In today’s First Reading (Gen 1:26-2:3) we are reminded that “In the beginning”, God created animals, birds of the air, fish and other sea creatures, cattle and wild beasts on the land. But God saved the best for last! He created people – men and women – to be reflections of divinity. Unlike other creatures, we can think, and we can choose. We can know what God wants, and we can decide whether or not to obey the will of God. In a word, we have free will.
Because we human beings have intelligence and will, we are “like God”. That is why God as made us “rulers” over the rest of creation. All other living creatures, birds of the air, fish in the sea, animals on the land are there for our food, and the latter also as cattle.
Then, God gave the command that men and women should start families. Like individual human persons, but even more so, human families are “created in the image of God”. Why? Because God is not one person, but three persons, each of them having their own part in the family enterprise: the work of creation. The First Person of the Trinity is the architect and engineer, through whom all things are made. His creative will is responsible for the existence of creatures capable of understanding and making choices, which is why we call him Father. The Second Person of the Trinity is the living image of the Father, and the model for the only creatures who, like God, are capable of understanding and making choices. The Third Person of the Trinity is often characterized by scripture commentators as the “feminine” member of the Holy Trinity. That observation is called “reverse imagery”. The Holy Spirit – the Paraclete who came down from Heaven upon the apostles after Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father is the source and teacher of all virtues, both those that lead us closer to our heavenly destination, and those that guide us to avoid desires, words and actions that will take us on a path leading away from the place God has prepared for us in his kingdom.
Finally, God looked at everything that had been made, and found that it was perfect. It was precisely as they (the Trinity) had planned.
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In today’s Gospel (Matthew 6:31-34), we find ourselves in a world very different from the way it was God created it (but, recalling the First Reading, precisely as they (the Trinity) had planned it). That is a paradox we have been dealing with since the beginning of time, and when Jesus comes again in glory, we still will not have figured it out completely. The question is one every human mother and father has asked repeatedly (and human sons and daughters as often): Why did God created people who are capable of disobeying the Ten Commandments (one perspective) , of doing things that are contrary to the good of other people – and for that matter, to their own good (the other perspective)? We are never going to resolve that conundrum in this life. For today, it is best to listen to what Jesus has to say about it to his disciples.
In the preceding verses of Matthew 6, Jesus had been speaking to his disciples about the dangers of wealth and prosperity. For the most part, Jesus’ disciples are not well-to-do; in fact, they may be quite poor. He reminds them that life is more than having the basic necessities. God gave us life, and he will provide for us what we need in order to live.
He asks them to look at the birds. They do not store food for the future. They do not work to grow their food. They do not work to make clothing for themselves. But God provides for them. And we, his children, have greater worth in the Father’s eyes than do the birds.
Worry is useless. In fact, it is counterproductive. You will not increase the length of your life by worrying. In fact, that would be more likely to shorten your life.
Again, Jesus asks his disciples to look at nature. Consider the flowers in the fields. They are more beautiful than a king’s raiment. Even Solomon in all his glory was not so well arrayed. But the flowers bloom in the spring, and by the autumn, they fade and wither and die.
Someone who has confidence in God does not worry about such things, Jesus says here. In other places he reminds his disciples that the Tempter will not cease to exaggerate our legitimate concerns by various temptations. We are called to enter a more perfect world at the end of our life, but in the meantime, the Enemy will not cease trying to confuse us, to disturb us, and to make us lose hope.
If we trust the Lord our God to rule our lives, according to his will, we have no need to worry, Jesus tells us. Even the efforts of the Prince of Darkness have a positive purpose in God’s plan: to build strength and endurance by spiritually “aerobic” and “anaerobic” exercise.
Keep your perspective focused on short-term goals. That’s a “businesslike” transcription of what Jesus says in verse 34: Don’t worry about tomorrow; today has problems enough of its own. In conclusion, worry about tomorrow is futile in two senses:
a. It makes it more difficult to focus on today’s situations;
b. The things we are worried about may never happen.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Ears Of The Deaf Will Be Cleared. And The Poor Will Inherit God's Kingdom
In this country, we will pause on Monday from our work, and celebrate Labor Day. Tuesday, will we go back again to the work we do to gain our living.
We would do well by taking some time this weekend to reflect on how the work we do is a blessing for us, and for those around us. In the Book of Genesis, work was one of the curses that resulted from the fall of Adam and Eve. When we leave the church after the Eucharist, we are sent to reverse the curse, and help God to “bless the mess.” Let us consider for a few minutes the ways in which, by our efforts, we can help to bring our world closer to the way it was when God created it.
Think back to the first time you went swimming, or to the day you started your first job, or your first airplane flight. Every time I was in that situation, there always was someone there telling me, “Don’t be scared; everything will be all right.” Easy for them to say, I’m the one standing at the edge of the pool or at the end of the diving board, all by myself!
The people Isaiah is talking to in the First Reading are in exile, a long way from home. They are standing on the edge of life, and they feel like they’re all along. The prophet tells not to be afraid, that their situation is bound to get better.
