!" But are such prayers really useful? Do they change anything in our lives, in the course of the world? Isn't praying often like a lottery: sometimes prayer is answered, but much more often not? But what does it mean to be "heard" then?

Jesus was apparently no stranger to such doubts from his followers. In this way, he teaches them about the effectiveness of supplication, and in doing so he comes to talk about the fish. "What father among you, whom the son asks for a fish, gives him a snake or a scorpion instead of a fish, when he asks for an egg? If, therefore, you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will Heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to those who ask Him." (Luke 11:11–13)

In his answer, Jesus does not initially aim at whether God hears. He wants to shape the attitude of those praying. To this end, he appeals for rock-solid trust in his God and not to let up, to sing one's needs into God's heart full of believing trust. Even such "faith" helps, he tells the woman who is healed of bleeding by touching the rabbi's garment. (Luke 8:48)

Jesus said that God prefers to hear when we ask Him for the Holy Spirit. Will this Spirit then be given only to those who ask for it in their need, or at the same time to others who help those who ask? Perhaps God does not hear directly, i.e. without us, but always with our help? If this is the rule, then questions arise: Do we also know those who are in need and cry out to God so that he can really hear them through our commitment and turn their need around? Through our cooperation, an "unheard-of" could then become an astonished "this is unheard-of".

Fish reproduction

Multiplication of the loaves is a familiar word to people who are firm in the Bible. Fish reproduction, on the other hand, hardly at all. This is precisely what is now at stake (Mark 6:30–44; Mark 8:1–9; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–21).

Jesus had had enough of the energy-sapping appearances in front of many people. So he withdrew with his flock to a lonely area. In vain. People got the place out and flocked there in their thousands from the cities. Four and five thousand respectively are reported by the Evangelists. This touched Jesus deeply: he felt compassion for the multitude's desire to be with him and hear him. He healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples were concerned about feeding the masses. Jesus is supposed to send them to the villages so that they can strengthen themselves. Jesus, on the other hand, urged them to give them food. Forget it, replied the disciples; there are only five loaves of bread and two fish, which a boy has with him as food. But Jesus sticks to his plan. People should sit down on the grass.

This is followed by the scene that is still sacred to Christian churches today. Jesus blesses the gifts. Then he has them distributed. Everyone will be satisfied. There is food in abundance. Baskets full of loaves and fish remain.

The blessing of bread is constantly maintained in the divine service of the churches: on the lonely mountain far from the city while feeding the many who listened to the sermon; at the meal before His Passion (Matthew 26:26–29); at the evening meal with two disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35). Paul reports this in his letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:23–25). In the Gospel of John, Jesus interprets this bread: He himself is the gift for the life of the world. (John 6:34f.) Just because he himself is the bread, it can never run out, there is more than enough for everyone.

The reception of the blessed bread alone is sufficient for most Christian communities. When Jan Hus criticized drinking from the blessed chalice, the communion of the chalice became a symbol of separation for a long time. Anyone who took the chalice in Catholic countries was recognized as a heretic and banished. Thank God, this time is over.

In addition, wine has prevailed thanks to the meal on the evening before the Passion of Jesus: the fish has now completely disappeared as an ad-on. He disappeared into the world of symbols. In Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee, at the historic site of the fish multiplication, two fish adorn the mighty mosaic in the floor in front of the altar next to a bread basket in the Memorial Church.

The miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish was gladly taken up by medieval illuminators. Her paintings, like those in the Gospel Book of Echternach around 1040, are interpretative sermons for illiterate people.

Jesus stands in the middle. Around his head the glory of the Risen One. He hands bread with both hands. On each side next to him a disciple. They receive with one hand the bread that Jesus hands them. Leaning towards the people who are lying on the ground in a hundred or fifty meal communities, the disciples pass the bread on with their other hand. The illuminator could have had fish passed on instead of the loaves or together with them.

This book illumination lives from the dynamics of receiving and distributing. Being dependent on receiving makes not only churches humble, but ultimately every human being. We have all received life without any action on our part. When some in the Christian church in Corinth behaved arrogantly, Paul reminded them: "What do you have that you did not receive? But if you have received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7)

But we receive in order to dish out. We have life so that we can spend it on something or on someone, Viktor Frankl taught, in order to curb the spreading loss of meaning. Sharing what we have received makes us what we are as images of God: solid lovers. In doing so, God manages, as it were, with our loaves and fishes, i.e. with the talents we have received. That doesn't have to be much. But it is always enough, because it multiplies as it is passed on. Pope Francis interprets this in a noon address on July 25, 2021 as follows:

Jesus does not create the loaves and fishes out of nothing – he takes what the disciples bring him. One of them says, "Here is a little boy who has five barley loaves and two fishes; But what is that for so many? It is nothing, but for Jesus it is enough.⁹⁰

The Protestant Church in Germany has set up the Work for Diaconia and Development (EWDE), which bears the name "Bread for the World". Through its name, the organization reminds us that the true bread for the world is the body of the crucified and risen Lord. Practical projects are derived from this. A modern form of bread and fish multiplication is arranged. But now not only four or five thousand hungry people are fed in a meadow, but countless people all over the world.

The United Nations has its own Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO). Among the UN's Sustainable Global Development Goals (SDGs), overcoming hunger is at the top of the list. The fact that many of the funds needed for this are currently flowing into senseless wars and the production of weapons is a painful wound for humanity.

Giving and taking/receiving and handing out, in addition to loving and being loved as well as the acceptance and acceptance in the culture of a satisfying relationship, are among the invigorating primal processes (Anneliese and Franz Heigl-Evers). These rules apply not only privately, but also politically. The world would be more humane if it were more characterized by receiving and distributing. Modern economics recommends a gift exchange, an exchange of the gift. Such a world would be more just, more peaceful, more human, more heavenly, more kingdom-shaped.

Eating fish with the Risen One

God did not abandon Jesus, his "kingdom of God frontman", after the cruel death on the cross. For this purpose, the biblical tradition places the words resurrect or, even better, resurrect. Death has lost, Paul rejoices, and not only for Jesus, but for all people. (1 Corinthians 15:55 according to Hosea 13:14) The world is saved, Christian congregations sing happily at Easter.

Resurrection is an event beyond space and time.⁹¹ It therefore eludes our imagination and our language. In order for his followers to notice that their rabbi did not remain in death, but was "resurrected", as he predicted, it took its own activity: He had to "show himself", then he could be "seen", and this with the eyes of the heart, with which alone we can see well what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was sure of. But these heart's eyes apparently do not always see equally clearly. It is by no means always only joy that spreads when seeing the heart. In Jerusalem, the disciples had locked themselves up out of fear. Then "he stepped into their midst!" There was no joy, but fear and doubt crept over them: "They were frightened and were very afraid, for they thought they saw a ghost." (Luke 24:37). Another time, Simon and his colleagues had gone out on the lake all night to fish. When they came to the shore at dawn without a catch, there was a figure standing there. The reader of the story knows from retrospect that it was the risen Jesus. But the disciples "did not know that it was Jesus" (John 21:1–4).

The Bible reports that such experiences of encounter were not given to so many people: Among the selected witnesses of the resurrection are Mary Magdalene at the tomb (John 20:11–18), two disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–25), Simon Peter (Luke 24:34), the disciples together, once without (John 20:19–24) and then with Thomas (John 20:26–29). From Paul's epistles we know of an encounter with James (1 Corinthians 15:7) and another with 500 brothers (1 Corinthians 15:6). And that was it. The witnesses of the resurrection therefore had a high reputation in the early days of the movement as forerunners of later ministers. Their task was to faithfully tell and vouch for what they had experienced.

In two of these encounters with the Risen One, fish now play a role. Their "commitment" follows the wise Jewish logic: What cannot be explained, it is best to tell a story.

When the Risen One showed himself to the disciples in Jerusalem, he criticized them for their doubts. He showed them his wounds for recognition. That was an instructive measure. After all, it shows that what people take with them into death remains in some way. The form of existence is changed, not the identity. There is continuity, but not just a continuation of life, but a transformation.

Members of the young Christian congregation in Corinth have evidently been concerned with such questions. Paul tries to make them understand what happens during the resurrection of the dead through comparisons from the flora and fauna. It is a "new creation", he teaches. A different, an "immortal" body is formed for man. The prerequisite for this is that the present earthly body dies like a grain of wheat. So there are, Paul continues, different human bodies, just as there is already different "flesh" in humans and animals in nature. He specifically mentions the fish: "The meat of men is different from that of cattle, the meat of birds is different from that of fish." (1 Corinthians 15:39)

The painting of the encounters in which the Risen One showed himself includes fish meals. This makes perfect sense in times when philosophical schools taught that the dead will continue to live purely spiritually without their sinful-carnal body. Pure spirits do not need to eat. They can't either. On the other hand, we now speak of the evangelists, because for them everything created, including the body and with it, the "lust of the flesh" was positively disposed

No sooner had the Risen One shown his wounds in Jerusalem and allowed himself to be touched, than the horror turned into joy. But the disciples, coupled with amazement, still had doubts. Then the Risen One played another trump card and "said to them, 'Do you have anything to eat here?' They gave him a piece of fried fish; he took it and ate it in front of them." (Luke 24:41–43)

Another time there is a fish dinner, when the Risen One showed himself to the disciples at Lake Tiberius and awaited them unrecognized on the shore. Because they had not caught any fish during the night, Jesus sent them out into the lake once more. He told them, as he had done when they were called to be fishers of men, where they would be successful: "Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something. They threw out the net and couldn't catch it up again, it was so full of fish." One hundred and fifty-three large fish were wriggling in the net. "Now no one asked: Who are you? For they knew it was the Lord." This is followed by a simple meal that Jesus himself had prepared. It recalls the Eucharistic commemoration of Christianity: "Jesus approached, took the bread and gave it to them, as well as the fish." (John 21:1–14)

This familiar gesture made them sure that they were dealing with the one who said of himself that on the third day he would come out of the darkness of death into the light of lasting life like Jonah. That's exactly what it's all about, nothing more and nothing less. Fish catches and fish dinners back and forth. Explanations did not play a superficial role in the lives of Christians. Much more important in their communities was gratitude and praise of God⁹² for what He has accomplished for one of humanity, thus for all people. The theopoet Dorothee Sölle sensitively summed this up in her poem "On Resurrection": "that a person no longer races towards death, that death can be behind you because love is in front of you".

Fished out

I started these fish meditations with idioms, and they should end with wise fish sayings from different cultures. In Italy, people are critical of authority: "The king's fish also have bones." As a fishing nation, the Japanese know: "The escaped fish is always the biggest." The wisdom comes from Russia: "Fish seeks the deepest place, while man seeks the best." There they also say: "Not even a fish can be pulled out of the pond without effort." The Malinke people in Guinea warn gourmet chefs: "A rotten fish spoils the whole kitchen." Chinese fish lovers are advised: "Better go home and make a net than dive for fish in the pond." Whether the following phrase is true, "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle", remains to be seen.

The wisdom from Denmark probably applied to father Raguël, who was finally able to give his daughter Sara as his wife to Tobias, who was now his eighth groom, without risking his life: "Eat the fish when it is still fresh, and marry your daughter while she is young."⁹³

The billy goat as a scapegoat

Despite warnings from the mother, who went into the forest, the wolf had outwitted the seven little goats. He had "eaten chalk" and recolored the paw from black to white. Except for one, which was able to take refuge in the clock case, he swallowed all the little goats. The mother was horrified when she returned. In the forest she found the snoring wolf with the one who remained. She cut open his stomach, freed the six greedily devoured ones, and filled the wolf with brave stones which the seven cubs had collected. As the wolf bent thirstily over the edge of the well, the stones pulled him in. He drowned.

In fairy tales, deep images of the soul are recounted: the nourishing goat mother, who can appear as a devouring wolf, as well as the curious little goats growing into life can be seen as helpful identification figures.⁹⁴ The same is done by myths that tell stories about what is always and everywhere the case. According to a Greek myth, Rhea, the mother of the newly born Zeus, had to hide from the Titan Kronos on Crete. There, the nymph Amaltheia suckled little Zeus. In order to feed the child with her milk, the nymph had been transformed into a divine goat. Zeus drank nectar and ambrosia from their horns: since then, the cornucopias have been a symbol of fertility. Out of gratitude, Zeus places her as a "little goat" in the starry night sky.

Goats would not have strayed into the world of myths and fairy tales if they had not been of great importance in people's everyday lives. To this day, goats and bucks enliven our language, albeit mostly in an unfriendly way. A woman is insulted as a "stupid goat", a man as a "stubborn" or even "buck". An entire generation is shamed as the "zero-buck generation". Shooting a big buck is the dream of hunters. If a hunter achieved the lowest number of hits at the shooting festival, he was given a billy goat as a consolation: he then "shot a buck". Women who argue fiercely with each other are waging a "catfight". They behave capriciously, which contains the Latin word capra for goat. But not only women, machines can also make a fuss. If someone is promoted despite incompetence, you make "the goat the gardener". If someone is to be signalled that a decision can no longer be shaken, you say: "No goat will lick that away."

Possessions and food

Abra(ha)m, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesse, Joseph were not only believers, but also rich. In addition to cattle and sheep, they owned large herds of goats. One thing, it was firmly believed at the time, led to another: Whoever was faithful to the Lord also made him rich. The herds of goats of faithful Isaac had grown to such an extent that they aroused the envy of the unfriendly neighbors: "The Lord blessed him; the man became richer and richer until he was very wealthy. He had sheep, goats and cattle and numerous servants, so that the Philistines envied him." (Genesis 26:12–14)

As for the flocks of sheep, the Israelites built pens for their flocks of goats, fenced in the pastures and employed shepherds. Joseph, the youngest son of the old Jacob, had made a meteoric career in Egypt thanks to his art of interpreting dreams. When he had his family of origin from Canaan join him in the famine, Pharaoh entrusted some of the retinue of newcomers with the supervision of his flocks. He knew that they were experienced shepherds. After fleeing from Pharaoh because of the murder of a violent slave overseer (Exodus 2:11f.), Moses also grazed the goats of his father-in-law Jethro with the sheep. During his work, he came across a thorn bush that burned, but did not burn. There God told him his name and gave him the task of freeing the people who had been enslaved for centuries. (Exodus 3:1–17)

Herds of goats, together with the rest of the large and small livestock, secured the livelihood of the Israelites. Because they belonged to the cloven-hoofed and ruminants, it was allowed to eat their meat and drink the milk of the goats. The only thing that was forbidden was to cook the young of a goat in its mother's milk. (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21) If a guest came by, a billy goat was often prepared. However, fat and blood from goats were not allowed to be on the table. It became critical when, during the march through the desert, the six hundred thousand people wanted to eat meat at all costs, but had none if they did not want to consume their own herds and thus their future. They murmured against Moses. He had to tell the Lord that not even the slaughter of all the sheep, cattle and goats he had brought with him would be enough. (Numbers 11:21f.) As is well known, God solved the problem with swarms of quail.

While wool was obtained from sheep, goats provided "hair" from which garments were made. Goatskin was used many times. When David fled from Saul through the window of Saul at night, he left in his bed an image of the god with a braid of goat's hair around his head, to the mockery of the captor. (1 Samuel 19:9f.) Blankets made of goat hair were used for the tent over the dwelling place of God. (Exodus 36:14) When the king of Judah Ahaziah was critically injured by a fall through the ceiling of the upper room and sought help from a pagan god whose name was Beelzebul of all people – as Jesus called the devil – Elijah, dressed in a cloak of goat's hair, told him that he would not get up from the bed again (2 Kings 1:8): He actually had only a very short reign. The author of the letter to the Hebrews tells of the sorrowful life of those who did not cease their attachment to God: "Others have endured ridicule and beatings, even chains and prisons. They were stoned, burned, sawn to pieces, killed with the sword; they went about in sheep's clothing and goatskins, needy, oppressed, mistreated." (Hebrews 11:36f.)

A goatskin was once successfully used as a trick in a blessing robbery. When old Isaac wanted to bless his firstborn Esau at the end of his life and thus transfer the burden of the honorable promise to him, he sent him into the forest to hunt game and prepare a delicious blessing meal. Rebecca, Isaac's wife, who was attentive, noticed this. Her favorite for the blessing was not the lushly haired Esau, but the skin-smooth Jacob. So she sent him to the stable to bring a billy goat. She wrapped his fur around her younger son's forearms so that they felt hairy like Esau's. The almost blind Isaac fell for this deception while feeling and blessed the second-born against all rules. Esau was furious at the betrayal, but there was nothing more to be done. Blessed remained blessed. Out of fear, Jacob fled to Uncle Laban and became a herdsman in his ministry. Little by little, he managed to cunningly branch off a large herd of sheep and goats for himself. (Genesis 27:1–45) After many years, Jacob sought to be reconciled with his brother Esau. He achieved this with the gift of reconciliation from a large number of animals, including many of his goats. (Genesis 32:2–22)

In a parable of Jesus, there was a violent irritation because of a goat. The bustling younger son was taken into his arms by his father as a repentant returnee; even the fattened calf was slaughtered for him to celebrate the reunion festively. Completely undeserved, judged the always faithful older man. That's why he didn't want to go into the feast. Deeply angry, he reproached his old father harshly: "Behold, I have been serving you for so many years, and I have never transgressed your commandment; but you never gave me a billy goat so that I could celebrate a feast with my friends. But no sooner has he come, your son, who has spent your fortune with prostitutes, than you have slaughtered the fattened calf for him." (Luke 15:29f.)

Goat sacrifice

Goats were not used for food. As in other cultures of the time, thousands upon thousands were slaughtered and sacrificed. Now the rule was reversed: fat and blood, which were forbidden to be eaten, were placed on the altar and burned fragrantly. Part of the meat, on the other hand, could be consumed by the priests or the givers of gifts, depending on the type of sacrifice.

Only flawless male animals were suitable as sacrificial animals; female ones were obviously needed for the offspring. The firstborns of humans and animals also belong to "the Lord" from the outset. Those of the animals were handed over to the temple. The first-born sons had to be "redeemed" by a flawless animal. These offerings "to the Lord" were a secure livelihood for the priesthood of the tribe of Levi in view of the abundant sacrificial operation. This tribe of Israel had been left empty-handed in the distribution of the promised land. This allowed them to be free for temple service without laborious work in the fields and stables. To prevent pagan sacrificial customs from creeping into Israel's rural population, the place of sacrifice was centralized. Violators were punishable by death. An economically favorable regulation for the Levites.

Goats and goats were used differently in the temple. Depending on the type of sacrifice, certain animals were provided in each case. For the Passover meal, which commemorated the exodus from slavery in Egypt, both sheep and goats could be used. In addition, there is a variety of victim species throughout the year. Here is a small selection⁹⁵:

In the burnt offering, the animal is burned except for the skin; the skin belongs to the priest. If the skin is also burned, it is called a whole sacrifice. This sacrifice expresses devotion to God. Bulls and rams from sheep and goats are usually used⁹⁶. Those who could not afford it brought a (turtle) dove.

Today we would call the food offering vegetarian. It is not animals that are offered, but flour, oil and incense. Part of it is burned on the altar. The other edible part goes to the priests. Food offerings express gratitude to God for His care and gifts. It also acknowledges how dependent the sacrificers know themselves to be on God's goodness. In addition, as with the peace offering, fellowship with each other and with God is celebrated.

During the peace offering, the assembled people consume parts of the slaughtered cattle, sheep or goats. The blood of the slaughtered animals is sprinkled. Peace with God and with each other is to be strengthened.

In Israel, thanks to the powerful speeches of the prophets on keeping the covenant, there is a strong awareness of when the covenant is broken and parts of the people or the whole people have sinned as a result. The breach of covenant fidelity is interpreted as adultery and scourged by the prophets. Everyone is counted among the circle of sinners: the chief priests, the princes, the whole people. The ritual expression of conversion to covenant faithfulness is the sin and guilt offerings. If the sins of the high priest and the entire people are atoned for, a young bull must be sacrificed. If a repentant prince sacrifices, a billy goat is slaughtered. For the redemption of the sins of simple people from the people, a sheep or a goat is taken. While in a sin offering the whole animal is burned, in a guilt offering a part can be set apart for the priesthood: In addition, the sacrificial animal is always a flawless goat in the guilt offering.

Even this small selection shows that sacrifice represents the breadth of human life. This proves how true to life their faith is in Israel. Life is permeated by religion. The diverse sacrificial rites express the colourful diversity of life.

