Friends, welcome to Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an

apostolate dedicated to the mission of evangelization using media both old and

new to share the faith on every continent and to facilitate an encounter with

Christ and His Church. The efforts of Word on Fire engage the culture and bring

the transformative power of God's Word where it is most needed. Today we invite

you to join Bishop Robert Barron as he preaches the gospel and shares the

warmth and light of Christ with each one of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, one of the most distinctive and frankly scandalous

qualities of ancient Israelite religion is the insistence that Israel is the

specially chosen people of God. And the thing is it's simply impossible to avoid

this theme. It's everywhere in the Bible. Of all the nations in the world, God

has singled out Israel as his specially chosen people. Of all the mountains in

the world, God has chosen Mount Zion. Of all the holy places scattered around

the world and indeed scattered around the Holy Land, he has chosen the temple in

Jerusalem as his special and unique dwelling place. In fact,

broaden this theme out. The God of the Bible, like it or not, is a choosing and

electing God. So for example, God chooses Israel among all the other nations. He

chooses Abel, not Cain. He chooses Jacob, not Esau. Chooses David, not Saul,

etc. Again, this is not a minor isolated idea. It's up and down the Bible. Well,

here's the thing, especially today, an early 21st century, we find this sort of

language really objectionable. Talk about exclusive. God is God doing the choosing

mind you. God chooses one over the other. Some are special, some are not. I mean,

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