God will be coming soon, the prophet told them, and when he comes, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and anyone with a speech impediment will be able to talk clearly. And Isaiah goes on from there: God is going to change the course of nature: springs will gush forth in the deserts, and water the wilderness. I imagine some minds and hearts were just a bit skeptical, “So you say, prophet! I’ll believe it when I dive into one of those cool pools!”
Pay no attention to the Second Reading. Some people are going to hear that all of us are going to be millionaires and we won’t have to lift a finger to earn it. Other people are going to hear that the government is going to take away most of the money we’ve earned and put in the bank, and give it to people who have never lifted a finger to earn it. You might thing Saint James knew that there was going to be a national election this year. Whatever your politics, turn off your heart’s hearing aid, and the Reading won’t bother you so much.
Today’s gospel is a genuinely touching story. Some people bring to Jesus a man who has a severe hearing loss, and a speech impediment. When I was a lad, such folks were labeled “deaf and dumb”. How cruel! The man’s friends ask Jesus to lay hands on him, but Jesus goes a step further, and puts his fingers into the man’s ears, while he turns his eyes up to heaven and starts to pray. The people around him can’t hear any words, only grunts and groans. Then he says, “Ephphata!” -- “Open up!” Jesus tells the man who was healed and the people in the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news.
Here we see Jesus performing the ministry of the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t only heal the man of his deafness, he offer him redemption. This is the labor of Jesus, the work for which he has been sent into the world: to open our eyes to the needs of others, and our ears to their pleas for help. Jesus fulfills his mission perfectly, but still, there is one part missing from the mission of salvation: our part. Jesus cannot force any of us to really listen, and to all what we have heard to help us do our part in the work of creation as fully as God knows we can. Sometimes, listing to the words by which other people define us – or those we use to define ourselves – and those we use to describe other people – lessens our ability to hear the voice of the Lord speaking to our hearts. If we keep our fingers in the ears of our souls, we can become so used to not listening, that we don’t pay attention to the speaker. Jesus is speaking to ME!
We would do well by taking some time this weekend to reflect on how the work we do is a blessing for us, and for those around us. In the Book of Genesis, work was one of the curses that resulted from the fall of Adam and Eve. When we leave the church after the Eucharist, we are sent to reverse the curse, and help God to “bless the mess.” Let us consider for a few minutes the ways in which, by our efforts, we can help to bring our world closer to the way it was when God created it.
Think back to the first time you went swimming, or to the day you started your first job, or your first airplane flight. Every time I was in that situation, there always was someone there telling me, “Don’t be scared; everything will be all right.” Easy for them to say, I’m the one standing at the edge of the pool or at the end of the diving board, all by myself!
The people Isaiah is talking to in the First Reading are in exile, a long way from home. They are standing on the edge of life, and they feel like they’re all along. The prophet tells not to be afraid, that their situation is bound to get better.
God will be coming soon, the prophet told them, and when he comes, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and anyone with a speech impediment will be able to talk clearly. And Isaiah goes on from there: God is going to change the course of nature: springs will gush forth in the deserts, and water the wilderness. I imagine some minds and hearts were just a bit skeptical, “So you say, prophet! I’ll believe it when I dive into one of those cool pools!”
Pay no attention to the Second Reading. Some people are going to hear that all of us are going to be millionaires and we won’t have to lift a finger to earn it. Other people are going to hear that the government is going to take away most of the money we’ve earned and put in the bank, and give it to people who have never lifted a finger to earn it. You might thing Saint James knew that there was going to be a national election this year. Whatever your politics, turn off your heart’s hearing aid, and the Reading won’t bother you so much.
Today’s gospel is a genuinely touching story. Some people bring to Jesus a man who has a severe hearing loss, and a speech impediment. When I was a lad, such folks were labeled “deaf and dumb”. How cruel! The man’s friends ask Jesus to lay hands on him, but Jesus goes a step further, and puts his fingers into the man’s ears, while he turns his eyes up to heaven and starts to pray. The people around him can’t hear any words, only grunts and groans. Then he says, “Ephphata!” -- “Open up!” Jesus tells the man who was healed and the people in the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news.
Here we see Jesus performing the ministry of the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t only heal the man of his deafness, he offer him redemption. This is the labor of Jesus, the work for which he has been sent into the world: to open our eyes to the needs of others, and our ears to their pleas for help. Jesus fulfills his mission perfectly, but still, there is one part missing from the mission of salvation: our part. Jesus cannot force any of us to really listen, and to all what we have heard to help us do our part in the work of creation as fully as God knows we can. Sometimes, listing to the words by which other people define us – or those we use to define ourselves – and those we use to describe other people – lessens our ability to hear the voice of the Lord speaking to our hearts. If we keep our fingers in the ears of our souls, we can become so used to not listening, that we don’t pay attention to the speaker. Jesus is speaking to ME!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Christ Has Reconciled You Through His Death, To Present You As Holy Before God.