Highly diverse positive life experiences prompt us to go to the temple, that is, to the space of the condensed presence of God. God is simply praised. Good experiences are grateful. Community and peace are celebrated before God. Great events from history are cheerfully commemorated: the creation, the liberation from slavery in Egypt (Passover), the 40-year march through the desert (Feast of Tabernacles), the dedication of the Second Temple after the successful Maccabee revolt against the Hellenized Jews supported by the Seleucids with the light on the nine-branched lampstand (Hanukkah).

Of course, the burdensome negative experiences of sin, guilt, the individual or collective breach of the covenant with God also become an occasion for sacrifice. These weigh particularly heavily with the chief priests and the princes, but the whole people also know themselves to be sinful and guilty.

Like the Jewish religion, every religion is inextricably interwoven with the ups and downs of human existence. Light and dark experiences, love and suffering, shape religious celebrations, its stories and rituals. Religion thrives on both: both gratitude and reconciliation. The book of Psalms is also full of them. Both sides flow into the grateful praise of the feast: praise for the gifts and forgiveness. In such celebrations, what is celebrated for gradually recedes into the background: the experience of enjoying God's sheltering and invigorating presence now moves into the center. Celebration is therefore not aimed at a purpose, no matter how noble, but lives from unintentional meaning. In such festivals, Israel experiences, even constitutes and renews itself as the people of God, and people experience their responsible freedom and their inalienable dignity. The Pope from Poland, John Paul II, formulates it in a very similar way in his letter "Ekklesia de eucharistia" (Rome 2003): The Church lives from the festive celebration of the Eucharist.

Against this broader background, we turn the meditative spotlight on a victim that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years thanks to cultural anthropologist René Girard: the sacrifice of a billy goat on Yom Kippur, the Feast of Atonement.

Scapegoat

Moses meticulously defined the sequence of a billy goat sacrifice on God's behalf. On the Day of Atonement, Aaron is first to sacrifice for himself and his house. Then the cruel drama with the scapegoat begins:

When he has offered the bull for his own sin and has obtained reconciliation for himself and his house, then Aaron is to take the two goats and set them up before the Lord at the entrance of the tabernacle. For the two goats he is to mark lots, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. Aaron is to bring the goat for which the lot for the Lord is drawn and offer it as a sin offering. The goat for which the lot for Azazel is drawn shall be placed alive before the Lord, in order to obtain atonement for him, so that he may be sent into the wilderness for Azazel. (Leviticus 16:6–10)

The Doctor of the Church Origen had no doubt that sin is sent with the goat to where it ultimately comes from. Sin "cares to the devil":

And "the destroyer" in the Exodus of Moses, who is this but the author of destruction for those people who listen to him, who do not oppose his wickedness and do not fight against it? Furthermore, "the one who avoids disaster" was no different in Leviticus, whom the Hebrew language calls Azazel. He had to be sent away and turned away from him, as he had his lot in the desert; for all those who, because of their wickedness, belong to the share of the worse are opponents of those who belong to the lot of God, and therefore forsake by God.⁹⁷

What this deadly action means for the goat chased into the desert is initially clear according to the occasion of the Day of Atonement: The sins that divide people among themselves and alienate them from God are charged by the high priest with the goat. As soon as the goat is chased into the desert, he takes the sins of the people with him. The people will be sinless, atoned for. Reconciled in this way, the people can live together peacefully again.

Predictably, however, the people will sin again in the coming year. Another buck will be drawn. It seems to be like the emptied sacrament of penance in the Catholic Church. Instead of ending sinful actions, the conscience is relieved and further sinful is committed. The sacrament of penance degenerates into a sacrament of evasion of penance. There is relief, but not change: and this against all noble theology of the sacramental celebration of reconciliation.

In the Christian liturgy, Jesus is shown before the distribution of communion as the Lamb of God "who takes away the sin of the world". So was Jesus the last scapegoat? The writer of Hebrews thinks so. He connects the atonement sacrifice of the high priest with the death of Jesus and emphasizes the final uniqueness of his self-offering:

Such a high priest was indeed fitting for us: one who is holy, free from evil, unblemished, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens; one who does not need to offer sacrifices first for his own sins and then for those of the people, like the high priests, day after day; for he did this once for all when he offered himself. (Hebrews 7:26)

It would truly have been a blessing for the world if there had been no more in the world after the death of the "last scapegoat" Jesus. Christianity could and should have guaranteed this. That's exactly what it didn't do. Especially in the history of Christianity, new scapegoats were found and collectively "chased into the desert". 40,000-60,000 witches, three-quarters of them women, were executed on burning pyres in Christian Europe. According to estimates, 5.6 to 6.3 million Jews were exterminated in the concentration camps of the Nazi henchmen.

It was the high point in the history of Jew-hatred and murder in Europe, which owed its Christianity to the Jew Jesus. In view of the incomprehensible horrors of the Shoah, many had thought that the oath of humanity would "never again" hold. But in our days, anti-Semitism, which was believed to have been overcome, is returning with unimaginable blatance. It makes it increasingly difficult for members of the Jewish people to identify themselves as such in public.

The situation is similar for migrant women with a different skin color and religion. Foreigners have to serve as scapegoats for problems of their own society. Anti-Semitism, antigypsyism and racism that were believed to have been overcome are once again on the cultural upswing. Right-wing extremist populists are deliberately fueling it. Concerns about their increase were put on the agenda of the European Parliament. The right-wing extremist riots in the United Kingdom in the summer of 2024 are worrying, especially since they were incited by political and media rhetoric. This makes it all the more important to explore what still creates scapegoats today, which population groups stigmatize societies and "send them into the desert".

Taming Violence

The French cultural anthropologist René Girard provides a highly regarded theory on this challenge.⁹⁸ He assumes that human beings are shaped by that dark desire to whose destructive power the last commandment of the Decalogue refers. This is to be curbed in favor of a good life. Because, according to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, people naturally imitate each other, this evil desire is rampant, creating rivalry and violent conflicts. For Girard and other thinkers, society is seen as an enterprise for the survival of the perpetrators of violence in the midst of the violence they perpetrate. To this end, they create law and order. To exonerate themselves from their culpable actions, even to conceal them, they make use of archaic myths and religious rituals such as the scapegoat ritual. Although religious, this is also basically violent, as deadly violence is inflicted on an innocent animal. To make sure that it really perished, the buck was usually thrown to its death from a rock.

It is precisely this inner violence of the scapegoat ritual and its uselessness that the death of Jesus on the cross reveals. The scapegoat ritual is in vain, because even after the violent killing of the billy goat, desire, imitation, rivalry and violence remain powerful in society.

From the perspective of the victim, Jesus opens up an alternative path: He ends the spiral of violence. On the cross, he transforms violence into love. Even before his murder, he shows the path of a compassionate and non-violent love with the Sermon on the Mount, which proves itself in the love of de-enmity. This ethic is represented by the "followers of his way" (Acts 9:2), who are celebrated at baptism into the room of the Beatitudes: which is also symbolized by the fact that the old baptismal churches and baptismal fonts are designed as octagons, i.e. octagonal, and thus refer to the eight of the Beatitudes. The ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, highly esteemed by Mahatma Gandhi, praises non-violence and peace-making ways out of violence as "blessed": "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9) "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land." (Matthew 5:5)

René Girard's interpretation of the scapegoat ritual was received by well-known theologians and social ethicists⁹⁹ . It seems conclusive, but encourages further inquiries.

1. A first question comes from anthropology: Does the assumption of the violence-generating imitation of a desire understood as dark, even evil, do justice to real people? Isn't Catholic anthropology more ambivalent than that of the thoroughly convinced Catholic Girard? If God, who according to John is pure love, has created man well in his image, is there not also – in the words of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan – the ultimately insatiable bright desire of love, that longing (désir, demande d'amour) that arises from the transformation of need (besoin)?

2. Wouldn't the interpretive approach of the proven cultural anthropologist and excellent literary scholar Girard then benefit from a courageous interdisciplinary expansion? Could a dialogue with the social science (Hartmut Rosa), as well as neuroscientific theories of resonance (Joachim Bauer) or the depth-psychological theories of fear (Eugen Drewermann, Søren Kierkegaard, Eugen Biser, Monika Renz) significantly deepen Girard's approach and make it more fruitful through such a relativization?

3. Such an expansion is suggested not least by the diversity of the types of sacrifice in Israel mentioned earlier. These are by no means solely due to the dark parts of life (sin, guilt), which leads to sin and guilt offerings. Far more occasions to sacrifice offer the joy of life, of community, of love. In the course of such an expansion, desire, power, imitation would not only remain with their fundamentally negative sound. In addition to the dramatic story of the scapegoat in the Bible, does not the Song of Songs of Love already sound in the time before Paul? Poetry, tenderness, beauty and not violence characterize this love song. With Hanna Ahrendt, benign¹⁰⁰ beneficial power could be separated from malignant, destructive violence. This would also positively evaluate the great achievement of societies in curbing malignant violence through a monopoly of benign power (over laws, jurisdiction, police). There would then be no need to suspect hidden malicious violence in all corners of society. Everywhere there would be far more hiding places of God. God's good spirit and not only dark desires that make evil, would be at work at all times.

The sociological social theory of Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, in its sober serenity beyond all judgment, offers a successful balance between the enlightened social optimism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the social pessimism widespread today of all those who interpret humanity's efforts for peace and justice (alone) through the lens of (hidden) negative violence. One does not have to deny diabolical violence to assert a primacy of love. Trust then proves to be stronger than fear.¹⁰¹

4. Perhaps the most important question to René Girard's concept is probably how the violence-reducing ethics of the Sermon on the Mount can really shape the lives of individuals, communities and peoples in a sustainable way.

Pathways to Nonviolent Communication

Experts are now looking for such feasible ways to reduce the coexistence of people within and between individual nations after outbreaks of violence. The goal of such paths is peaceful communication.

In this regard, the concept of nonviolent communication (NVC) by Marshall B. Rosenberg is being considered.¹⁰² He and his school are not only concerned with a conclusive understanding of violent conflicts and how they arise, but also with the practical practice of non-violent conditions.¹⁰³

The following concrete measures are considered to be effective. At the beginning there is an attempt to describe the conflict-laden events without evaluating and interpreting them. What counts is what you hear and see. Then it is important to pay attention to one's own feelings, to share them without accusing others. No one is burdened with guilt and "sent into the desert" like the billy goat once was. In the conversation, the other person is then signaled what is behind the feelings in terms of one's own needs. The empathetic, but quite authentically confrontational exchange finally leads to a request to the other to refrain from or change irritating behavior.

All of this applies mutually. If possible, understanding for each other should grow in this way and misunderstandings should be avoided as much as possible. Such an exchange takes place on the basis of mutual appreciation.

During the negotiations for a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, Jizzakh Rabin and Yasir Arafat are said to have assured each other that they would commemorate the suffering of the other people in the future. It is the authority of the suffering and their mutual sensitivity to suffering that can make just peace possible.

Healing Violence-Generational Fear

Some, like Monika Renz¹⁰⁴, try to dig even deeper in a stimulating dialogue between spirituality and depth psychology. Renz asks about the root of violence and what makes good desire evil. She locates this in a deep-seated fear that she calls primal fear. It is true that every human being comes from a space of trust, from a paradise that religions associate with God. But on the way to becoming an ego, the basic capital of life, the basic trust, is overlaid by a primal fear, buried and made inaccessible: a good explanation of the "original sin" or even better of the "hereditary disaster" (Hermann Stenger) that lurks in all people (Romans 7:20). Its two main dimensions are: what comes to me becomes too much for me; what I need to revolt against finitude and the death inherent in life is too little. Those who are imprisoned in it defend themselves against this primal fear through violence, greed and lies: in other words, also through violence. Although the violence is aggressively directed outwards, it is at the same time defensively directed against inner fear. Such fear desolidarizes. Fear makes evil. Fear contributes to the emergence of violence-generating dark desire, which is for self-protection.

But it is not enough to understand fear. It is the basic challenge of the human being, who is created to love in the image of God, to persist in fear, that is, to become a loving person in the midst of fear. This is achieved by people who penetrate through the soul layer of fear to the buried source of basic trust. There they anchor their lives. They live from this source. They are mystics because they are at home in the secret. As such, they are exempt from becoming violent. They can become what they are: lovers.

Overcoming violence and, at the root of it, primal fear is therefore about being connected to the source of trust and thus of our lives. Religions call them God. Jungian depth psychology speaks of the true self. This search for connectedness (re-ligio) is the essence of all religion, its narratives and rituals.

Thus, fear does not lead to an ethical imperative, not even that of the Sermon on the Mount, but to healing from the imprint of primal fear. Such healing is grace in faith. The churches could be such places of experience of this healing grace. That is why many contemporary theologians such as Eugen Biser, Eugen Drewermann or Pope Francis demand a shift from moralizing to healing from the Church, and thus from ethics to mysticism. In following the Saviour, the churches are called to be a land of salvation. In the healing force field of connection with God, the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount can also practically lead to an end to deadly violence.

The Deer of God's Longing

Deer, gazelles and roe deer are the guests in this further animal meditation. In the Bible, they are admired as a reading aid for man's deep longing for God and love. Gazelles in particular are considered graceful and nimble. A leader in King David's army is reported: "Asael was as nimble on his feet as a gazelle in the field." (2 Samuel 2:18) Of the Gadites who joined the Lord of David, it is reported: "They were valiant heroes, battle-trained warriors with shield and lance, looked like lions and nimble like gazelles on the mountains." (1 Chronicles 12:9). In a song attributed to King David, the praying man gives thanks for having been well equipped by God for the battle, because: "He made me jump as fast as the hinds, he put me on heights." (Psalm 18:34)

Buddha's Deer

In 2011, I visited the Tibetan Lhasa with my colleague Peter Neuner after teaching at the seminary in Beijing. There, next to the Potala, the palace of the Dalai Lama, stands the temple monastery Jokhang, built in 640. It is a jewel of Tibetan Buddhism and is a World Heritage Site. From the roof, we could see the crowd of worshippers praying around the temple. Opposite them, groups of six soldiers, armed with machine guns, marched at intervals. These were intended to prevent a Buddhist monk or nun from setting himself on fire in protest against the Chinese occupiers.

On the roof there is a depiction of a large Dharma wheel, flanked by a roebuck and a deer. The eight spokes of the wheel of fortune symbolize the steps of the path of the Highest Yoga Tantra. The accompanying deer are reminiscent of Buddha's teachings on compassion not only towards humans, but also towards animals.

The biblical narratives remind us of a similar care of the author of creation, whom the Abrahamic religions call God, for "his" animals. In God's dialogue with Job, the latter asks the sufferer: "Do you know the time of the ibex, do you supervise the throwing of the deer?" (Job 39:1) God means: I do! God is also heard by the animals; the "voice of the Lord causes hinds to be snatched" (Psalm 29:9). If God punishes his people, according to the gloomy image of God at the time, then the animals are also severely affected. When it didn't rain in Israel for years, there was a great drought. According to the prophet Jeremiah, this was a catastrophe not only for the people, but also for the offspring of the animals: "The hind gives birth in the field and abandons its young because there is no more green." (Jeremiah 14:5)

Deer of the longing for God

The musically gifted Levitical temple singers' guild called "Korachites" had a warlike leader in its ancestral line. Korach had organized an uprising against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and paid for it with his life. (Numbers 16:1–35) This temple choir is credited with the not at all martial wisdom song of Psalm 42. The first two verses read:

As the deer longs for fresh water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, * for the living God. (Psalm 42:2–3)

In a similar way, Psalm 63 sings of the longing for God. In the Liturgy of the Hours of the Church, this psalm is written in the morning praise on the first day of the first week. In doing so, he forms the secret heading, as it were, of all the prayers of the People of God on their way through time: "God, my God you are, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you like a dry, thirsty land without water." (Psalm 63:2–9)

This song is identified as "A Psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah." A water-scarce desert is the place of thirst. The human being, a thirsty man on the way in the desert of life? Someone who thirsts for fresh water like a deer? (Psalm 63:2f.) One of Jesus' last words on the cross is: "I thirst". Does he share God's thirst for mankind? Is not the longing of the immoderate God for man the origin of the immeasurable longing in every human being, which cannot be satisfied in a moderate time?

I do not follow the trail of the longing of the human and probably also of the divine heart any further. I have already meditated extensively on this elsewhere. I only give the floor to Rainer Maria Rilke:

That's the longing

Living in the Gewogeund and having no home in time

And these are wishesQuiet dialogues of daily hours with eternity

And that is lifeUntil out of a yesterday rises the loneliest of all hoursWho, smiling differently than the other sisters, is silent towards the eternal

(Rainer Maria Rilke)

Like a gazelle

King Solomon was proverbially wise. Nevertheless, although he did not seek possessions, according to the Bible accounts of him, he was very rich: "Solomon's daily subsistence amounted to thirty grains of fine flour, sixty grains of ordinary flour, ten fattening cattle, twenty grazing cattle, a hundred sheep, not counting the deer, gazelles, roe deer, and fattened poultry." (1 Kings 5:2f.) The gazelle is already appearing: first among the foodstuffs.

Gazelles and hinds, around which this meditation revolves, play a role especially in the Song of Songs of the First Testament. Like a refrain, the love-drunk woman implores the daughters of Jerusalem "by the gazelles and hinds of the fields": "Do not disturb love, do not awaken it until it pleases herself!" (Song of Solomon 2:7; 3:5; 8:4) In oriental cultures, gazelles and hints were not only considered symbols of the goddesses of love. The lover is also compared to them: "Listen! My beloved! Look, he's coming. He jumps over the mountains, jumps over the hills. The gazelle is like my lover, the young deer." (Song of Solomon 2:8–9, 17) So it makes sense to turn to this biblical text and its main melody of love in this animal meditation.

Polygamous Faith Ancestors

In 1971, the bishops of the Catholic Church met in Rome on the subject of marriage and family. The moral theologian on the papal throne, John Paul II, was a primary concern to promote them in times of growing divorce rates and the growing trend of living together unmarried. The Cardinal of Kinshasa, Alfred-Joseph Malula (1917-1989), also took part in this Synod of Bishops. He spoke in plenary and is said to have said: "Holy Father, what do you object to polygamy in our African culture? Our father of faith Abraham also had many wives!" John Paul II is said to have clapped his hands in front of his face. At the World Synod 2021-2024, the polygamy way of life was criticized by African bishops on the agenda. The cardinal from an African country was right. Outstanding fathers of the faith such as Abraham, Jacob or David lived polygamously.

Polygamy was and still is primarily an economic and legal institution. In Muslim cultures, it regulated equal care through alimony and sex. This was also the case in Israel: those who could financially "afford" several women committed themselves to caring for them and their children on an equal footing. It was quite possible that Abraham, for example, preferred his Sarah as his main and favorite wife, which frustrated the concubine Hagar quite a bit.

For a long time, monogamy was also primarily shaped by economic interests and not by romantic love. In the time of my ancestors, for example, only those who had at least a small fief could marry. This was called a "fiefdom". It was about a contract, not about contracting. Those who could afford it often sought the joy of love in other supposedly paradisiacal gardens. Powerful people in the Middle Ages found what they were looking for in mistresses. Minstrels have dedicated soulful love songs to them.

Song of Songs

A skillfully arranged collection of love songs has been included in the Book of Books, the Bible. Even its title connects it with the wise King Solomon: "The song of songs that comes from Solomon". In addition, in one of the songs, the lover is identified as "King Solomon". His litter is used. (Song of Solomon 3:6–11) The lover tells in one of the songs: "The king leads me to his chambers". (Song of Solomon 1:4) However, towards the end of the work there is a rather disparaging distancing of the narrator from the king: "My own vineyard is before me" (Song of Solomon 8:12); the king should be content with his own vineyard, guarded by guards: this refers to Solomon's harem with its many wives and concubines.

Eventful history of interpretation

The interpretation of this "song of songs" is still being wrestled with astonishingly fierce to this day.¹⁰⁵ Over the centuries, two camps have emerged: a profane and a spiritual one.

The camp of the spiritual can look back on a long tradition. The Song of Solomon is not primarily about human love, but about God's love for Israel, later about Christ's love for his church or, as there is evidence in mysticism, about the love between God and the soul. This direction can put forward weighty arguments. The book was included in the Bible. In Judaism, it is read as a festival roll at Passover. Many Church Fathers have interpreted the love songs in this way. Representatives of this camp insist that the interpretation of the work, which is comparatively late among the Old Testament writings, must take into account the context of the books known up to that time, especially the prophets.¹⁰⁶ They call their way of interpreting allegorical: although it is about a fascinating love story, it wants to say something that is "different" and refers beyond it.

