The Census 2011 forms are here and I have to only fill out the short form. It is mailed but many will fill it out on-line.And it is law that everyone fill one out. What is the penalty if you don't, I wonder.
Over 2000 years ago, it says in Luke 2 that the Emporer Augustus ordered a census to be taken through-out the Roman Empire. This was not the first Census taken back then.Joseph went from nazareth with a pregnant mary, I might add, to Bethlehem in Judea to be counted. What was the penalty, if he didn't register, I wonder?
Something about Mary, the mother of Jesus, that I wonder about is the role she played in Jesus's experience of God. The One Jesus called 'Father' was no longer just an image of an ancient Mediterranean male with super-powers, no longer a God who had to win regardless of how many souls got lost in the process.
Was there a conflation between "the Just God" and an abusive tribal father figure? How could there not be? This reminds me of the popular view that there's nothing wrong with a little rage as long as it's directed toward a "just end." It also reminds me of a comment from a prayer by St. Anselm:
"So the accused flees from the just God to the good mother of the merciful God"