The much younger secular camp cannot follow an allegorical interpretation. Due to their secular scientific approach, they see in the Song of Songs simply a collection of profane love poems, which are fortunately handed down in the Bible. Johann Gottfried Herder is considered a key witness. Reformed Bible experts have followed him.

The two camps agree that the Song of Songs is an enchanting poetry of love. The love sung about is important to both sides. The profane admire human love within themselves. For the spiritual, the human love sung about opens the door to the depths of faith: the love story of God with his people, with his world, with every soul. So some admire the love poems literally, others interpret them allegorically.

Some from the secular school accuse the spiritual school of devaluing human love itself. One finds an anxious yes with them, but. Love is considered intoxicating. But then warnings and calls for order quickly follow: incidentally, only with regard to love, but not with regard to the equally intoxicating wine. This is a consequence of dualistic-Manichean thinking, which evaluates the mind as good, but mistrusts body and sexuality as a malignant prison of the soul. To this day, reform movements accuse the Christian churches of hostility to the body. The erotic-sexual "joy of love" (amoris laetitia) was considered sinful in the times of the Church Fathers and could only be accepted in a marital act if children could be produced from it. In principle, such hostility to the body has been overcome in the Catholic tradition. In any case, it plays no role in the song of love.

In the spiritual camp, commentaries on the Song of Solomon expressly emphasize that human love is by no means devalued, but even enhanced by its allegorical interpretation.¹⁰⁷ At the same time, its proponents do not hold back with warnings that human love, as it is sung about in the Song of Songs, must be ordered if it is not to tip over into suffering; that physical pleasure must be integrated into a personal movement of love. In addition, the love sung about, because it is divine, breathes eternity and infinity, an excessiveness that can immeasurably overwhelm the love between people. Such considerations are not to be found in the secular exegete camp.

I would now like to take you as a reader into a contemplative reading of the collection of love songs in the Song of Songs. It may be that images from her own love life emerge. Perhaps you feel sadness about what you have missed or gratitude about what you have experienced. It can happen that premonitions of the ever greater love of God arise.

Love, daughter of all delights" (Song of Solomon 7:7)

Since 2011, it has been possible to order love letters on the Internet from the so-called "letter master". According to its own information, it has now served over 1,000 customers.¹⁰⁸ Over the centuries, far more people have certainly gone to the love school of the biblical "Song of Songs, which comes from Solomon" than to the love letter specialist on the Internet. Some of his passages are also familiar to non-believing educated people. "Put me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm." (8:6) "Love is as strong as death." (8:6) "I am sick with love." (2:5) "I sought him, but did not find him. I called him and he didn't answer me." (5.6)

The Song of Songs is truly a school of love. Sensual and spiritual at the same time, tender, full of desire, intoxicating, sensitive, longing. paradisiacal. The Magic Flute seems to be inspired by her. Lovers go through fire and water unscathed on their path of trial – the floods of chaos cannot extinguish love. Because, as the Song of Solomon also does, "their gluten is fire gluten, mighty flames. Mighty waters cannot extinguish love." (8:6f.) And like Tamino, the lovers also sing in the Song of Songs of Love: "This image is enchantingly beautiful!"

He said to her: "Behold, you are beautiful, my friend, behold, you are beautiful" (1:15, 4:1), "Everything about you is beautiful, my friend, there is no blemish on you." (4,7)She said to him: "You are beautiful, my beloved, tempting." (1,16)

Three times the beauty of the beloved is vividly painted, once that of the beloved. It is like pausing in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence in front of the masterful portrait by Sandro Botticelli, which shows the arrival of the Roman goddess Venus emerging from a shell on the coast of Paphos. Or in front of Michelangelo's marble-carved figure of David in the Galleria dell'Accademia, also in Florence, which depicts David in preparation for the fight against Goliath. Both are masterpieces of the noble beauty of the female and male body. In the works of art, the beauty of the figures captivates the viewer. Poetry, on the other hand, loves the detail, which forms itself into a beautiful figure in the reader.

Whoever the beloved in the song of love is: everything about her beguiles. From head to toe, it is admired and sung. Her hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Gilead. Her cheek resembles the crack of a pomegranate behind her veil (5:7). Their confusing (5.5) eyes are like doves (1.15; 4.1), like ponds (7.5). The nose is like a tower, the breath is allowed to smell like apples. Their teeth are like a flock of freshly shorn sheep rising from the flood (6:2). Her lips are like a crimson ribbon, her mouth is charming. (6:3) Her neck is like the tower of David (4:4), like a tower of ivory. (7:5) Her body is a heap of wheat, surrounded by lilies (7:3). Their breasts are like two fawns, the twins of a gazelle (7,4), grazing under lilies (4 5):

Your growth is like a palm tree; your breasts are like grapes. I say: I want to climb the palm tree, I grab its panicles. Like grapes on the vine, let your breasts be to me. (7:8f.)

Her navel is a round shell, and he does not lack spiced wine (7,3). Her hips are round like jewels, made by an artist's hand (7,2). Her feet are beautiful in the sandals (7,2).

The beauty of the beloved is not inferior to its beauty. No one comes close to him. This is how the lover paints his portrait:

My lover is white and red, distinguished in front of thousands. His head is pure gold, his curls are panicles, raven-black. His eyes are like doves by streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting by the water. His cheeks are like balsam beds, in which spice herbs sprout, his lips like lilies; they drip from liquid myrrh. His hands are rolls of gold, set with stones of Tarshish. His body is a plate of ivory, covered with sapphires. Its legs are columns of marble, placed on pedestals of fine gold. Its shape is like Lebanon, exquisite like cedars. His palate is sweetness, everything about him is delight. This is my beloved, yes, this is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem. (5,10–16)

It is a love with all the senses: with the eyes that admire beauty, with ears that listen to the familiar voice: "Let me see your face, let me hear your voice! For sweet is your voice, sweet is your face." (2:14) Fragrances are absorbed. The lovers can taste and smell each other while kissing. Full of longing, the beloved wishes: "Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth" (1:2), which gives her pleasure and joy: "How sweet his fruit tastes to my palate!" (2:3) "Honey and milk are under your tongue." (4,11)

Although the Song of Songs is a collection of different love poems, they are nevertheless composed into a single love story. The lovers experience strong feelings. The two don't just drink from the overflowing cornucopia of love. Love is almost exhausting: "For I am sick with love" (2:5; 5:8). Their love knows ups and downs, is a search and finding, a withdrawal and knocking. "At night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves. I looked for him and didn't find him." (3:1) She leaves her camp and goes in search of her lover in the dark, but in vain, for even the guards cannot tell her where he is.

This scene of unfulfilled longing is repeated:

I was asleep, but my heart was awake. Listen, my lover knocks: Open to me, my sister, my friend, my dove, my spotless one, for my head is full of dew, the night drips from my curls! I've already taken off my dress – should I wear it again? I have washed my feet – should I soil them again? My lover stretched his hand through the hatch; then my heart trembled towards him. I got up to open the door to my beloved. Then my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bar. I opened the door to my lover: But my lover was gone, disappeared. My soul was beside itself when he spoke to me. I looked for him and did not find him. I called him and he didn't answer me. (5,2–6)

But it does not always stop at searching in vain. There is jubilation over the fulfilment of their longing. The lover rests like a betel of myrrh between her breasts (1:13). "His left hand is under my head, his right embraces me." (2:6) "I belong to my beloved, and my beloved is mine." (6:3) It is discreetly told how they give themselves to each other.

The lover raves about their shared love, about their intimate back and forth, without superiority or subordination from a time when men ruled over women in a post-paradisiacal manner and ruled at her: "You have enchanted me, my sister bride; enchanted with a look of your eyes, with a pearl of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, my sister bride, how much sweeter is your love than wine, the fragrance of your ointments more delicious than all the perfumes of balsam." (4:9f.)

It is what it is

It is worthwhile to let the power of the erotic-sexual images and narratives of the Song of Songs work its magic on oneself, i.e. without profound exegetical interpretation. A symphony by Mozart unfolds its power when it is played or enjoyed, and not when it is musicologically analyzed. After all, you don't celebrate a festival of love with Oswald Kolle's educational book in your hand. Love can be talked into pieces and thought through. Even those in the song of songs.

Simply letting the Song of Songs and its love poems sink in makes spiritual sense. The stronger the images, the more likely they are to become a reading aid for the larger things to which the images allegorically refer: then it is possible to understand not only what the profane-sounding love songs tell us about, but also what they could mean. Whoever devalues the profane images, on the other hand, at the same time obscures the view of the unbelievably great: the love of the unswervingly faithful (Deuteronomy 32:4) God for his world, his people, his souls. "Great love and great suffering" (Richard Rohr) are God's hiding places as well as reliable ways to him in one. But how can we grasp that God is love if we do not know love and its sufferings? How can he be drunk with God if he has no idea of Eros in the flesh? The author calls for exactly this: "Get intoxicated with love!" (Song of Solomon 5:1)

Love songs from our time breathe the same lightness, impartiality, sensuality and tenderness as the song of songs. With two love poems by Erich Fried and Rainer Maria Rilke, I round off this meditation on the gazelle, the archaic symbol of the goddess of love, or more precisely, of divine love.

What it is

It's nonsensesays reasonIt's what it issays love

It's misfortunesays the calculationIt's nothing but painsays the fearIt's hopelesssays the insightIt's what it issays love

It's ridiculoussays prideIt's recklesssays cautionIt's impossiblesays experienceIt's what it issays love

Erich Fried (1983)¹⁰⁹

Love Song

How shall I hold my soul so that it does not touch yours? How shall I lift them
above thee to other things? Oh, I would like to place her in the dark with something lost in a strange quiet place that does not continue to vibrate when your depths vibrate. But everything that touches us, you and me, takes us together like a bow stroke that draws a voice from two strings. Which instrument are we looking forward to? And which violinist has us in his hand? O sweet song.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1907)¹¹⁰

Guileless as pigeons

"Better a bird in the hand than a pigeon on the roof." This idiom seems banal compared to the role that the dove plays in the Bible, but also in mythologies of ancient cultures. This will be shown in this animal meditation on the idiosyncratic striding and cooing bird.

Beauty, love and fertility

In Mesopotamia, the dove is associated with the goddess Ishtar, who represents love and fertility. In a similar way, according to Greek and Roman mythology, the dove was revered as a sacred animal: it operates in the circle of Aphrodite and Venus as a symbol of love and beauty. This was well known to the author of the Song of Songs. In the words of the lovers, which are sung back and forth, the eyes of the beloved are (like) doves (Song of Solomon 1:15; 4:1). The eyes of the beloved are also "like doves by streams of water" (Song of Solomon 5:1). The Beloved calls his "dove, my spotless one" (Song of Solomon 5:2) from its hiding places in the clefts and cliffs (Song of Solomon 2:14).

Cooing

The love courtship of the pigeons includes cooing. It is a "song" that pigeons and pigeons produce not in the larynx, but in their syrinx in the esophagus with their beak closed. It's not necessarily a compliment to say that someone is cooing today.

Israel knows itself to be the beloved dove that cries out to Yahweh in the distress of enemies: "Do not give up the life of your dove to the beast of prey!" (Psalm 74:19) However, when the prophet Ezekiel foretells disaster to the covenant-breaking people, he foresees that those who escape God's wrath and escape will dwell in the mountains like doves in the rocks; they all groan, each because of his guilt. (Ezekiel 7:16)

In this affliction by an angry God, the cooing of the lovers also takes on a different sound: "We all growl like bears and coo like doves," is how the prophet Isaiah aphorizes the lamentation of God's wrath (Isaiah 59:11). The seriously ill King Hezekiah groans before God heals him: "Like a swift, like a swallow, so I beep, I coo like a dove." (Isaiah 38:14) When the prophet Nahum threatens the people of Nineveh, he hears "their maidservants wailing like cooing doves" (Nahum 2:8).

Innocent

Jesus certifies that the doves are innocent. So he counseled the disciples he sent: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be wise as serpents and guileless as doves!" (Matthew 10:16), to immediately add: "Beware of men!" (Matthew 10:17)

The prophet Hosea, on the other hand, had a less good opinion of the doves. He criticizes the failed policy of the tribe of Ephraim by using a dove-unfriendly comparison: "Ephraim is like a dove, easily enticed, without reason." (Hosea 7:11) According to current knowledge, ornithologists would vehemently contradict that pigeons are stupid. The opposite is the case. Pigeons are smart, can orient themselves well in new environments, have a strong spatial memory. They can be trained to solve complex tasks and recognize symbols. Nor is it true that pigeons are dirty animals, although their droppings are irritating on the streets of cities where pigeons like to live.

Sacred Animals in the Sanctuary

In Israel, pigeons were sacrificial animals that even the poor could afford. Joseph and Mary made pilgrimages to the temple according to the Mosaic Law. Like all firstborns, Jesus belonged to Yahweh and had to be "redeemed." In addition, the purification of the mother Mary, who had become "impure" through birth, had to be carried out. So they sacrificed "a pair of turtle doves or two young doves" (Luke 2:24).

Jesus, like the prophets before him, criticized the sacrificial cult. Mercy is more important to God than the scent of sacrifices. He was even more upset by the fact that the sacred place of the temple had become a merchant's business. Enraged, he overturned the merchants' tables and carried out a different kind of cleansing than that which had been carried out on his "defiled" mother (Matthew 21:12-17). It is appropriate that at pilgrimage sites the sanctuary and the distribution of devotional objects are strictly separated. The relationship between pastoral care and money care is sensitive.

The dove of peace

"The earth is full of violence" (Genesis 6:11), this was God's diagnosis of the moral state of the world whose creation he had still considered fundamental good in the final evaluation of his creative work. Immediately, however, God also continued in the language of violence: "I see that the end of all creatures of flesh has come... I want to destroy it at the same time as the earth." (Genesis 6:13) "I will destroy from the face of the earth the man whom I have created, and with him the cattle, the reptiles, and the birds of the air, for I regret having made them." (Genesis 6:7)

To accomplish this, God temporarily abolished the separation between the upper and lower waters, which were separated on the second day of creation (Genesis 1:6–8). This opened the floodgates of heaven and it rained until the land was completely flooded up to the tops of the mountains. All life was drowned and with it the people and their wickedness. God, in his zeal against wickedness, caused a humane and ecological catastrophe of a global nature: the Flood. With sinners, sin was to be eradicated.

Etymologically, however, the word flood has nothing to do with sin, but means Old High German sin(t)fluot, i.e. "comprehensive flooding". Other languages still know this formulation: great flood, diluvio universale (global flood). It was not until the 13th century that the word "Sündflut" appeared in German. Now the word reminds us of the cause of the flood: the sin of mankind.

Such an ecological catastrophe, which wiped out the lives of land animals and humans, is not only reported in Genesis, but also in the myths of all the great world cultures, except that of Africa. The Sumerian-Akkadian Atraḫasis epic from the 19th century BC, which was partly adopted in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, shows great similarity to the biblical narrative. In this epic, however, it is not an angry god and a wicked humanity that face each other, but two gods argue with each other: the capricious storm god (Elil) and the god of wisdom (Enki/Ea). One sends the flood, the other rescues the hero of the epic Atraḫasis from the floods. But since Jewish tradition knew only one God, the God of the Jews did both himself: He destroyed humanity and at the same time He saved his hero: Noah¹¹¹ and his family.

This rescue operation is described in detail in the book of Genesis. God provided the blueprint of an ark. He demanded species protection from Noah: all animals should survive in a reproductive capacity. He gave the signal to get in. In a book called the Book of Enoch, which was included in the Bible only in Ethiopia, it is reported that when a stubborn donkey boarded, the devil himself took the chance to get on board. North Asian legends have taken up this thread and spun it further. The shipbuilder's wife (now called Noj or Nama in the Mongolian Altai language) is portrayed as evil and allied with the devil. After boarding the ark, God himself closed the entrance to the saving ship. Then the torrential heavy rain set in.

Now the dove finally comes into the meditative game. When the floodgates of heaven had closed again and the heavy rain had stopped, land came into sight. The ark touched down on the mountains of Ararat in present-day Turkey. Noach tried to clarify after the touchdown whether it was possible to get out. He opened a hatch and let a raven fly. "It flew in and out until the water on the earth dried up." (Genesis 8:7) Finally, the captain of the Ark did a double check, because he obviously didn't trust the raven:

Then he let a dove out to see if the water on the ground had diminished. The dove found nowhere to rest its feet, and returned to him in the ark, because there was still water over all the earth. He stretched out his hand and took it back into the ark. Then he waited another seven days and let the dove out of the ark again. Towards evening the dove came back to him and behold: in its beak it had a fresh olive branch. Then Noah knew that the water on earth had decreased. He waited another seven days and let the dove out. Now she did not return to him. (Genesis 8:8–12)

The dove with the olive branch made an impressive symbolic career in many areas of culture. The logo of the peace movement was born. Pablo Picasso painted his famous pigeon silhouette for the World Peace Congress in Paris in 1949. This made it onto a Soviet stamp in 1981. Since his daughter was born to the painter at the same time, he called her Paloma, the dove in Spanish. In 1955, the dove earned him the World Peace Prize.

In the story of Noah, God continued to be in charge. He ordered the orderly disembarking: First Noah with his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives, eight persons in number. Then the birds and the reptiles were to be brought out. Since they were always reproductive pairs, the earth could soon be teeming with them again. They were fertile and multiplied. (Genesis 8:17f.)

Noah, as befits a myth, was¹¹² incredibly old at 600 years old. Above all, however, he was not evil, but God-fearing. Therefore, he immediately built an altar and sacrificed animals that God had told him to take with him as a precaution when he entered. The soothing scent of the burnt animals (Genesis 8:21) caused God - somehow remorseful - to say "Never again". He will never again corrupt mankind and the animals of the earth of his own accord. Did he foresee that people would tackle this themselves anyway? They had remained evil ("the desire of the human heart is evil from youth": Genesis 8:21). The eradication of sin by the destruction of sinners had failed. The devilish stowaway had obviously got out again with the stubborn donkey. In any case, God seems to know about this sinful destruction of the earth in the Anthropocene. In the last book of the Bible, the so-called Revelation of John, we read:

Then came your wrath: the time to judge the dead,
the time to reward your servants, the prophets and the saints,
and all who fear your name, the small and the great,
the time to destroy all who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)

It would be good for our fellow world and fellow human beings if the "never again" that God has sworn to himself would also be adopted by people. It would be one of the most important tasks of the community that calls itself the People of God to constantly remind us of this. From the very beginning, this people of God bears the honorary name of the "ekklesia", of those called out of the doomed humanity: that is, the church. It is called by the Church Fathers the saving ark, the new Noah's Ark. Perhaps the Christian churches together form something like an ark of salvation designed by God himself on the floods of time. Symbolically, the eight are saved. At that time, the eight people from the family of the ark builder. Today those, so again the Christian reinterpretation, which were taken up in the water of baptism into the saving ark. Eight means completion, Sunday is the eighth day for Christian communities. Taufkirchen and baptismal fonts are built octagonally. The baptized live the ethos of the eight Beatitudes. It is crucial that the violent old person drowns in the floods of the baptismal water and is free to love through the power of his devotion to God. Then the new beginning that God made with Noah and his family will continue unabatedly. The old violent Adam is drowned by the everyday crawling into baptism, according to Martin Luther.¹¹³ A new human being is formed, who treats fellow human beings and the world with care. The church arks would then contribute not only to the survival of the people, but also of the animals that she takes into the ark that saves them.

On the Philippine island of Luzon, in the province of Quezon, is the Catholic Prelature of Infanta. It is closely connected to the church in Wiener Neustadt. In my first year at the Vienna Chair of Pastoral Theology in 1984, I visited the Carmelite Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen (1926–2016). In my inaugural lecture, I presented what I learned from this encounter with Infanta.¹¹⁴

This local church in the Philippines has positioned itself on the side of the many oppressed in the country. Savings banks were founded so that the school fees for the children could be paid. A diocesan radio could be heard in all villages. The prelature campaigned politically for more justice. All this was summarized in a pastoral concept, which was decided together.

The church assembly had begun with a pilgrimage. In the process, exactly the natural spectacle occurred with which the Noah story ended. It was raining. When the people crossed a small river, a magnificent rainbow arched above them. In addition to circumcision, the rainbow has been regarded by believing Israelites since Noah's time as the sign of God's covenant with mankind, indeed with the whole earth: "I will set my bow in the clouds; it shall become the sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Genesis 9:13) The churches are thus the oldest rainbow parade.

This Noah story is important to me not only because of the church's responsibility for creation, the commitment against violence and for a just peace. It also makes clear how the image of God has been purified and deepened in the course of the history of revelation. The story begins with a "declaration of war" by God against depraved humanity. However, God is also reported in the Bible, which he has reported through the prophet Ezekiel: "Say to them, 'As I live,' declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the guilty, but in his turning back in his way and remaining alive.'" (Ezekiel 33:11). It becomes clear in this encouragement that humanity is not "punished" for its sins, but that it "punishes" itself, wounds and damages itself through its wickedness.

Thus, the story of annihilation ends with a peace treaty with unredeemed humanity, which is still inclined to sin. Because God is love, warlike and violent images contradict his innermost being, his unwavering fidelity, his justice and his mercy. This prohibits any justification of violence against fellow human beings and the world in the name of the true God.

The Ghost Dove

Change of location from the mountains of Ararat to Galilee. From the flood to the floods of the Jordan. John baptizes. Jesus, who had already made a name for himself as a teacher and healer, joins the ranks of the baptismal candidates. When it was his turn and John recognized him, he did not want to baptize him out of sheer humility. Jesus, however, persisted in his baptismal request. Johannes gave in. While he was baptizing, heaven was opened, and "the Holy Spirit came down on him visibly in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven said, 'You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased'" (Luke 3:21f.; Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11).

The Gospel of John deepens the event theologically: "And John testified, 'I saw that the Spirit came down from heaven like a dove and remained upon him. I didn't know him either; but he who sent me to baptize with water, he said to me, 'Whoever you see the Spirit descending on and abiding on him, he is the one baptizing with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen it and testified that this is the Son of God." (John 1:32–34)

In Christian iconography, the dove has not always symbolized the "Holy Spirit". This is also visible in the Pentecostal fire (Acts 2:3). Or in bubbling spring water (John 7:37; Revelation 22:17). Anointing oil also serves as a spirit symbol (Luke 4:18), for example at confirmation. The fact that the Spirit blows where it wants to exercise humility for church organizations (John 3:8) refers to the spirit symbol of the wind.

Early on, the Holy Spirit was portrayed as a person as a member of the Trinity. However, the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD ordered the use of the harmless symbol of the dove for the Holy Spirit. Apparently, however, many did not adhere to it. Otherwise, Pope Urban VIII would not have had to expressly forbid the depiction of the Holy Spirit in human form in 1628. In 1745, Benedict XIV allowed only the dove as a spirit symbol. This impoverishment of symbols is a little regrettable. Valuable facets were lost in the image of the Holy Spirit.

In 1923, in the church of St. Jakob in Urschalling am Chiemsee, a woman scratched the rotten church plaster and discovered old frescoes from the 14th century. Perhaps they had fallen victim to Pope Urban's ban and had been whitewashed. Or they were so damaged by moisture that they were painted over. In the meantime, they have been uncovered and are in excellent condition. One of the frescoes shows the Trinity as three closely intertwined figures. They wrap themselves in a coat. Her three halos overlap. The fact that they form a unit and act together can be seen from the fact that the three have only two arms. In the middle, between father and son, is the Holy Spirit as a young woman, in whom some see a beautiful young man, because they could not imagine femininity in God. An observation by Leonardo Boff, who thinks he recognizes a vulva where the figures grow together, seems to speak for a woman. This corresponds to the idea of great mystics who constantly see God in the birth of creation: "I had been silent for a very long time, I was silent and held back. Like a woman giving birth, I will now scream, I moan and struggle for air." (Isaiah 42:14)

To see the Spirit of God as female comes close to the Jewish understanding of the Spirit of God, which is feminine as ruach, breath, and Greek as wisdom, sophia: what believing women in a male-dominated church with a male-dominated image of God probably likes. In Jewish mysticism, especially in the Kabbalah, the process of creation is also described as the process of giving birth. Here, the divine wisdom (chokmah) is masculine and the divine understanding (binah) is feminine; it takes on the role of giving birth.

Such images of the Spirit of God breathe biblical charm. They point out that God is "generative", "creative". This creative spiritual power hovered over the waters when everything was still confusion and confusion. According to the mystic and paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin, whom the church should finally rehabilitate, it is also the force that drives the unfolding and surveying of the world (Carsten Bresch), i.e. evolution (Charles Darwin), as wisdom and love, modern speaking as resonance. Creation thus proves to be an ongoing process: God is constantly giving birth. The goal of this "creatio continua", as many sages see it, is at the end of history the universal, "cosmic Christ", into whom everything and everyone matures. The descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove on Jesus in the Jordan announces that this process of maturation has culminated in its finale, that history has arrived in the end times (1 Corinthians 10:11; Lumen gentium 48).

How this spirit, who came down as a dove at the baptism in the Jordan, shaped his public ministry, Jesus made clear in his inaugural speech in the synagogue of Capernaum, in which he referred to the prophet Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me.
He sent me to bring good news to the poor;
so that I may proclaim release to the prisoners and sight to the blind;
so that I may set the oppressed at liberty and proclaim a year of the Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18f.)

God is generous with the outpouring of His liberating Spirit. It is not only Jesus who is filled with the Spirit as the prototype of the new man. Rather, according to the prophet Joel, at the end of time "this will happen: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters will be prophets, your old will have dreams, and your young men will have visions. I will also pour out my Spirit on servants and maidservants in those days." (Joel 3:1f.)

The biblical narratives tell of such an outpouring of God's spiritual power on the frightened disciples of Jesus gathered in Jerusalem: now not in the form of the dove, but of tongues of fire. In the Pantheon in Rome, a forgotten old custom has been carried out again for several decades. The Pentecostal spiritual miracle is impressively symbolically re-enacted. Through the light opening in the dome of the church, the so-called Opaion, thousands and thousands of red rose petals are scattered into the room at the end of the service. The Pentecost hymn Veni creator spiritus, come, Holy Spirit, is heard.

Both the prophet Joel and the Acts of the Apostles emphasize that the divine spiritual power is given to all. Paul also addressed the Christians of the church in Corinth: "The revelation of the Spirit is given to each one, that it may benefit others" (1 Corinthians 12:7). With the Spirit, very different creative "spiritual gifts" are bestowed, charisms that benefit not only the good of the communities of the Gospel, but also their service in today's world. But the greatest gift of the Spirit is love, without which all grandiose gifts would be useless. When God, who is pure love in himself, pours out his spiritual power on people, it shapes them into lovers in solidarity. Then the Spirit-filled like Jesus become glad tidings for the poor.

The time when only ordained people were called "clergy" in the Catholic Church is over. All members of the Church are "clergymen." Therefore, everyone has the same dignity. It is incumbent upon them to listen to the Spirit who speaks to them through others. They also have the gift of distinguishing spirits. Because our cognition can always be overshadowed by power and interests.

However, the prophet did not predict that God would pour out his Spirit on all exclusively for the church members. What applies to the church as a whole applies. It is a "sacrament", i.e. a powerful reading aid for what God intends for everyone and accomplishes for everyone: that in the course of their lives they become lovers through the often invisibly given spiritual power of God. The dove, in the form of which the spirit power of God descended on Jesus, flies into the open hatches of the arks of the hearts of all men, with an olive branch in its beak: "The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)

Ravens save Elijah's life

Unlucky ravens

If someone is pursued by bad luck, we call him an unlucky raven. This is a subcategory of the unlucky one. Now ravens certainly have dark coloration just from their appearance. Most of these proud birds are pitch black, which is not good information about a day or an event. In Israel, the dietary order contributed to an unfavorable image: ravens were among those despicable animals whose meat was not allowed to be eaten (Leviticus 11:13). The beauty-concerned ladies are also not happy about "crow's feet", although these are an almost inexhaustible business basis for the manufacturers of Botox and the craftsmen of the beauty industry.

To describe someone as a "raven mother" and thus as a badly caring raven parent cannot be based on the prudent care of offspring by raven parents. This denigration probably has to do with the fact that young ravens leave the protective nest relatively early and then come along rather awkwardly for a while. This pitiful state of affairs could be interpreted against the raven mothers. Martin Luther sympathized with the reproachful term of the raven mother. He thought he could base this on a verse in the Book of Job, where it says: "Who prepares food for the raven when his young cry out to God and wander about without food?" (Job 38:41) Job said that God would then step in for the badly caring raven mothers. In the opposite direction of the insult of the raven mothers today point terms such as Gluckenmutter or the latest helicopter parents.

In the Christian Middle Ages, ravens were classified as devil animals. They were demonized. Does this have to do with the fact that ravens accompany carrion eating animals and thus radiate death, ruin and the underworld? This undoubtedly favored the inclusion of the ravens in the devil's entourage. Some Church Fathers have taken a committed part in the demonization of ravens. Ravens, in association with vultures, also punished people who did not follow God's instructions: "An eye that mocks the father and despises the old mother, the ravens peck out of the stream, the young vultures eat it up." (Proverbs 30:17) Germanic mythology also cultivated the negative image of ravens: as Wotan's bird, it did not have a good reputation.

Because in the Middle Ages those hanged as punishment were often not buried, they were left to the birds to eat, in which ravens were happy to participate. This earned Raben the gruesome nickname gallows bird.

Intelligent animals

The stately ravens, which are called the typical croaking crows in their small edition, do not deserve their negative coloration. This is also not continuous. The black ravens also have a brightly colored and friendly side.

The ravens benefit from their proven intelligence. In this respect, they are not inferior to the great apes. Ravens manage to get hold of hard-to-reach food. They find their way excellently in different habitats. They can plan complex actions. Ravens use road and rail traffic to crack nuts, fruits and stones. If a bus has blown up a nut laid out by ravens, they wait for the red light of the traffic light to collect the seeds. The raven, which can live up to thirty years, develops sophisticated strategies to get hold of eggs and young birds.

Ravens build their nests in the jungle, in mountains, in rocks, caves and on trees. Some species proved to be successful cultural followers in the course of evolution: they left their familiar habitat and moved into the area of human settlements. They even use war ruins. The prophet Isaiah threatens the Transjordanian kingdom of Edom with the destruction of its cities and drastically illustrates the catastrophe for its literally ruined country as follows: "Owl and hedgehog take possession of it, ibis and raven dwell in it." (Isaiah 34:11) It will be similar with the neighboring nations of Judah: "He will make Nineveh desolate, it will wither like the desert. Herds of all kinds of animals of the pasture are stored there, owls and jackdaws spend the night on the capitals of the columns. There is a loud cry in the window, a raven croaks on the threshold. Because the cedar paneling is gone." (Zephaniah 2:13f.)

Because ravens and crows are among the most intelligent animals, they have been given a permanent place in the old myths, legends and fairy tales. They also benefited from their flight safety. The Norse god Odin was accompanied by the two ravens Hugin and Munin. Crows surrounded the Indian goddess Kali. The ravens were sacred to the Greek god Apollo. The Anglo-Saxon King Arthur is said not to have died, but to have been transformed into a raven. Did Noah let a raven fly out of the ark as a test bird after the great flood subsided, because he believed that this clever animal was the most capable of realistically assessing the situation? (Genesis 8:8)

In legends and fairy tales, ravens show lost hikers the way. In a verse of Wilhelm Müller's "Winterreise", set to music by Franz Schubert in 1827, a crow guides the wanderer on his increasingly gloomy journey to the grave: Schubert died a year later. Just as the bear was a faithful companion of St. Corbinian on his arduous journey to Rome, among the "servants" of St. Oswald, the saintly Anglo-Saxon king, one finds a crow as a helpful messenger. Two ravens pursued the murderers of the hermit Meinrad, the founder of Einsiedeln, and ensured that a court could convict them appropriately.

Grimm's raven fairy tale No. 25 of the seven ravens is touching. Seven boys had been turned into ravens by a wish of his father, which he thoughtlessly threw: "I wanted the boys to all become ravens!" Which happened immediately. The father had been annoyed that his seven sons did not come back from the well. There he had sent her with a jug for water to baptize his finally born but very weak daughter. The jug had fallen into the well of the boys in a quarrel and they did not dare to go home.

The daughter had not been told by her parents about this momentous incident. But somehow she had to find out so that the fairy tale could be continued. She heard from neighbors what was happening and that they blamed her for the curse. Driven by her feelings of guilt, she immediately went in search of the seven siblings to release them from their curse. She reached the sun, which was too hot, the moon that was too cold, the friendly stars. And finally to a mountain of glass, the door of which she was able to open with a severed finger as a key. In it stood a table, set for seven. She suspected that she had found what she was looking for. After she had eaten and drunk everything, hungry as she was from the long journey, she put her parents' wedding ring, which she had taken with her from home, in the seventh cup.

At last the enchanted ravens came back hungry. Astonished, they croaked at each other: "Who ate from my plate? Who drank from my cup? That was a man's mouth!" And because the ring he found in the empty cup reminded the seventh raven of his parents, he sighed: "If only our sister were here, we would be redeemed." Then she stepped out of her hiding place and witnessed how the black ravens became beautiful youths. The enchanted raven life had come to an end.

The Raven has inspired writers. The poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe became famous. Wilhelm Busch invented Hans Huckebein, the unlucky raven. Ravens were able to transform into witches and wizards: several children's books tell of this with illustrations.

Elijah and the Raven

In the second quarter of the 9th century BC, the prophet Elijah lived in the northern kingdom of Israel under the kings Ahab and Ahasia. He saw the light of day in Tishbe in the East Bank. He belonged to the landless Levites. The two books of kings from the First Testament report in detail about him and his turbulent life and work.

In an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy with the catchy solo song "Hebe deine Augen auf!" for soprano, often sung by a boy's voice, "Elijah" is the title hero. An eventful prophet's life is sung. Some unusual events took place in it. The flour pot and the oil jug of a widow, who cared for the fugitive Elijah on behalf of God, always remained full despite years of failure of the harvest. Their son brought Elijah back to life. At the end of his life, he was¹¹⁵ "raptured" to heaven in a chariot of fire.¹¹⁶

For this raven meditation, I choose two events from the life of the Prophet. Both deal with the betrayal of God by the people of Israel and with different methods of conversion, but also images of God. Two highly topical topics at a time when there is again talk of a crisis of God. These events have to do with ravens and crows.

A drought lasting several years had triggered a threatening food crisis in Israel. The prophet would also have fallen victim to it. But God prevented this, according to the biblical story of Elijah, by sending ravens as his "divine catering" to the life-threatening prophet: "Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and also bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream." (1 Kings 17:6) If the Prophet had not survived thanks to the animal intervention of ravens, the events that followed would not have taken place in the first place. Thanks to the ravens!

The momentous betrayal of God

As befits a prophet, Elijah was a zealot (1 Maccabees 2:58); his name was appropriate and read, "My God is YHWH." What the psalmist sings applied to him: "Zeal for your house has consumed me." (Psalm 69:10) Yahweh, for whom he was jealous, had chosen his people. He had freed it from bondage in Egypt. But now she wanted nothing more to do with her God. It "modernized" its faith, turned away from the covenant with Yahweh and towards foreign gods. Baal was in. Since the then reigning King Ahab had married the Phoenician princess Jezebel against all Mosaic instructions, the worship of the pagan god Baal had royal support. This irritated the man of God enormously.

So it was very convenient for him in his holy zeal that he received the commission from Yahweh to confront King Ahab about the breach of the covenant and to persuade him to repent. He was not listened to by him. The non-violent appeal to repentance proved to be ineffective. The Prophet then resorted to a violent threat. He announced to the king and the people: "As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, in whose service I stand, in these years neither dew nor rain shall fall, except at my word." (1 Kings 17:1) A gruesome climate engineering with catastrophic consequences! And this with a theological side blow to the idols to which Israel had fallen. Because Baal was considered the ruler of rain and fertility.

The threatened disaster occurred immediately. It stopped raining. A drought that was deadly for humans and animals set in.

The showdown

After three years and six months (James 5:17) of devastating drought, God apparently could no longer witness the suffering of His people Himself. The three-year sentence must be enough to convert the people and the king to Yahweh. The drought was supposed to end. So he sent the prophet to Ahab.

On the way to the king, Elijah met the head of the palace, Obadiah. He told him how the angry Ahab, driven by the hatred of his pagan wife Jezebel, had caused him to be searched for throughout the kingdom. Jezebel also had many of Yahweh's prophets murdered. Others had been hidden by the God-fearing Obadiah in a cave, provided with food and thus saved. Going to Ahab was life-threatening, he warned Elijah worriedly. But it wasn't: Ahab even came to meet the prophet himself. He wanted to persuade him to take back the drought curse in an environmentally friendly way. However, he went to the perpetrator-victim reversal level and shouted at Elijah: "Is it you, destroyer of Israel?" (1 Kings 18:17) "Elijah answered, 'It was not I who brought Israel to destruction, but you and your father's house, because you transgressed the commandments of the Lord and you ran after the Baals. But now send messengers and gather all Israel together for me in Carmel, also the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat from Jezebel's table." (1 Kings 18:18f.)

Elijah probably felt that the punishment of the three-year drought was not sufficient for a lasting conversion of the people. Necessity obviously does not teach us to pray, he fears. So he also organized a theological show fight. The true God was to be determined by a dazzling experiment. For this purpose, two sacrificial bulls had to be made, one for each religious group. The Baal fellowship was to begin.

All the priests of Baal with those of Asherah gathered around the altar of their Baal god. They slaughtered the bull and placed its flesh on the altar. Then they called on their Baal. He is to rain fire from heaven and burn the victim. But as much as they called out to Baal, danced in front of him for days, even wounded themselves, nothing happened. There was a lot of frustration. In addition, there was the biting mockery of Elijah: "Shout louder! He is God. He could be busy, could have gone aside or gone away. Maybe he'll sleep and then wake up." (1 Kings 18:27) Thus, the priests of Baal were exposed as charlatans. The theological message was crystal clear: the idols are good for nothing, but certainly nothing. The prophet Baruch sharpens these and makes use of the crows: "They can neither appoint a king in the land nor give rain to the people. They do not judge them, and do not deliver anyone who has been wronged; for they are powerless like crows between heaven and earth." (Baruch 6:52f.)

Then Elijah stepped into the ring. A breathtaking God showdown began. First, he symbolically erected his altar of twelve stones with the people – the number of the tribes of the people of Israel. Then he slaughtered and cut up the sacrificial bull. Provocatively, he had so much water poured over the flesh that the ditch around the altar was also filled. Elijah prayed to Yahweh, "Let this people know that you, O Lord, are the true God, and that you turn their hearts to repentance. Then the fire of the Lord came down and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the earth!" (1 Kings 18:37f.) The fire even "licked up" the water in the ditch. With the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, who had led the people astray with the four hundred priests of Asherah, the zealot made short work of as a deterrent. He had them all killed at the Kishon stream. Jezebel, who had hired the priests, later also met an evil fate: she died in a fall from a window (2 Kings 9:33).

Thus, in his attempt to convert Israel, the prophet resorted to "proofs of God" that were tangible and cruel. Immanuel Kant would not have been pleased with them. A toxic mixture of deadly drought, a consuming fire falling from the sky and the documented murder of 450 representatives of the religious competition.

The "judgment of God" on his own behalf took place on Mount Carmel. This is still sacred to the Abrahamic religions today. On this mountain stands the famous Carmelite monastery: it is the original monastery of the Catholic order of the Carmelites. In their festival calendar, they celebrate¹¹⁷ the prophet Elijah as one of their founding fathers on July 20. In a hymn from the order's own Liturgy of the Hours, events from his life are sung as follows:

When all the land groans with hunger,a raven flies to his aid. The widow's flour no longer decreases, the oil in the jug does not dry up.

The boy who had died is awakened by his ardent love to God, and he gives him back to his mother as the rich reward of his prayer.

Heaven bows to his word and closes the chambers of rain; he opens himself by his prayer, and sends down the flood of water.¹¹⁸

So after Yahweh had been "proved" to be the true God and the people had converted, the prophet could ask God for rain. Just as the drought began with a word from the prophet, it also ended with one. It is like an amazing landscape painting, how the onset of rain is described. Here is the word painting about the emerging natural spectacle:

Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for the sound of the rain is already audible." While Ahab went away to eat and drink, Elijah climbed up to the top of Carmel, crouched down on the ground, and put his head between his knees. Then he said to his servant, "Go up and look out to sea." He went upstairs, looked out and announced: There is nothing to be seen. Elijah commanded, "Go up seven times." The seventh time the servant reported: A cloud as small as a human hand is coming up out of the sea. Then Elijah said, "Go up and say to Ahab, 'Harness up and go down, so that the rain does not stop you.' It was not long before the sky was darkened by storm and clouds and heavy rain fell. Ahab got into the chariot and drove to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah. He girded himself and ran before Ahab to where the road to Jezreel branches off. (1 Kings John 18:41–46)

A different kind of experience of God

After this extremely cruel, highly questionable religious pedagogical lesson about the true God and the conversion to him, the story of the prophet is continued. Queen Jezebel is furious because of the shameful defeat of her priests. She seeks the life of the prophet who murdered her priests. Through a messenger she has him told: "The gods shall do this and that to me if I do not make your life equal to the life of each of them tomorrow at this time." (1 Kings 19:2) Elijah becomes panicked and flees again. On the way, his burnout becomes acute, and in his depression he wishes for death under a gorse tree. God, however, worries again about his prophet. Now he is no longer provided with strengthening travel provisions by ravens, but by an angel. This is how he manages the forty-day hike to the Gottesberg Horeb.

What he experiences there is a religious-pedagogical contrast to the bloody showdown of the gods on Mount Carmel. On Horeb, presumably a mountainous desert southeast of Canaan, Elijah spends the cold night in a cave. Then he hears the voice of God:

Come out and stand on the mountain before the Lord! Then the Lord passed by, and a strong and violent storm, which tore the mountains and broke the rocks, preceded the Lord. But the Lord was not in the storm. After the storm came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the quake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a soft, soft murmur. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11–13)

This brief narrative says a lot about God and how he shows himself to people. God does not come in a roar: stormy, earthquake and fiery. He does not force conversion to him by force. Rather, it comes in an unspectacular way, as it were "undivine"; in a "gentle whisper", or as Martin Buber sensitively translated: there was "a voice of floating silence".

From these excerpts from the Elijah story, which we owe to the fact that God had saved the life of one of the greatest of the prophets of Israel through ravens and an angel, we can further learn that a man must cover his face before God with the cloak, because a mortal man would not endure the sight of God in this life; Moses' encounter with God in the bush also assumes this. Doesn't this wisdom of veiled vision contradict many full-bodied and far too often violent speeches about God: about what he is like, how he punishes and what his holy will is? Mystics see ignorance as the culmination of the knowledge of God.¹¹⁹

Do not be worried!

An excerpt from a speech of Jesus is to conclude this meditation. A raven is the protagonist in this speech. Jesus teaches His own serenity. They should not let themselves be made sick by "caring for". The raven serves Jesus as a role model.

And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will wear." Because life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom and no barn; and God feeds them. How much more are you worth than the birds! (Luke 12:22–24)

Eagle – King of the Skies

The lion is honored as the "king of the animals on earth". The eagle bears the sovereign title "King of the Skies". In Mesopotamian culture, the power of both was combined in the form of the lion's eagle. The eagle stood for Zeus and Jupiter, the supreme deities in Athens and Rome. Because the eagle symbolizes power, it adorns many coats of arms of powerful people. In kingdoms and republics, it is usually a one-headed eagle, in empires a double-headed eagle. However, the vernacular says that disunited spouses who turn their backs on each other in bed make a double eagle.

The performance of the king of the skies is impressive. With its wide wings, it circles alone high in the air. The wingspan of the Hasstadler, which became extinct around 1400, was three metres. The golden eagle, which is native to our country, has a wingspan of up to 230 cm, the osprey about 175 cm. In the fantasy world of the Lord of the Rings, eagles are the main protagonists in all ages: Thorondor, the Eagle King, father of the eagle siblings of the wind lord Gewaihir and the broad-winged Landroval, has a wing range of an incredible 54 meters.

The eagle is a noble bird, as the origin of the German name suggests. In Middle High German "adelar", this combines nobility and Aar, meaning noble Aar, whereby Aar is the word for the eagle that is still common in poetry today.

Someone has an eagle eye, they say of a person who recognizes things clearly. Often the epithet "stabbing" is added to exacerbate it. The actor, artistic director and playwright August Wilhelm Iffland (1759–1814) claimed that Goethe had "an eagle eye that is unbearable".¹²⁰

Menacing in a nosedive

The phrase with the sharp-eyed eagle eye is appropriately modelled on nature. From a great height of two to four kilometres, a golden eagle can spot the prey on land or an osprey in the water. In a swoop, it approaches the spied prey, then the "bird of prey" claws it with three "fingers" of its fangs, while the "thumb" drills into the prey from behind like pliers. The strong pressure of the toes and thumb kills the prey. Then the hunted prey is flown away.

This spectacle of the falling predator has inspired authors of biblical texts. In the last book of Genesis, it is drastically described how Israel fares if it does not follow the instructions of Yahweh. Yahweh will then be angry in his anger "to bring a people from afar to fight against you, from the ends of the earth, casting down like an eagle, a people whose language you have never heard before." (Deuteronomy 28:49). A similar fate is prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah to Israel's enemies, the peoples of Moab and Bozrah: "Behold, like a vulture he hovers and spreads his wings over Moab." (49:22) Job, on the other hand, in his dispute with God, uses the speed of the eagle's swoop on his prey to describe the transience of his life:

My days rush faster than a runner, they flee away and see no happiness. They glide past like barges made of reeds, like the eagle that pounces on prey. (Job 9:25f.)

Eagle's Nest

The eagle's nest has achieved inglorious honours in the Third Reich. It was the name for the Führer's headquarters in the Taunus, which was built at the beginning of the war. As a result, the word eagle's nest was given a militaristic connotation. Adolf Hitler's architect Albert Speer had planned the eagle's nest. Adolf Hitler used this headquarters for only one month in the last year of the war before returning to Berlin and taking his own life there.

Biblically, on the other hand, the eagle's nest has mostly¹²¹ positive emotional connotations. The nest of the eagles is artfully built from twigs, grass and moss. With a diameter of 2.5 m and a depth of 4 m, its dimensions are impressive. Soft materials such as feathers or animal hair cushion the nest. The female eagle usually lays two to three eggs in the eyrie. She hatches it. Often only one of the young is then raised.

Wings

Eagles spread their wings over their young chicks to protect them from predators and extreme weather conditions such as rain or sun. This is especially important in the first weeks of the chicks' life, when they are still very vulnerable.

Wings and wings play a prominent role in biblical imagery. Angels have wings. The serpent-like seraphim, the "primordial serpent" from the Paradise story, has six wings. The beings in the vision of the prophet Daniel and the Revelation of John have wings: the lion of Mark is winged, John is depicted with eagle wings. This has inspired artists to design lecterns in the churches from which the Gospel is proclaimed in the shape of eagles.

Wings are used as metaphors in very different ways. In the German language, we say that someone grows wings, i.e. someone becomes stronger, gains self-confidence, goes his own way; Someone feels inspired. So also the Bible: "But those who hope in the LORD receive new power, like eagles grow their wings. They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't get tired." (Isaiah 40:31) In the Book of Wisdom, however, it says less pleasantly about wealth: "If you look at him only fleetingly, he is already gone, for he will certainly make wings and fly like a vulture to heaven." (Proverbs 23:5)

Yahweh, in turn, swings down to help him who cries out to him in trouble: "He rode on the cherub and flew along; he floated on the wings of the wind." (Psalm 18:11)

This combination of eagle, wings, wings, shelter and security runs through biblical texts of confidence. For example, the image of the eagle's nest and the protective wings of eagles is used to remind us of God's care for his people. The story towards the end of the book of Deuteronomy is touching: "He found him [Jacob] in the desert, in the wilderness, where wild beasts howl. He enveloped him, took care of him, and guarded him like the star of his eyes, as an eagle takes out its nest and soars over its young, spreading its wings, picking up one of them and carrying it on its plumage." (Deuteronomy 32:10f.)

Israel was not the only one who knew that it was protected by its eagle god. In the Psalms, pious people also ask God for such eagle protection: "Guard me as the apple of the eye, the star of the eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 17:8) – "How precious is your love, God! People hide in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 36:8) – "Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for I have sheltered myself with you, in the shadow of your wings I will hide myself." (Psalm 57:2) – "For you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. In your tent I want to be a guest forever, to hide in the shelter of your wings." (Psalm 61:4f.) – "Yes, you became my help, I rejoice in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 63:8)

This certainty of being safe under the wings of God is expressed particularly vividly in Psalm 91:

He who dwells under the protection of the Most High rests in the shadow of the Almighty. I say to the Lord, 'You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' For he will deliver you from the snare of the hunter and from the plague of destruction. He shields you with his wings, under his wings you will find refuge, shield and protection is his loyalty. You need not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the plague that creeps in the darkness, nor of the plague that rages at noon. Even if a thousand fall at your side, and ten times a thousand at your right, it will not affect you. (Psalm 91:1–7)

Experience and give security

Security is a primal desire of man. Newborns find them like eagle chicks with parents. It is created through attachment and belonging. However, this desire for security is in a creative tension with the desire for freedom. Bringing stability and mobility, roots and growth into a healthy balance is part of the art of living. As much as the eagle chicks seek shelter under the wings, the eagle parents are increasingly interested in their chicks fledged, leaving the eyrie, swinging freely into lofty heights and living under their own power. So every person is a nester at the beginning, but should not remain so, but should learn to fly himself. There are people who have no courage to leave their parents' nest for the rest of their lives. In addition, some parents do not let their chicks fledge.

The art of balancing security and freedom also refers to man's relationship with God. The pious hope for protection and security, but at the same time liberation. This applies to the entire people of Israel. But also for each individual person.

The thread can be spun further. Isn't the point of the development from the need for protection to self-responsible freedom to give protection to others who need it? But shouldn't such protection be designed in such a way that the wards become fledged? It seems like a constant cycle of a survival-oriented nature: eagle parents build nests, they are entrusted with eagle chicks in need of protection, they grant protection for an appropriate time, but their goal is for their chicks to fledge. Once they have become one, they can become eagle parents again.

Perhaps spiritually people are always both at the same time. Throughout their lives, believers know that they are dependent on the protection under the eagle wings of God. At the same time, this parental eagle god wants people, his chicks, to fledge, in order to build nests for others on our behalf and to become eagle parents. It is like in the life of the eagles a constant cycle between experiencing security and giving.

The ability of eagles to circle alone in high skies can inspire us to elevate ourselves above the things of everyday life and to meditate on the world and one's own life from the distance of height. In shamanism, the power animal eagle rises high into the air, looks at the world from above and is seen as a spiritually enlightened one.

"The Eagle has landed," astronaut Neil Armstrong radioed to Earth when Apollo 11, nicknamed Eagle, touched down on German moon. From the high moon height of the Eagle, which orbited the Earth, he could literally better see the beauty of the blue planet with an "eagle eye". Perhaps we should also marvel at the Earth from the moon sometimes. It would perhaps make the major challenges smaller and thus more solvable. How then does God, the "Lord of Things", perceive the universe and our little life in it from his eagle's eye view?

Honey bees – sweet and poisonous

The far-sighted Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein is credited with the warning: "If the bee disappears from the earth, man will only have four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more people."

Today, ecologists agree with him with increasing concern. For a variety of reasons, these well-built insects are indispensable for the life and survival of melittophile flowering plants, animals and humans. This also applies to bumblebees, which are related to bees, which are a genus of Apidae, the bees. Through pollination, economists calculate, bees alone generate an annual economic output of around 265 billion dollars.¹²² Among the different types of bees, there are leg collectors and belly collectors.. However, the pollination of plants, especially fruit trees, by transporting pollen from flower to flower is only a side effect of the contribution of the bees, which are valued as industrious. First and foremost, many of the 20–25,000 bee species collect pollen, sometimes moistened with nectar, with which they feed their brood.

Because of its enormous ecological importance, the United Nations declared May 20 as "World Bee Day" in mid-December 2017: This is intended to "raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators, the dangers they face, and their contribution to sustainable development through education and activities."¹²³

Honey

From nectar, also the drink of the gods in the Greek Olympus, and sugary excretions of aphids, honey bees obtain what we call honey through fermentation. This delights not only animals, but also humans. And this has been the case since time immemorial. The author of the book of Sirach noted: "The bee is small among flying creatures, but the origin of sweetness is its production." (Jesus Sirach 11:3). The writer means here the state-forming honey bees and not the solitary to eusocial wild bees.

Honey was a much-vaunted food in the lives of the chosen people. The land promised to them by God was to "flow of milk and honey" (Ex 3:8). Mantra-like, this formula recurs twenty-two times. This promised land is exuberantly painted (similar to 2 Kings 18:32):

When the Lord your God leads you into a beautiful land, a land of rivers and springs and groundwater that springs up in the valley and on the mountain, a land of wheat and barley, of vines, fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey¹²⁴, a land where you do not have to eat your bread miserably, where you lack nothing, a land whose stones are of iron, from whose mountains you extract brass; when you eat there and are satisfied, and praise the Lord your God for the beautiful land that he has given you, then take heed, and do not forget the Lord your God, do not disregard his commandments, judgments and statutes, to which I bind you today. (Deuteronomy 8:7–11)

On the way to this promised land, God nourishes the people with manna; it "tasted like honey cake" (Exodus 16:31). The wicked must not "behold rivers, nor rivers flowing with honey and cream" (Job 20:17). Everyone who is left over Jerusalem after the judgment will eat "butter and honey." (Isaiah 7:21)

Because honey was coveted, a jar of honey was a popular gift (1 Kings 14:3). When old Jacob, the father of the abducted Joseph, who had made a career in Egypt, sent the brothers to him because of the famine, he told them: "Take some of the best products of the land with you in your luggage and bring it to the man as a gift: some mastic, some honey, tragacant and ladanum, pistachios and almonds!" (Genesis 43:11). The "first fruits of grain, must, oil, honey, and all the fruits of the field" were brought to the temple (2 Chronicles 31:5); Honey, however, was not to be offered as a grain or fire offering (Leviticus 2:11). Nevertheless, Israelites sacrificed it – but to foreign gods: "My bread that I gave you – fine flour, oil and honey, with which I nourished you – you offered them as a soothing fragrance." (Ezekiel 16:19). This spiritual "cheating", this fornication (Ezekiel 16:15), God lamented through his prophet in moving memory of the salvation of the people of Israel immediately after his birth:

The word of the Lord came to me, "Son of man, make her abominations known to Jerusalem, and say, 'This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: You are from the land of the Canaanites by your birth and your birth.' Your father is an Amorite, and your mother is a Hittite¹²⁵. When you were born, the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, you were not washed with water for cleaning, you were not rubbed with salt, you were not wrapped in swaddling clothes. Not an eye showed you pity to do any of these things to you, to have mercy on you, but you were thrown into the open field, because you were loathed on the day you were born. Then I passed you and saw you trampling in your blood; And I said to you in your blood, "Stay alive." I said to you, 'In your blood, stay alive.' (Ezekiel 16:1–6)

Honey is also the subject of the Messiah narratives. The prophet Isaiah had promised King Ahab the Savior of Israel, saying: "Behold, the virgin has conceived, she gives birth to a son, and will call his name Immanuel. He will eat butter and honey until the time when he knows how to reject evil and choose good." (Isaiah 7:14f.) The forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist, fed on locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

Finally, the narrator of the end-time visions on the island of Patmos has to eat a book in order to absorb everything that will happen:

And the voice from heaven that I had heard spoke to me again, saying, "Go, take the book that the angel who stands on the sea and on the land holds open in his hand." And I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. He said to me, "Take it and eat it." In your stomach it will be bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it. In my mouth it was sweet as honey. But when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. And they said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations, with their tongues and kings." (Revelation 10:8–11)

Honey was thus a valued food and beverage in Israel: "Eat honey, my son, for it is good, honeycomb honey is sweet to the palate." (Proverbs 24:13) Only the judgments of the Lord are still ... "sweeter than honey, than honey from honeycomb". (Psalm 19:11) The Lord's words taste wholesome: "How sweet is your saying to my palate, to my mouth it is sweeter than honey" (Psalm 119:103)

Lovers experience their encounters as "honey-sweet". The lover in the Song of Songs describes French kisses with his wife: "Honey seim drips from your lips, bride, honey and milk are under your tongue." (Song of Solomon 4:11) He praises the union with her in highly poetic images: "I come into my garden, my sister bride, I pick my myrrh with my balm, I eat my honeycomb with my honey, I drink my wine with my milk." (Song of Solomon 5:1) Cheating, however, leaves a different taste: "Because the lips of the strange woman drip with honey, her palate is smoother than oil. But in the end it is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword." (Proverbs 5:3)

In the Book of Proverbs, attributed to the wise King Solomon, there are wise advice for the consumption of honey and enlightening comparisons with it. Thus, "kind words are a honeycomb, sweet to the palate, healing to the body" (Proverbs 16:24). Moderate honey consumption is advised: "If you find honey, eat only as much as you like, otherwise you will get full of it and vomit it." (Proverbs 25:16) This also applies in a figurative sense: "Eating too much honey is not good: Likewise, save with words of honor!" (Proverbs 25:27) "The satiated tramples honey underfoot, but to the hungry everything bitter tastes sweet." (Proverbs 27:7) Too many sweets, too much piety can create disgust. The ascetic likes juicy black bread.

Samson and the honey bees

The Bible tells the story of Judge Samson, also known as Samson (Judges 16:4–21). When his mother, who was already considered barren, had nevertheless received him, she did not let the boy's hair be cut as a thank you to God. His hair grew and his strength with it.

Samson, who had grown up, was looking for a wife. A lion and honey bees played a role in this. Strong as he was, he tore apart a lion with his bare hands on his bridal journey. Later, when he passed by this place on the journey to the wedding, he looked at the carcass of this lion: "And behold, there was a swarm of bees in the skeleton of the lion and honey. He removed the honey with his hands and ate it as he walked on. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he didn't tell them that he had taken the honey out of the lion's carcass." (Judges 14:8f.)

One fine day Samson was having a drinking spree with thirty companions. In doing so, he gave them a riddle. In this, bees again played a role. This story already announces that Samson could not keep secrets from women he loved. After the companions had not solved the riddle for seven days, they persuaded his wife to ask her husband for the solution. She asked him to do so, in the name of her love. But he did not reveal the solution to her. After seven days of feigned crying, he finally told her the solution. That was the riddle: "From the glutton came food, from the strong came sweets." The betrayed solution, which the companions could now recite, was: "What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?" Samson knew immediately that his wife had passed on the solution to the companions. He says angrily to the men, not exactly women-friendly: "If you hadn't ploughed with my cow, you wouldn't have guessed my riddle." (Judges 14:14-18) Samson lost not only the riddle in this drinking bout, but also his wife; she came to the house of one of the companions.

In this incident it is already clear: Samson was a hero in battle, but a fool in love. This proved to be true again when he fell head over heels in love with Delilah from the valley of the Sorek stream. She allowed herself to be bribed for a lot of money ("Each of us will then give you eleven hundred pieces of silver": Judges 16:5) by the princes of the Philistines. She collaborated with his enemies. In his blind infatuation, Samson revealed the secret of his strength to her one night of love: "No razor has come on my head; for I have been consecrated to God as a Nazirite from my mother's womb. If my hair were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would weaken and be like any other person." (Judges 16:17) Secretly, she cut off his curls at night. So his enemies could capture him and blind him. Deprived of his eyesight and strength, he had to grind grain. This humiliated him, because this work was usually done by slaves.

In captivity, his hair grew and with it his strength. Once, his enemies took him out of prison to the ridicule of the crowd. Samson used this free passage to bring down the supporting columns of the King's Temple with his regained strength. Thousands of people died under the rubble, including Samson.

Prickly

Bees not only have a good reputation. They are also considered defensive. If they feel attacked, they administer a small dose of poison with their sting. However, only the females can do this. Over time, it has developed from the laying drill. After the sting of our western honey bees, the females die. Because barbs on the sting tear the entire venom apparatus out of the abdomen and continue to pump poison into the skin of the attacked mammal through muscle reflex. The many other bee species, as well as various wasps, can sting several times.

A special feature of honey bee species compared to wild bees are "dances" to indicate food sources. Our western honey bee developed the round dance for nearby food sources and the waggle dance for more distant food sources, in which the direction is also indicated in relation to the position of the sun.

Male bees, called drones, mate with the queen bee in their nuptial flight. The protruding genital apparatus holds so tightly in the queen (queen) that it is torn out. The drone falls off her and dies. L'amour c'est mourir un peu, in a variation on a French idiom, according to which saying goodbye means dying a little. Male and female bees die differently: some during stinging, others during mating.

Aggressive swarms of bees

It is not only individual bees that feel attacked who defend themselves. Swarms of bees can also become aggressive. This can happen in real life, but also in a figurative sense. The Bible records an incident. On their march to the promised land, the Israelites came to the mountainous region of the Amorites. They sent out scouts. They brought a huge bunch of grapes with them: that was the good news. The bad: The land was fortified and giants lived there. This literally scared the hell out of the people. In view of the superiority of the inhabitants, it did not want to annex the country. This makes the Lord "unwilling" (Deuteronomy 1:34). As punishment, the mutineers, including Moses, were to travel through the wilderness for forty years before later generations were to take possession of the land. When they did go into battle against the counsel of God imparted by the prophet, he withdrew his protection from them and let them run to their doom: the enemies fell upon them like a swarm of bees.¹²⁶ This is the brief military report on Israel's catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Amorites: "I have spoken to you, but you have not heard. You have resisted the command of the Lord. In your presumptuousness you have moved to the mountains. Then the Amorites, who live there in the mountains, marched against you. They pursued you like a swarm of bees and scattered you from Seïr to Horma." (Deuteronomy 1:43f.). In one of the Psalms this image appears again, but now with a good ending: "All the nations surrounded me, I repelled them in the name of the Lord. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me, I warded them off in the name of the Lord. They surrounded me like bees, they went out like a fire in the bushes; I repelled them in the name of the Lord." (Psalm 118:10–12)

The bees not only do a satisfying and often profitable job for many passionate beekeepers. They also inspired poets, such as Hilde Domin:

Whoever were like the bee, which also feels the sun through the cloudy sky, which finds the way to blossom and never loses its direction, the fields would lie in eternal splendour, no matter how short he lived, would rarely weep.¹²⁷

Beeswax in Praeconium Paschale

In the celebration of the Easter Vigil, a candle lit at the Easter fire is carried into a dark church. It tells of the fact that in the night the ignominiously executed Jesus of Nazareth entered from the night of death into a new way of existence, into radiant light and heavenly peace. The bearer of the Easter candle sings Lumen Christi three times as he enters the church. This Easter light that the candle spreads is also intended to illuminate the singer of the Easter hymn.

In the Middle Ages, singing was sung off long rolls. They were monks who copied them and decorated them with magnificent pictures. In the 12th/13th century, the song was included in the Roman liturgy.

In this nocturnal service, the burning candle, as soon as it is placed on the Easter candlestick, is sung about in a solemn song. It is named after the first word "Exsultet", which means "Rejoice!". Other names are "Laus cerei" (praise of the candle) and "Praeconium paschale" (Easter announcement). The Gregorian melody is similar to that of the Eucharistic Prayers of the Church; Mozart is said to have said that he would have given all his symphonies for it, he considered them so great.

The text is very concrete. He admires how it is made from the "delicious wax of the bees". Honey bees "sweat" wax platelets from glands between the abdominal segments in order to build their elaborate honeycomb-shaped breeding grounds. The free-hanging nests of some wasp species, on the other hand, are "papery"; the material is used by scraping off weathered wood with chitinous saliva; only our hornet {Vespa crabrö) scrapes fresh twigs.

And once again the bees are applauded in the Exsultet. For the "flame is nourished by the melting wax that the industriousness of the bees has prepared for this candle". A jubilant final chord crowns the Easter singing. The completion of creation and the completion of history are announced – a dramatic unification, a one-ing, a final reconciliation. Their unstoppable beginning, at least:

O truly blessed night,which reconciles heaven and earth,which unites God and man!

Carrion from a different perspective

"Where there is a carrion, there the vultures gather." (Matthew 24:15–28, here verse 28: Mark 13:14–23; Luke 21:20–24) This proverb concludes the evangelists' account of the announcement of what Jesus thought would happen at the end of time. An end-time trouble will come upon the people. The apocalyptic visions of the prophet Daniel are remembered. The temple sanctuary is destroyed. Those who can, drop everything and immediately flee to the mountains. But all this is only the prelude to the dramatic coming of the Son of Man. He will judge and lift up the nations, especially his people Israel. All this will come with that inner consistency as the vultures always gather where there is carrion, or as it says in earlier translations: the eagles come together.

It may not seem attractive to meditate on carrion biblically. Carrion has to do with death, decay, rot. This is the normal course when a living being of flesh and blood dies: the living body becomes a carcass. This expires step by step. First the muscles relax, then rigor mortis sets in. Eventually, this also comes loose. The first phase of decomposition is thus completed. Now the carcass becomes (chemically) a carrion. In the initial phase of the second phase, the meat remains edible for humans, scavengers such as the canine predators, birds and a few reptiles. Our ancestors "hung up" the meat of a slaughtered animal for this purpose.

For most meat eaters, such meat only becomes inedible when all white blood cells and all vitamin C have been used up. Then the immune system in the carrion collapses completely. Toxin-causing bacteria now colonize the rotting carrion incredibly quickly. This can only be safely consumed by a few mammals such as hyenas and numerous insects. And also of vultures that Jesus sees circling above the carrion: bearded vultures, griffon vultures, black vultures and Egyptian vultures. Thanks to their aggressive stomach acid and special intestinal bacteria, even a decaying carrion does not harm them. For them, carrion is an enjoyable food.

Disgusting

The comparison with the carrion and the vultures was familiar to Bible scholars. Meat from dead unclean animals was not allowed to be consumed. Even contact with it made people unclean throughout the day in Israel, for example in the dietary regulations regarding unclean animals (Leviticus 11:1–47).

The combination with "unclean" placed the word carrion in the realm of what is to be avoided, the rot, the disgusting. This "word smell" has stuck to the term carrion to this day. This is evidenced by common swear words. It seems coarse and insulting when "You carrion!" is said to a person. It is unfriendly to insult someone as a "vulture". This signals to him that he is an exploiter, a bloodsucker, a cutthroat, a rapacious person. (This is where non-gendering proves to be beneficial.)

In the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the people of Israel had left their God, as they had done in the time of their fathers. It had begun to run after foreign gods. In doing so, Israel had broken the covenant with God and incurred heavy guilt. In doing so, they had desecrated God's land. Thus God laments through the prophet: "With the carcass of their abominations and with their abominations they have filled my inheritance" (Jeremiah 16:18). They have replaced the living God with idols, which are characterized by death and decay.

In the lamentation for the hated Pharaoh, the prophet Ezekiel also uses the disgusting image of the carrion. He compares the pharaoh to a dead crocodile. In his power the beast of the Nile had whipped up rivers, polluted the water, stirred up the floods. But the monster got caught in the trawl net. It was thrown into the open field. And then the harsh carrion words about the dead Pharaoh, spoken in the name of God: "I will see to it that all the birds of the air alight on you, and I will satisfy with you the beasts of the whole earth. I will lay out your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass." (Ezekiel 32:4f.)

Ecological rescue of honour

The carrion, in word and reality, is therefore culturally repulsive to this day. But that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. If you take an "ecological view" of carrion, you will discover positive sides to it. It is true that the word carrion is reminiscent of decay and decay; Decay, however, stood for decay and downfall in Late Middle High German. But even on the way there, what decays and decays can gain a useful and thus positive meaning for other living beings.

Studies show that biodiversity is greater when carcasses remain in nature, are not disposed of by hunters or eaten by predators: Numerous animal and plant species live on carrion. Nutrients that enter the soil during the decomposition process allow plants to thrive more vigorously, which in turn is beneficial for insects. In this way, the world of the living proves to be a cycle of death and life.

Death loses its sting

And if a person dies? When the heart stops beating, there are no measurable brain waves, when rigor mortis occurs, the person is also legally considered dead. His body gradually begins to decompose. In some anonymous municipal buildings, it is the smell of corpses in the corridor that signals that a lonely person died some time ago in the apartment.

Is it "all over" then? Is it not to agree with the author of the book of Ecclesiastes, who soberly observes: "Yes, the living know that they will die; but the dead no longer recognize anything. They also no longer receive a wage, because the memory of them has sunk into oblivion. Love, hatred and jealousy against her, all this has long since been extinguished. For ever, they have no part in everything that was done under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:5f.) Is true of what the psalmist complains: "It is not the dead who praise the Lord, none who descends into silence." (Psalm 115:17) After all, a quarter of those surveyed in Austria for decades tend to assume that death is the end of everything. If one is convinced of this, then the only thing left to do is to enjoy life, and if there is nothing left to enjoy, but only suffering, to end it immediately with one's own hands. For "If the dead are not raised, then let us eat and drink; because tomorrow we die." (1 Corinthians 15:32b)

Others do not resign themselves to an "all over". The brutally abused Maccabean brothers demand a resurrection of the dead (2 Maccabees 7:13f.), so that injustice does not prevail permanently and justice is never done to the victims of injustice. They do not distinguish between body and soul. In the desire for justice, this question seems to be secondary.

Then Jesus of Nazareth is killed. After three days, he shows himself to a select circle of his followers, first women, then men. Resurrected means "alive in the flesh". The resurrection of the whole human being was to become the basic message of Christianity, as the apostle Paul reminds us:

For first of all I have delivered to you what I also have received: Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and was buried, He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at once; most of them are still alive, some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. At last he appeared to me, as if he were a monstrosity. (1 Corinthians 15:3–8)

Then as now, this is a bold speech for those who stand at a deathbed and witness how a corpse is cremated or buried, with the certain knowledge that in a few years only a skeleton will be found in a grave in the ground, until the bones also gradually decompose. A "continuation of life" seems unimaginable. At best, an immortal soul remains, which in grandiose paintings in churches flies like a small child from the dying man to heaven. But doesn't the whole person die, in his interweaving of body and soul? It is easy to understand that when the Apostle Paul spoke about the resurrection on the Areopagus, the philosophizing listeners said benevolently: "We will hear you about that another time." (Acts 17:32) That was just the polite version, while others simply mocked.

In Corinth, Paul has founded one of his European churches. Its members were converted Greeks. So Paul had to deal with people who, in their culture, could not do anything with a resurrection of man with body and soul. Paul therefore deals with this question at length in the 15th chapter of his first letter to this church. Because he was personally firmly convinced that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then he can pack up. Then the house of faith lacks its foundation. It collapses.

Then he goes to great lengths to sing the hope of a resurrection to the doubts with images and parables. To do this, he makes use of exactly what has already become familiar to us in this meditation on the carrion. All flesh is corruptible. It is precisely this decay that is the prerequisite for an incorruptible body to take the place of the dead body. Just as God created the miracle of a corruptible body, He is also able to form an incorruptible body. This is exactly what happened in the resurrection of Jesus. But this is the first on whom God has done this: "He is the source, the firstborn of the dead." (Colossians 1:18).

The creation of an incorruptible body, however, presupposes that the corruptible body makes room for it: that is, dies. Then the incorruptible body can become. It's like a grain of wheat. As it dies, a new stalk of wheat can grow.

Paul then only gets his imminent expectation in the way of thinking. After all, he was convinced that the end of times, the return of the Son of Man, and thus the time of the resurrection of all mankind, was imminent. Certainly, this imminent expectation has not been fulfilled. We still live in the expectation of the Last Days, in the Advent of history. Paul, however, remains faithful to the law of passing away as a prerequisite for being newly created. Just as the countless dead from the long history of mankind will then be resurrected in an incorruptible body, those who will live to see the return of Christ during their earthly life will be transformed "in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet sound" (1 Corinthians 15:52).

The extent to which Paul personally relies on the resurrection is shown by his curriculum vitae. The hope in them allows him to endure suffering and death, which for him is a strong argument against the doubters in his community. This confidence in the resurrection has persevered countless people who have been persecuted and killed for their faith. For two millennia, this confidence that in the end it is not death, but the resurrecting love of God that has the last word, has made Christianity rejoice with Paul:

Death is swallowed up by victory.
Death, where is your victory? / Death, where is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:54f.)

Like dog and cat

They are "like dog and cat". They do not get along with each other, according to the information of this idiom. This is often true, although not always.

The Bible does not know this rivalry between domestic animals, which are extremely popular with us. This is because cats are only mentioned once in the Bible. In this scene, she doesn't play as a pet either. This is the relevant biblical story:

The prophet Baruch railed against the uselessness of the lifeless idols of the Gentiles. A favorite topic of the prophets! The priests would light candles in the temple that do not see their idols, he said. The wooden figures and their robes are eaten by worms, like the beams of the temple. "Bats, swallows and other birds settle on her body and on her head, as well as cats. This shows you that they are not gods. So don't be afraid of them!" (Baruch 6:21f.) What a wise warning about the modern idols and idols that are enthroned in the temples of business and worshiped by the insatiable consumer community. Cats dancing on the heads of false gods!

The biblical absence of cats is surprising. Because in the surrounding and subsequent cultures of the time, cats were very popular. The Prophet Muhammad allegedly even cut off the sleeve of his robe in which his cat Muezza slept. He wanted to rush to prayer, but not wake the sleeping cat. When he returned from prayer, he lovingly stroked his cat's back. Since then, it is said, cats always fall on their paws and never on their backs.

An oriental legend reports that there was a huge plague of mice and rats during the great flood. The food threatened to run out because of this. Not drowning, but starvation was imminent. Noah wanted to get help from the big cat, the lion. But he was asleep. He listened with a blink, but did nothing. However, he had to sneeze loudly. Two mini lions came out of his nose. The first pair of cats had been created. They immediately put an end to the mice and rats. The piquant relationship between cats and mice still shapes our linguistic images today. So we say: "Play cat and mouse with someone." Or: "When the cat is out of the house, the mice dance on the table."

According to a Chinese legend, a rat had taken revenge on the rat and mouse-hunting cat with serious consequences. At an imperial meeting, the signs of the zodiac were to be assigned. The rat was instructed to inform the cat of the appointment. Out of revenge, however, she gave the cat a wrong date. Therefore, the latter missed the award meeting. Since then, in the Chinese calendar, which is based on the zodiac signs, there have been years with animals such as rat, buffalo, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat/ram/sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig: but no cat. By the way, the next Year of the Dog will begin on February 3, 2030 of our era. It's different in the Vietnamese calendar. In this year, the Year of the Cat, which replaces the rabbit there every sixty years, begins on February 2, 2060.

However, the desire for mice was the undoing of a cat in love. The Greek fabulant Aesop tells of this. A cat had fallen in love with a young man. Since this pleased the goddess of love, Venus, she immediately transformed the cat into a seductive, beautiful woman. On the way with the young man, a mouse ran into him: on the spot she chased after her. Venus foamed, unlike her as a beauty, rising from the foam waves on the coast of Paphos. The beautiful cat woman immediately became a cat again. The "moral of the story: The cat won't let the mouse go!"

The cunning Aesop cat

Aesop also told a fable called "The Eagle, the Cat and the Wild Boar". An eagle, a cat and a wild boar live close to each other. The eagle's nest is located high up in a tree. The wild boar loves the acorns by the roots. The cat, on the other hand, lives in the middle of the trunk.

Now the cat sows discord between the eagle high above and the wild boar below. It spreads over the animal messenger service that the wild boar is after the eagle cubs and the eagle in turn wants to grab the piglets. This frightens both animals. Both stay with the boys. And the cat can feed its own young undisturbed. The cunning cat spreads fake news in order to be able to follow its interests. How modern!

An even more adventurous story tells that a cat stole the rib that God had taken from the sleeping Adam to form the beautiful Eve. God could only grab the fugitive cat by the tail, which he tore off it. Now God had no choice but to form Eve out of the cat's tail stub.

Did the Israelites ignore the cats from their lives because they were considered holy in Egypt because they had been exploited? Women made music and danced when the festival of the goddess of love, fertility, goodness and strength was celebrated. The name of the worshipped goddess was Bastet. This wife of the sun god Re was sometimes depicted as a woman with a cat's head or only as a cat.

Unlike in Egypt, in Persia the cat was not divine, but the work of the devil. It was the result of a woman's union with a demon.

Cat: most popular pet

While I am designing this biblical dog and cat meditation, I receive a photo via Whatsapp from the mother of two adult daughters. One of the two presses a cat to her chest. The mother comments on this cat picture as follows:

I'm not such a big animal lover. I respect the animals. Nothing more. I have mixed feelings about the daughters' love of cats. Maybe people want to provide for someone. Cats are simpler. But children are incomparable. Much, much greater is the happiness in life. Perhaps the daughters practice taking responsibility by caring for the cats.

This mother is not alone. In a posh district of Vienna, one of my nieces is a veterinarian. There, households have far fewer children than pets. Cats are at the top of the pet popularity scale in Europe. In 2023, there were 16.7 million cats and 10 million dogs as pets in Germany; in Switzerland 1.6 million cats and 500,000 dogs, in Austria 2 million cats and 800,000 dogs.

Pope Francis is not only a pontiff, but sometimes also a spontifex. The world public owes this to stimulating and excited discussions. When he was recently in Indonesia, he was happy not to be in a country "where people preferred a dog or a cat instead of a child". In the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Martin Zips commented on this saga under the title "Kater unser". Zips can get a lot out of the Pope's not exactly pet-friendly statement. He notes thoughtfully about the pet owners: "Some drive their pets around in a bicycle trailer or book a double room in a wellness hotel together with them. Dolce & Gabbana has just composed a dog perfume, named after the poodle of a fashion designer. Female pet owners market themselves on the Internet as 'dog mom', which in turn is taken up by populist igniters (Trump's nominated vice president J. D. Vance once called Democratic politicians 'a bunch of childless cat ladies' years ago¹²⁸). Especially in wealthy areas, the small animal boom has taken on remarkable proportions. There is hardly a four-legged friend who does not yet have a social media channel. There is even a luxury airline for dogs... Then the Association for the German Canine Society warns: 'A dog in bed is not species-appropriate husbandry.'"¹²⁹

In this biblical meditation, I now respect the actual disregard of cats in order to turn to dogs, which are much more noticed. But I don't do that without mentioning at least a handful of phrases in which cats are the protagonists: "That's for the cat!" – "Buy a pig in a poke." – "Let the cat out of the bag." – "To be just a stone's throw away." – "Sitting at the cat table." – "That's where the cat bites its tail." – "To have a hangover." – "To have a sweet tooth." – "How the cat beats around the bush." – "Cat wash." – "Katzenjammer." – "A cat has seven lives."

Gone to the dog

Measured by the mentions in the dictionary of all biblical texts, dogs are in the middle of the field with 45 times. So it's worth meditating on them.

Just as cats are genetically related to lions, dogs are connected to wolves. As dog research, cynology, has discovered, they separated from each other more than one hundred and thirty thousand years ago. Dogs and wolves can still produce offspring with each other. Then wolf dogs emerge, which are now among the 344 recognized bred dog breeds. The pedigree dogs have a very different size. It ranges from the cute Chihuahua to the Great Dane to the Irish Wolfhound, which has a height at the withers of ¹³⁰ up to 95 cm. Large dogs age faster than small dogs. If a dachshund can live to be 15-20 years old, a Great Dane, for example, hardly lives more than 9 years.

In Germany, about 69% of the 8.6 million dogs are pedigree dogs. In rich countries, dogs are so important to people that they willingly pay dog tax. Because dog ownership was considered capitalist in China until 1992, it was banned in cities. Urban domestic dogs are a Western affluent phenomenon. Just as people unfortunately say they want to get a child – they are literally dear to them – they also get dogs and cats and often spend a lot of money on the purchase as well as on the food and health of the animals.

There are an estimated 500 million domestic dogs living worldwide, three quarters of which live in the wild. In addition, as with cats, there are stray dogs. Wild dogs became pets 20–30,000 years ago. Excavations prove that dogs were buried with their owners. Graves for dogs alone, which date back to the Neolithic Age, have also been found. In Egypt, dogs were mummified alongside humans and cats. So the dog has been a loyal companion of humans since time immemorial. Odysseus owned the dog Argos.

Today, the dog performs a variety of services for humans: for the blind and deaf, for guarding farms and homes, hunting¹³¹, in police investigations as Inspector Rex to detect drugs and in solving crimes. Dogs help shepherds and dairymaids. In the Middle Ages, dogs were considered the poor man's draught animals. The North and South Poles were reached with the help of sled dogs. During the war, dogs brought ammunition to the trenches. Indispensable, although controversial, are dogs as laboratory animals in research. Since humanism, small puppies have also been found on the graves of faithful and devoted women. Dogs also served as moral role models. Her calm posture inspires the suppression of desires. Their fidelity is passed off as a model of constancy. It could hardly be more versatile.

It is not uncommon for dogs as well as cats to function as the only social relationship of their owner. This can be therapeutically helpful and make loneliness bearable. At the same time, domestic dogs are "humanized" in such close relationships. The natural needs of dogs can be disregarded. It is not uncommon for serious husbandry errors to develop in the animals. This can unnecessarily shorten the dog's life, which is not long anyway. "Fighting dogs" play a complex psychological role. They often have to serve for men's (lack of) need for strength. In negligent attitudes, people are repeatedly attacked, joggers are seriously injured, toddlers are mauled.

Dog meat is consumed in Korea, Vietnam, southern China, and parts of Africa. Medicines for the joints and respiratory tract are made from dog meat and fat. Animal rights activists are fighting the use of dog fur, dog skin and dog hair in the fashion industry.

Disparaging and contemptuous

During my ten years of service as a pastoral theologian in Passau, I had close contact with the then head of the diocesan pastoral office, Hans Sommer. Impressed by our cooperation, he said to me one day: "Paul, you're a dog!" I was startled. I told a native of Lower Bavaria about it. She explained to me that this was a high compliment with them.

It's quite different in Israel. Dogs did not have a good reputation. They have found their place in disparaging and contemptuous speeches.

When the Philistine Goliath in full armour and the shepherd boy David faced each other with the shepherd's crook and a slingshot, the gigantic warrior mocked: "Am I a dog that you come to me with a stick? And he cursed David by his gods." (1 Samuel 17:43)

The term "dead dog" was common in men's circles. David, in his quarrel with Saul, belittled himself, called himself such (1 Samuel 24:15). When King David returned to his nephew Merib-baal the goods expropriated by his predecessor, the latter threw himself at his feet with the words: "What is your servant that you should turn to a dead dog like me?" (2 Samuel 9:8) After David killed Saul to become king himself, Shimi went berserk from Saul's house and publicly cursed David. Then one of David's comrades-in-arms said angrily: "Why does this dead dog curse my master the king? I will go over and cut off his head." (2 Samuel 16:9)

The prophet Elisha organized a change of power in Damascus. He foresaw that the new king would bring much suffering to Israel. That's why he cried. Hazael, emissary of the seriously ill king, asked the prophet why he was weeping. To which the prophet replied: "Because I know how much suffering you will bring to the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children, slit open the bodies of their pregnant wives." (2 Kings 8:12) Frightened, Hazael replied: "What is your servant, this dog, that he could do such mighty things?" (2 Kings 8:13)

The disparaging use of dogs is not only found in the Bible. There are also many "mean" word combinations in the German language. The dog is associated with unfriendly adjectives that serve as swear words: sharp, blind, fat, tall, crooked, false, lazy. If "dog" is added to another word, a devaluation occurs. This is often done in weather reports (dog weather; in this weather you can't chase a dog out the door; it rains young dogs; freeze like a young dog, like a wet dog) but also in the condition (miserable, being on the dog, coming to the dog, that makes the dog feel sorry, die like a dog, live like a dog, be under the dog, to be a dog under everything, to go before the dogs).

Dangerous and voracious

In biblical texts, dogs themselves are encountered as life-threatening. They bared their teeth to kill the firstborn of the Egyptians (Exodus 11:7).

They also serve to paint that a situation is dangerous. A doomed man, who feels as if he is "surrounded by dogs", asks God for help: "But you, Lord, do not stay away! You, my strength, hasten to my aid! Snatch my life from the sword, from the power of the dogs my only possession! Save me from the lion's mouth and from the buffaloes' horns!" (Psalm 22:20–22) When Saul sent soldiers and the house was guarded to kill him, King David describes his threatening situation to God in a psalm as follows: "They bark like dogs, circle the city, they roam about, greedy for food, if they are not satisfied, then they growl." (Psalm 59:15f.)

In drastic terms, the prophet Isaiah laments the corruption of Israel's watchmen and shepherds, comparing them to greedy dogs: "His watchmen are all blind, they know nothing; they are all dumb dogs, they can't bark. They lie there dreaming and like to have their peace. And these dogs are of mighty greed, know no satiety. These are shepherds: they don't know how to pay attention. They have all turned to their own path, each one is only concerned with his own profit." (Isaiah 56:10f.)

Dogs also acted as undertakers. They lick the blood of the dead, be it the fallen King Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:38) or the blood of the vineyard owner Naboth, who was murdered by King Ahab, as well as his own (1 Kings 21:19). But dogs also eat the meat of those killed and murdered. This was the fate of Queen Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, who had seduced the people into idolatry (2 Kings 9:36). In addition, dogs and birds shared the disposal of the dead in the city and in the countryside: "Whoever dies of the house of Basha (1 Kings 16:4), of the house of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:11) or of the family of Ahab (1 Kings 21:24) in the city, the dogs will eat him, and whoever dies in the open field, the birds of the air will eat him."

Literally

How important the dog was in Israel is also shown by proverbs into which it has made it. In both the First and Second Testaments, one can read the somewhat unappetizing saying: "Like a dog that returns to what it has vomited." (Proverbs 26:11; 2 Peter 2:22) It is advised to "grab a passing dog by the ears". (Proverbs 26:17) It also says: "A living dog is better than a dead lion." (Ecclesiastes 9:4) In the socio-critical comparison, one reads: "What peace does a hyena have with a dog? What peace does a rich man have with a needy person?" The following statement is misogynistic, because it is not clear why it should not also apply to men: "A stubborn woman is respected as a dog, a shameful one fears the Lord." (Jesus Sirach 26:25) Finally, Jesus urges us to guard the holy things carefully: "Do not give the holy things to dogs, nor throw your pearls to the swine, for they may trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces!" (Matthew 7:6)

Our dog sayings are more banal compared to the biblical ones: "The dogs bite the last. Dogs that bark do not bite. Wake sleeping dogs. Be like dog and cat. That's to get young dogs." However, I like: "You have to carry the dog to the hunt." Is necessary from time to time with unmotivated people.

Benign at home and on the go

There are very few passages in the Bible where benign dogs occur. One such is the dog that accompanies young Tobias and his guardian angel Rafaël on his bridal search. At the beginning of the journey, "the dog also came out with him [the boy] and went out with them." (Tobit 6:1) And when they came home, they left behind the woman they had found and married. They hurried ahead to use the bile of the fish from the Tigris to restore the sight of the father, who had been blinded by bird: "The dog also ran behind Rafaël and Tobias." (Tobit 11:4) It is as if the mention of the dog forms a kind of frame plot.

Jesus was visibly familiar with small domestic dogs. It was at a time when he was convinced that he was only sent to the house of Israel. A Canaanite woman, a Syro-Phoenician pagan from birth, made a lasting contribution to the expansion of his messianic horizons. This reminds me of the Milanese Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, who, as chairman of the Council of the Conference of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), once put it precisely: "The Church learns and teaches." If Jesus learned, why not the church?

This woman had a daughter who was tormented by a demon. She heard about the miracle rabbi, stood in his way and asked him for healing. Jesus did not want to and justified himself with a seemingly strained comparison: "It is not right to take bread away from the children and throw it to the little dogs." But the woman quick-wittedly undermined his argument: "Yes, sir! But even the little dogs eat from the breadcrumbs that fall from their masters' table." (Matthew 15:26–28; Mark 7:27–30)

In the parable of the rich glutton and the poor Lazarus, Jesus takes up this image. Did he remember the lesson of the pagan woman? Again, breadcrumbs fall from the table. But the poor man could not even catch hold of them. "Instead, the dogs came and licked his ulcers." (Luke 16:21)

Of course, in Israel not only the shepherds were appreciated, but also the shepherd dogs at their side. By their yapping they drove away the enemies of the sheep. In the story of the beautiful and eloquent Judith and the general Holofernes, this is expressly referred to. Judith predicted to the warlord that Israel would no longer enjoy God's protection because of its violation of the law. They had only pushed the law aside out of necessity. Because the food had run out, they also ate the gifts that were actually intended for the temple. For them, survival was more important than piety. Now, Judit said to the warlord, the exhausted people would no longer resist. He could march into Jerusalem unhindered and upright his commander's chair in the middle of the city: "You will lead them away like sheep that have no shepherd, and no dog will bark against you!" (Judith 11:19)

Qitmîr and the Seven Sleepers

My name is Qitmîr. I am a shepherd dog. Others called me ar-Raqim. These are Arabic names. I am writing you these lines from paradise. Yes, that's right: from paradise. Because animals also go to heaven. Of course. Allah, or as the Jews say, Yahweh, wants to rejoice forever in all that He has created. But what would the beauty of creation be without us animals! If you don't believe it, just take a look at the Universum series on Austrian television.

Now I'm sitting with my late master Antonios, whom I helped herd sheep. We are in a special society here in paradise. We enjoy our paradisiacal pleasures not only with extraordinarily beautiful women with radiant skin, comparable to well-kept pearls or rubies and corals, as well as large, beautiful eyes.¹³² Antonios and I are especially together with six tough young men with a blissful face. With these we have experienced an exciting history on earth. It goes like this:

Maximilianos, Malchos, Yamblichos, Martinianos, Dionysius and John lived in the famous Ephesus. They came from noble families. The young Christianity, which, like us, sprang from Judaism and with which we highly venerate Abraham, was just spreading. At that time, the cruel Emperor Decius ruled in Rome. Like many later megalomaniacal rulers, he considered himself God and only knew subjects. He demanded that they worship him. But the six young believing men refused. So they fled the city. That's where we met, the six men, my master and I, Qitmîr. We knew a cave where we hid from the captors.

I can't remember exactly what happened next, because finally the seven and I sank into a deep and long sleep. Some say we have run out of bread and water. Others say that the captors discovered us and walled us up alive in the cave on the emperor's orders. After all, the sleeping of the seven people has earned us the name dormice. Strictly speaking, we should be called "night sleepers", because I slept with them, and I slept deeply and soundly, as it is even told in the Holy Book of Islam: "You could think them awake while they are sleeping; and We will make them turn to the right side and to the left, while their dog stretches out his front paws on the threshold." (Sura 18:18)

But it gets even better. We were discovered and woken up. Some say because the stones with which the cave was walled up were needed for a construction. Others claim that a shepherd who happened to enter the cave found us asleep. Anyway, we woke up hungry. So we sent Yamblichos to go shopping in the nearby city. He was amazed when he handed over silver coins to the seller. Now he learned with joyful horror that they had slept for three hundred and nine years. It was no longer Decius who ruled, but Theodosius II. The long sleep saved the seven and me and at the same time let them fall out of time.

Even I, as an intelligent¹³³ dog, suspect that God must have had a hand in this. This is not only given to His own in their sleep (Psalm 127:2). He apparently put us into a saving sleep and was able to awaken us from it himself after many years. So God can be relied on quite a bit. And the fact that I am now telling this story from the dog paradise makes it clear that God is also familiar with the sleep of death and can wake up from it.

I find it gratifying that both Christians and Muslims like our story. Several Islamic pilgrimage sites were established in Loja, Sefrou, Sétif, Cairo, Damascus, Afşin, Ephesus and Tarsus. Christian churches were built in memory of us. We even made it into the Christian calendars of saints. On September 13, the Seven Sleepers Festival, Lower Bavarian believers move to Rotthof near Ruhstorf to commemorate us and ask us for support. We, the seven sleepers, and I, Qitmîr, the shepherd dog, are considered the patron saints of boatmen, but are also invoked in case of fever and insomnia. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe commemorated us in his collection of poems West-Eastern Diwan. We even had to serve for a farmer's rule: If it rains on Seven Sleepers' Day, it may rain for seven weeks.

Although I have played an important role in the story as a shepherd dog, I am paradisiacal irritated that only the seven people are depicted in works of art, but not me, Qitmîr, the shepherd dog. Maybe not everyone believes that there are dogs in heaven after all. If I weren't in paradise, I'd be annoyed. But I may be surprised.

Anmerkungen

[←1]

SHEEP (301), CATTLE (213), RAM (208), CATTLE (195), LAMB (171), LION (166), DONKEY (150), BIRD (150), GOATS (141), HORSE (134), BULL (109), FISH), (107), SNAKE (69), GOAT (68), CAMEL (64), PIGEON (64), CALF (55), GRASSHOPPER (51), YOUNG ANIMAL (51), DOG (46), ROED (42), DRAGON (36), REPTILES (30), PIG (26), OX (25), WILDLIFE (25), EAGLE (23), CHICKEN (23), DEER (22), WORM (21), AAS (20), Gazelle (19), MULE (19), SCHAKAL (19), SCORPIO (17), BIRD OF PREY (16), VULTURE (14), ELEPHANT (14), WOLF (12), OWL (11), Ostriches (8), Panther (8), HYENA (7), BEE (6), STALLIONS (6), Stork (6), FALCON (5), MICE (5), IBEX (4), BUFFALO (3), Crocodile (3), Larva (3), MOAT (3), Partridge (3), Bat (2), Maggot (2), MOLE (2), MILAN (2), Rodent (2), Chameleon (1), Hedgehog (1), Cats (1), Rock Badgers (1), Leopard (1), Hippopotamus (1), Salamanders (1), Wasps (1). In the case of mentions written in capital letters, word variations were drawn together.

[←2]

In the Koran, which is significantly shorter in terms of the number of words (around 9330, adjusted for stop words), there are far fewer animals. This is a list: CAMELS (31), CATTLE (30), ANIMALS (17), BIRDS (17), COW (8), DOVES (6), PASTURE (6), ANT (5), DONKEYS (5), FISH (5), GAME (5), EWES (4), SPIDER (4), ELEPHANTS (3), WINGS (3), HERD (3), SARIFICIAL ANIMALS (3), PERDE (2), MOUNTS (2), Hoopoe (2), Goats (2), Poultry (1), Lice (1), Mules (1), Moths (1), Ravens (1), Birds of prey (1), cattle (1). In the case of mentions written in capital letters, word variations (such as elephant and elephant) have been contracted.

[←3]

Document on the Fraternity of All People for Peaceful Coexistence in the World, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (4 February 2019): L'Osservatore Romano (Eng.), Vol. 49 (2019), No. 7 (15 February 2019), p. 8., quoted in Francis: Fratelli tutti, Rome 2020, no. 5.

[←4]

Ariane Martin: Canticle of the Sun (ZDF film)

[←5]

The Boy's Wunderhorn is a major work of Heidelberg Romanticism. In the period from 1805 to 1808, a total of 723 songs were published in three volumes.

[←6]

On the Sabbath we went through the city gate out to the river, where we suspected a place of prayer. We sat down and talked to the women who had gathered.

[←7]

Zulehner, Paul M.: For you precede our actions with your grace. On the Theology of Pastoral Care Today. Paul M. Zulehner in conversation with Karl Rahner, Düsseldorf 1984.

[←8]

In Psalm 49, the coming one (what Shiloh means is not clear. The Vulgate translates as "qui mittendus est", the one to be sent) a donkey stallion with a donkey who has a foal: "The scepter never leaves Judah, the ruler's staff from his feet, until Shiloh comes, to whom the obedience of the nations is due. He binds to the vine his donkey stallion, to the noble vine the foal of his donkey." (Psalm 49:10f.)

[←9]

Ambrosius: Lukaskommentar II 4.

[←10]

Works of Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Tractatus in Euangelium Iohanni's Lectures on the Gospel of John (BKV), 51st Lecture, https://bkv.unifr.ch/de/works/cpl-278/versions/vortrage-uber-das-johannes-evangelium-bkv/divisions/842/RXNlbGlu (27.6.2024)

[←11]

Ambrose of Milan, Homily for Palm Sunday.

[←12]

Pietro Santi Bartoli, engraver Giovanni Domenico de' Rossi, publisher: Relief of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius: Triumphal procession "TRIVMPHVS GERMANICVS M ∙ Aurelij", probably 2nd half of the 18th century (first printing 1693). – Also: Triumphator on the triumphal chariot, led by lictors (Archaeological Museum of Palestrina) File:The National Archeological Museum Of Palestrina 31.JPG Created: 26 June 2011 Uploaded: 27 October 2023.

[←13]

Pope Benedict XVI preached at the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005: "This first fundamental transformation of violence into love, from death into life, then entails further transformations. Bread and wine become his body and blood. But the transformation must not stop at this point, it must first fully begin here. The body and blood of Jesus Christ are given to us so that we may be transformed. We ourselves are to become the body of Christ, related to Him by blood. We all eat the one loaf of bread. But that means that we are made one with each other. Worship, we said, becomes union. God is no longer merely the completely different in relation to us. He is in ourselves and we are in Him. His dynamism permeates us and wants to spread from us to others and to the world as a whole, so that his love really becomes the dominant measure of the world." https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/de/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050821_20th-world-youth-day.html (27.6.2024)

[←14]

Egeria, also known as Etheria or Aetheria, was a Christian woman from the Hispano-Roman Empire. She loved to travel and wrote a detailed letter entitled "Peregrinatio" about her experiences to a group of women at home. Between 381 and 184 she was also in the Holy Land and witnessed the celebrations of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Aetheria/Egeria: Journey to the Holy Land. Latin/German by Kai Brodersen (Tusculum Collection), Berlin-Boston 2016.

[←15]

Ö1 Kulturjournal with Susanne Lettenbauer on the production of Tristan in Bayreuth, 22.7.2022.

[←16]

In so-called dispensationalism, an evangelical Armageddon theology has developed: Hal Lindsey, The 1980s. Countdown to Armageddon. There is a threat of nuclear war between the USA and the Soviet Union. The founder of Jehovah's Witnesses, Charles Taze Russell, saw the First World War as a decisive battle that would end in a thousand-year kingdom of peace. (Charles Taze Russell: Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4: The Battle of Armageddon, 1897.)

[←17]

So the reggae musician Willi Williams in 1978. The fifth studio album by the metal band Equilibrium from 2016 is titled Armageddon.

[←18]

The Omega Code (1999) and Megiddo: Omega Code 2 (2001): The latter film ends with a quote from Revelation 11:15. Films often refer to the nuclear arms race (Armageddon – The Last Judgement (1998).

[←19]

Trimondi, Victoria and Victor: Prophecy and Politics. The end-time speculations of the American doomsday authors. In: War of the Religions. Politics, Faith and Terror in the Sign of the Apocalypse. Fink, Paderborn 2005.

[←20]

Mayer, Patrick: Biden warns of "Armageddon": What would the US reaction to a nuclear strike look like? Three scenarios, in: Biden warns of 'Armageddon': What would the US response to a nuclear strike look like? Three scenarios (merkur.de) (28.6.2024) - Sachs, Jeffrey D. The US Presidents' Desire for Nuclear Armageddon (3.6.2024), in: https://www.telepolis.de/features/Die-Lust-der-US-Praesidenten-am-nuklearen-Armageddon-9745409.html (28.6.2024)

[←21]

CCC 2302-2317, here 2309.

[←22]

Werkner, Ines-Jacqueline/Liedhegener, Antonius (eds.): Gerechter Krieg – gerechter Frieden. Religions and Legitimations of Peace Ethics in Current Military Conflicts, Wiesbaden 2009.

[←23]

https://www.vaticannews.va/de/papst/news/2024-05/papst-franziskus-krieg-taeuschung-geschwisterlichkeit-frieden.html (28.6.2024) – Also: Francis: Fratelli tutti, Rome 2022, 261.

[←24]

Germany gets serious about plans to make the military "fit for war": in Euro News - 15.11.2022 https://de.euronews.com/2023/11/15/deutschland-macht-ernst-mit-planen-das-militar-kriegstauglich-zu-machen (28.6.2024)

[←25]

SIPRI Yearbook 2023, Oxford 2023. SIPRI is the abbreviation for Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

[←26]

ORF2, Feierabend, https://tv.orf.at/program/orf2/feierabend386.html (28.6.2024)

[←27]

Robert Watson, IPBES-Vorsitzender in: IPBES' 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 7.2.2019 – https://www.ipbes.net/news/ipbes-global-assessment-preview (28.6.2024)

[←28]

Ingolfur Blühdorn speaks of a "progressive normalization of the apocalyptic": Id.: Unsustainability. On the Way to Another Modernity, Berlin 2024.

[←29]

Voss, Pauline: António Guterres warns of a "collective suicide pact": How the UN Secretary-General became a climate apocalypticist, in: NZZ of 23.11.2022 (https://www.nzz.ch/international/cop27-wie-antonio-guterres-zum-klima-apokalyptiker-wurde-ld.1712087) (28.6.2024)

[←30]

Bruckner wrote the notes "invalid", "only an attempt", "completely null and void" on notes not played during his lifetime, and underlined his displeasure with the composition with a crossed out zero. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinfonie_in_d-Moll_(Bruckner) (28.6.2024)

[←31]

This is how the introduction to Revelation in the official Catholic Bible translation summarizes the events.

[←32]

Even the dramatic descriptions in the Revelation of John are repeatedly interrupted by songs of praise and thanksgiving (4:8, 11; 5:9–13; 7:12; 11:15, 17f.; 12:10–12; 15:3f.; 16:5f.; 19:1–8).

[←33]

Jeremiah, Joachim: Die Abendmahlsworte Jesu, Göttingen 31960.

[←34]

Stenger, Hermann: Im Zeichen des Hirten und des Lammes. Mitdow und Gift Bibeler Bilder, Innsbruck 2000, 294.

[←35]

Werbick, Jürgen: Soteriologie, Düsseldorf 1990, 253f.

[←36]

The word Bissgurre is a compound of beissen and the root word gurre (mhd. for old mare). https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Bissgurn (2.7.2024)(

[←37]

Why the rooster got to the top of the church tower - katholisch.de (8.7.2024)

[←38]

http://ikonografie.antonprock.at/hahn.htm (8.4.2024)

[←39]

The word is credible: If we have died with Christ, we will also live with him; if we remain steadfast, we will reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, because he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:11–13)

[←40]

13 Greater than this is love, but the one who hath it, is that a man who has the soulof the soul that will be the friendof his friends.

[←41]

Stenger, Hermann: Im Zeichen des Hirten und des Lammes. Mitdow und Gift Bibeler Bilder, Innsbruck 2000.

[←42]

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergenekon-Legende (12.9.2024)

[←43]

The Kurds and their liberation organization PKK are considered the enemies. But they are also joined by Jews, Christians, Armenians, Greeks, Communists, Freemasons, Israel or "Zionists", the EU, the Vatican and the United States. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graue_W%C3%B6lfe (12.7.2024)

[←44]

https://www.bedeutungonline.de/was-ist-der-wolfsgruss-verbot-ist-er-verboten-bedeutung/ (12.7.2024)

[←45]

https://www.dbk.de/fileadmin/redaktion/diverse_downloads/presse_2024/2024-023a-Anlage1-Pressebericht-Erklaerung-der-deutschen-Bischoefe.pdf), 2.

[←46]

Hobbes is based on a sentence from the comedy Asenaria (Donkeys) by the Roman poet Titus Maccius Plautus (254–184 BC), who formulated there: lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit (A wolf is man to man, not a man as long as he does not know what kind the other is). Dedication to His Excellency the Earl William of Devonshire, my highly revered lord, from Thomas Hobbes' Doctrine of the Citizen. Original Latin: "Profecto utrumque vere dictum est, Homo homini Deus, & Homo homini Lupus". Elementa philosophica de cive. Amsterdam 1657, 10.

[←47]

„What I write is simple, frank and truthful…“ Father Konrad Szweda's Camp-Egodocuments. Edited by Lucyna Sadzikowska in cooperation with Adam Dziadek, Marta Tomczok, Magdalena Kędzierska and Patryk Zajqc. Translated by Jacek Mydla and Michał Mydla, Katowice 2024

[←48]

More on this in https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Löwe (23.7.2024)

[←49]

Open doors: World Persecution Index 2024. The detailed report, Kelkheim 2024 (also: https://www.opendoors.de/ (26.7.2024)

[←50]

Also: Declaration Dignitas Infinita on Human Dignity, Rome 2024. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20240402_dignitas-infinita_ge.html (26.7.2024)

[←51]

"Schlange", provided by the Digital Dictionary of the German Language, https://www.dwds.de/wb/Schlange, accessed on 16.07.2024.

[←52]

Friedrich Schiller: Cabal and Love – Act 3, Scene 4.

[←53]

The image of the molt also inspires feminism: Stefan, Verena: Häutungen, Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen, München, Frauenoffensive, 1975 (1994: München, Frauenoffensive).

[←54]

Staubli, Thomas, Der Nehuschtan, in: Die Schlange – ein Bibeles Symbol, Bibel heute 230 (2022), 17.

[←55]

In German, "snake" is feminine. The word has an eventful history etymologically: "The name of the reptile ahd. slango m. (9th century), mhd. Slange M. (Md. F.) 'snake, dragon', also 'devil', Saxon. Slango M., mnd. Slange M. F., Mnl. Slanghe M. F., NL. slang f. is in the ablaut to the verb treated under 1schlingen (s. d.) in its meaning 'to wriggle oneself, to creep'. It displaces (as a taboo word?) old terms such as viper, toad, worm (s. d.)." https://www.dwds.de/wb/Schlange (18.7.2024)

[←56]

InEgypt, the dangerous primeval serpent Apophis symbolized the disordered and threatening and was the antagonist of the sun god Re, who stood for order.

[←57]

In Hebrew there is a relevant play on words: arum means erect, arom on the other hand naked. Because of the successful seduction by the "erect", upright walking snake, the people noticed that they were naked.

[←58]

Heiss, Esther Agnes Zoe: Thoroughly Human, in: The Snake – a Biblical Symbol, in: Bibel heute 203 (2002), 26f.

[←59]

For Friedrich Nietzsche, the serpent in man can be read in the introductory poems to the Merry Science:
At the third moult
Already my skin bends and breaks,Already
greeds with new urge,As
much as it already digests earth,For
earth in me the snake.
Already I crawl between stone and grass
Hungry on crooked track,To
eat that which I always ate,You
, snake food, you, earth!
Nietzsche, Friedrich: Die Fröhliche Wissenschaft, 1882, stanza 8.

[←60]

Rohr, Richard: The naked Now. Mysticism, Spiritual life -- Christianity, New York 2009.

[←61]

Then the Lord God said, "Behold, man has become like one of us, that he may know good and evil." But now he should not stretch out his hand to take from the tree of life, eat from it, and live forever. Then the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to work the soil from which he had been taken. He drove out the man and caused the cherubim and the blazing flaming sword to dwell east of the Garden of Eden, so that they might guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22–24)

[←62]

Drewermann, Eugen: Structures of Evil – The Yahwistic Prehistory in Exegetical/Psychoanalytical/Philosophical Perspective, 3 vols., Paderborn 1988.

[←63]

Renz, Monika: Understanding Fear. Deeper than all fear lies basic trust, Freiburg 2018.

[←64]

The snake monster also plays a role in Harry Potter. A snake forms the heraldic animal of House Slytherin. Its name is a combination of sly and slither. Voldemort's followers are tattooed with a snake on their forearm. The handsome Tom Riddle gradually changes his appearance and takes on snake-like features. The giant snake Nagini, who can show emotions and awaits redemption as Horcrux, accompanies him as a pet. Good and evil are thematized, but also immortality. It's about enmity between the descendants of the serpent (House Slytherin) and the woman, who is now Harry's mother, who taught them trust and love. Harry's wins thanks to his disarming spell. Redemption myth updated. Nobody, Christoph: Harry Potter and the Snake Nagini. A Saga of "Fall of Man" and Resurrection, in: The Serpent – a Biblical Symbol, Bible Today 230 (2022), 32f.

[←65]

Handbuch der Zoologie: eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches founded by Dr. Willy Kükenthal (Geheimem Regierungsrat, Weiland o. o. Prof. an der Universität Berlin); with the collaboration of numerous scholars; edited by Dr. Thilo Krumbach, Berlin 1926–1930 (here Volume 4: Anthopoda: Insekten)

[←66]

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuschrecken (30.7.2024)

[←67]

For they were killed by the bites of locusts and biting flies, without there being any cure for them; they deserved to be chastised by such animals. (Wisdom 16:9)

[←68]

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zehn_Plagen#Ausbruch_des_Vulkans_Thera (30.7.2024)

[←69]

https://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/chap81.php (7.8.2024)

[←70]

Braulik, Georg: Von der Lust Israels vor seinem Gott. Warum Kirche aus dem Fest lebt, in: Ibid., Studien zum Deuteronomium und seiner Nachgeschichte, 91–112.

[←71]

Rosa, Hartmut: Democracy Needs Religion, Freiburg 2022.

[←72]

Translation by Koch, Klaus: Die propheten I. Assyrische Zeit, ³¹⁹⁹⁵, 207.

[←73]

Homer, Odyssee 13,187–16,321.

[←74]

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_re_coquinaria (1.8.2024)

[←75]

Heine, Peter: Food and Food Taboos in Islam, in: Perry Schmidt-Leukel (ed.): Die Religionen und das Essen, Kreuzlingen 2000, 91.

[←76]

Previously, we had already told of the martyrdom of the aged scribe Eleazar (2 Maccabees 6:18-31): He was "a man of old age and very noble features. Their mouths were opened and they tried to force them to eat pork. But he preferred an honorable death to a life of shame, voluntarily went to the torture rack and spat out the flesh again, as one had to do who steadfastly refused to eat what one is not allowed to eat, not even for the love of life." (vv.18–20)

[←77]

Joint Synod of the Dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany. Official Complete Edition. ed. von Ludwig Bertsch, Freiburg 1976, 91.

[←78]

A psalm also points in this direction: "Even if the wicked sprout like grass, if all who do wrong blossom – then only for destruction forever." (Psalm 92:8) – Texts from the Revelation of John speak for such an annihilation (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14; 21:8). In the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, there is talk of a "punishment of eternal destruction" (2 Thess 1:8). Cardinal Carlo M. Martini sympathizes with this assumption, only to put it aside again: Martini, Carlo M./Sporschill, Georg: Jerusalem Night Talks. On the Risk of Faith, Freiburg 42009, 22.

[←79]

Mt 8,28–34; Markus 5,1–20; Lukas 8,26–39.

[←80]

For example, the metal band Eisregen or the band Tocotronic; In the comic book adaptation Ghost Rider, the character Blackheart calls himself Legion after absorbing 1000 souls at the end of the film. He also uses the words "... for we are many." https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_(Demon) (2.8.2024)

[←81]

Sternhagen, Eick: Eugen Drewermann: Deutung der Erzählung über den Besessenen von Gerasa (Mark 5,1–20). Der Versuch einer Bewertung, Hamburg 2008.

[←82]

Angeschnugt an Haslauer, Wilfried: Engel und Dämonen. Speech at the opening of the Salzburg Festival 2024 on 26.7.2024, https://www.salzburg.gv.at/kultur_/Documents/festspiele-rede-haslauer.pdf (2.8.2024)

[←83]

Rule from Lisbon to Vladivostok (uni-koeln.de) (3.8.2024) - https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article238010209/Medwedew-will-offenes-Eurasien-von-Lissabon-bis-Wladiwostok.html (3.8.2024)

[←84]

Nouwen, Henri: Take his picture in your heart, Freiburg 2016.

[←85]

https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Walfisch (9.8.2024)

[←86]

Moltmann, Jürgen: Die ersten Freigelassenen der Schöpfung. Versuche über die Freude an der Freiheit und das Wohlgefällt am Spiel, Munich 1971.

[←87]

Dröscher, Vitus B.: "... and the whale hurled Jonah ashore." Die Tierwunder der Bibel naturwissenschaftlich erklärt, Osnabrück 1987.

[←88]

Hennersperger, Anna: "Wir linken an einander an ...". Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (21.1.2024), in: WortGottesFeiern, ed. by Beate Jammer, Sonja Kohr, Andreas Poschmann and Heinz Vogel, 21/1, Ostfildern 2024, 65–79, here 69–71.

[←89]

Hennersperger: "Wir knüpfen an einander", 69–71.

[←90]

https://www.vaticannews.va/de/papst/news/2021-07/papst-franziskus-angelus-brotvermehrung-artikel.html (9.8.2024)

[←91]

Beinert, Wolfgang: Resurrection of Jesus, in: Beinert, Wolfgang, What Christians believe. 20 Answers for Critical Contemporaries, Regensburg 2014, 126–138.

[←92]

The oldest resurrection testimonies are so-called eulogies, praise of God (Romans 10:9; 1Corinthians 6:14; 15:15; 1Thessalonians 1:10; Acts 3:15 and other things). https://bibelwissenschaft.de/stichwort/100283/ (9.9.2024)

[←93]

https://www.woxikon.de/ (19.8.2024)

[←94]

Drewermann, Eugen: Landscapes of the Soul or: How to Overcome Fear. Grimms Märchen tiefenpsychologisch gedeutet, Ostfildern ⁴²⁰²³, 265–408.

[←95]

The list of names for the victims in Old Israel is long. They owe their existence to various aspects. They have to do with partial rites (swing offerings), with days of remembrance (memorial offerings), with times of day (evening and morning sacrifices), with promises (vow offerings), with benefits received (thanksgiving offerings) or with a duty to sacrifice (lifting offerings). https://bibelwissenschaft.de/stichwort/24240/

[←96]

When he offers a goat, he is to bring it before the Lord . He is to put his hand on her head and slaughter her before the tabernacle; then the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle their blood all around the altar. From it he is to offer as a fire offering to the Lord : the fat that covers the intestines, all the fat over the intestines, the two kidneys, the fat above them and the fat on the loins, and the fat mass that he separates from the liver and kidneys. The priest let these parts go up in smoke on the altar. They are a food offered by fire for a soothing fragrance to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord. (Leviticus 3:12–16)

[←97]

Origen: Contra Celsum, VI 43.

[←98]

Girard, René: Das Heilige und die Gewalt, Ostfildern 2011. – Hetzel, Andreas: Victims and Violence. René Girard's Cultural Anthropology of the Scapegoat, in: Wilhelm Gräb/Martin Laube (eds.), Der menschlichen Makel. On the Speechless Return of Sin, Loccumer Protokolle 11/2008, 103–118.

[←99]

Palaver, Wolfgang: René Girard's Mimetic Theory. In the Context of Cultural Theory and Socio-Political Issues, Münster 32008.

[←100]

I borrow these names from Michael Balint. Benign power would then be benevolent, good; malignant, malignant, malignant: I no longer speak of power, but of violence.

[←101]

The scapegoat metaphor not only plays a role in the concept of taming violence of the cultural anthropologist René Girards and his now growing school. Psychologists also use it to understand the toxic mixture of frustration and aggression. The goal is to open up ways to a less aggressive coexistence. Proponents of this theory suspect that with frustrating wish disappointments, aggressive behavior becomes more likely. Frustration and aggression are then burdened on scapegoats of various kinds for their own relief. Organizations often talk about "black sheep". In expert circles, such assumptions are not considered to be sufficiently substantiated.

[←102]

Rosenberg, Marshall B.: Nonviolent Communication. A Language of Life, Paderborn 2016.

[←103]

Holler, Ingrid: Training Book Nonviolent Communication. Varied Exercises for Self-Study and Seminars, Paderborn 2016.

[←104]

Renz, Monika: Understanding Fear. Deeper than all fear lies the basic trust, Freiburg 2018. – Dies.: Der Mystiker aus Nazareth. Jesuanische Spiritualität, Freiburg 2016. – Dies.: Erlösung aus Prägung, Paderborn 2008.

[←105]

The most recent contribution to this was made by Schwienhorst-Schönberger, Ludger: Das Hohelied der Liebe, Freiburg 2015.

[←106]

This can also provide information about the author: "A highly educated literary author from the late post-exilic period (has) written a highly poetic work of art with a deeply religious content with recourse to and in subtle allusion to prophetic texts." Schwienhorst-Schönberger, Ludger: Das Hohelied der Liebe, Freiburg 2015, 20.

[←107]

Schwienhorst-Schönberger: Das Holiedered, 40.

[←108]

https://www.briefmeisterin.de/beispiele/liebesbrief/ (17.8.2024)

[←109]

Fried, Erich: Es ist was es ist. Love Poems, Fear Poems, Anger Poems, Berlin 1991.

[←110]

Rilke, Rainer Maria: Die Gedichte. Nach der von Ernst Zinn sorgen Edition der sämtliche Werke, Leipzig 1957.

[←111]

In a Greek story, the protagonists are Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha.

[←112]

Despite enormous efforts, it has not been possible to assign a specific flood event to the biblical flood narrative with certainty. It was tried with continental megafloods, a volcanic eruption on Santorini, with sea and earthquakes, with a flooding of the Black Sea, with the impact of meteorites and subsequent tsunamis, with the sinking of the continent Atlantis. The fascination and breadth of interpretation of the mythical narrative is unbroken thanks to the scientific inexplicability. A myth transports truth and reality differently than science.

[←113]

http://www.theologie-systematisch.de/sakramentenlehre/4/texte-historisch.htm (31.8.2024)

[←114]

Power and powerlessness in the Philippines. Church of Liberation as a Unifying Force, ed. by Fritz Köster et al., Olten 1986.

[←115]

The metaphor of the "fiery chariot" has taken on a life of its own. In the vernacular, old steam locomotives "fiery Elias" are honored. Fast cars are also referred to as such.

[←116]

He shares this fate with the very old Enoch, who, according to the biblical narrative, was also "raptured": "Enoch had gone his way with God, then he was no longer there; for God had received him" (Genesis 5:24; also Hebrews 11:5). "Raptured" is interpreted as "no longer on earth", but also as "not yet dead". Elijah is, as it were, in eschatological standby. The spectacularly enraptured man on a fiery chariot will come back. The prophet Malachi was convinced: "But before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day, behold, I am sending to you the prophet Elijah." (Malachi 3:23) At the time of Jesus, some thought that this had already happened. John the Baptist is Elijah who returned at the end of time. Jesus sympathized with this interpretation, saying, "And if ye will accept it, He is Elijah who is to come again." (Matthew 11:13) According to the evangelist Mark, Jesus is said to have become even clearer: "I say to you, Elijah has already come, but they did to him what they wanted, as it is written in the Scriptures." (Mark 9:13) Others, finally, considered Jesus Himself to be the returned Elijah (Matthew 16:14). The believers in Israel commemorate the return of Elijah, who is considered a symbol of steadfastness in times of oppression and idolatry, on every Passover festival. On Seder night, a cup is emptied for Elijah, then the door is opened for Elijah to enter. After a prayer of praise, the door is closed again.

[←117]

The feast day of St. Elijah is celebrated on January 1 in the Coptic Church and on February 1 in the Syriac Orthodox Church.

[←118]

Ordensproprium zum Stundenbuch für den Karmeliteorden, ed. von der OberdeutschenProvinz der Karmeliteen, Bamberg 1984, 82.

[←119]

Harvey, Nicholas Peter/Woodhead, Linda: Unknowing God: Toward a Post-Abusive Theology, London 2022.

[←120]

Goethe – Begegnungen und Gespräche 2 (1777–85), Berlin 1967, 214.

[←121]

In brutal war rhetoric, the author of this 21-verse book of the Bible, the haughty Edom, is accused by the prophet Obadiah of rising up like an eagle and building his nest among the stars (Obadiah 1:4).

[←122]

Reichardt, Alina/ Kaufmann, Johannes: Die Biene wird Bundessache, in: Hamburger Abendblatt. 8 June 2016, 22.

[←123]

https://info.bml.gv.at/service/veranstaltungen/landwirtschaft/weltbienentag.html (4.10.2024).

[←124]

Honey, Hebrew dva§ (also transliterated English dvash), can here mean the honey-sweet palm fear in its fresh state, i.e. date, although date is called tamar in Hebrew.

[←125]

Hittites are Indo-Europeans in their language, not Semites.

[←126]

At that time, the burrows for the honey bees were woven from straw and were used as projectiles against besieging enemies – an early form of biological warfare. The buzzing around is probably the dwarf honey bee, Apis florea, which tries to drive away the attackers by buzzing around right into the eyes.

[←127]

Domin, Hilde: Nur eine Rose als Stütze, Frankfurt 1978, 64.

[←128]

Tayler Swift proudly posted that she was also a "Childless Cat Lady". https://orf.at/stories/3369202/ (11.10.2024)

[←129]

Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 206 of 6.9.2024, 6.

[←130]

The height at the withers indicates the actual size of a dog. It refers to the height from the ground to the highest point of the shoulder blades: it is used as a standard measure in breeding.

[←131]

Hunting dogs are also mentioned in the Koran in Sura 5:4.

[←132]

For example, Suras 55:56-58; 56,22-34;78,31-33.

[←133]

"As early as the fourth century, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea attested to dogs' natural intelligence and provided proof by observing their hunting behavior. The dog owes its prey to its ability to eliminate false alternatives step by step." https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haushund (12.10.2024)