Long before history began to be recorded, some man decided to do what he wanted, instead of what he knew God wanted. Either in the same incident – or not – some woman decided to do what she wanted, instead of what she knew God wanted. The author of the third chapter of Genesis, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, placed a man and a woman in the Garden of Eden, from which they were exiled after disobeying God’s will.
In today’s First Reading, (Colossians 1:21-23) Paul reminds the Christians of Colossae that from the beginning of time, all men and women separate ourselves from God by our own evil thoughts and actions. Yet God, in his love and mercy, did not allow that separation to endure forever. So, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to take upon himself the burden of the sins of humankind, from the first man and woman who ever lived, until the last men and women who are alive when Christ comes again in glory at the end of time. This does not mean that Christ’s death will be effective to free every single one of us from the burden of our sinfulness. It is possible for us to refuse God’s grace no matter how often he grants it, and those who make that choice and never repent from it (if any such person exists) will condemn themselves to everlasting banishment from God’s kingdom in Heaven.
The Christians at Colossae have heard the true message of the gospel, and they have believed it. Now Paul encourages them to be steadfast in their faith. He cautions them not to drift away from the assurance they received when they first heard the Good News, which has been – and continues to be – preached to every creature under heaven, and of whom Paul has been chosen as a minister.
+++ +++ +++ +++
In today’s gospel (Luke 6:1-5) as Jesus is walking through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples begin to break off heads of grain, rub the husks off in their hands, and eat the kernels. Some Pharisees see this and say, “Why are you breaking the Law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
Jesus replies: “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Yesterday’s reading was a discussion about freedom; today’s is about freedom in action. St Ambrose of Milan (c. 333 – 397) said that this piece of lawbreaking in the cornfield was designed to lead the disciples into freedom in action, not just to get them talking about freedom. “The Lord Jesus begins to free them from the old law... not only through the understanding of words but also through actions performed in plain view.”
“Do you want to be well?” Jesus once asked a man at the Sheep Pool (John 5:6). It wasn't a foregone conclusion that he wanted it. We often have a stake in our illnesses. We can imagine Jesus asking us, “Do you want to be free?” Quite often we don't.
‘Freedom’ is a buzz word in advertising, and that alone should make us wary. Advertisers tout all sorts of slavery before us under the brand name of freedom. These pretended forms of freedom don't carry much weight, and a moment’s reflection is enough to dispel them. But we are usually quite afraid of real freedom. We have a stake in our many forms of slavery, and freedom is often a heavier burden. I suppose it’s partly because there is always the question, How am I going to eat tomorrow?
Jesus said his burden was light (Mt 11:30), but it is light only if we get under it fully. When we try to hold onto it with one hand while holding our addictions and attachments with the other, it becomes heavy. When we have a moment of real freedom we attract another enemy or two. Still, we pray to set free. Free for what? Free to set others free. He himself came “to set the downtrodden free” (Lk 4:18).
Donagh O’Shea, O.P.
In today’s First Reading, (Colossians 1:21-23) Paul reminds the Christians of Colossae that from the beginning of time, all men and women separate ourselves from God by our own evil thoughts and actions. Yet God, in his love and mercy, did not allow that separation to endure forever. So, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to take upon himself the burden of the sins of humankind, from the first man and woman who ever lived, until the last men and women who are alive when Christ comes again in glory at the end of time. This does not mean that Christ’s death will be effective to free every single one of us from the burden of our sinfulness. It is possible for us to refuse God’s grace no matter how often he grants it, and those who make that choice and never repent from it (if any such person exists) will condemn themselves to everlasting banishment from God’s kingdom in Heaven.
The Christians at Colossae have heard the true message of the gospel, and they have believed it. Now Paul encourages them to be steadfast in their faith. He cautions them not to drift away from the assurance they received when they first heard the Good News, which has been – and continues to be – preached to every creature under heaven, and of whom Paul has been chosen as a minister.
+++ +++ +++ +++
In today’s gospel (Luke 6:1-5) as Jesus is walking through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples begin to break off heads of grain, rub the husks off in their hands, and eat the kernels. Some Pharisees see this and say, “Why are you breaking the Law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
Jesus replies: “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Yesterday’s reading was a discussion about freedom; today’s is about freedom in action. St Ambrose of Milan (c. 333 – 397) said that this piece of lawbreaking in the cornfield was designed to lead the disciples into freedom in action, not just to get them talking about freedom. “The Lord Jesus begins to free them from the old law... not only through the understanding of words but also through actions performed in plain view.”
“Do you want to be well?” Jesus once asked a man at the Sheep Pool (John 5:6). It wasn't a foregone conclusion that he wanted it. We often have a stake in our illnesses. We can imagine Jesus asking us, “Do you want to be free?” Quite often we don't.
‘Freedom’ is a buzz word in advertising, and that alone should make us wary. Advertisers tout all sorts of slavery before us under the brand name of freedom. These pretended forms of freedom don't carry much weight, and a moment’s reflection is enough to dispel them. But we are usually quite afraid of real freedom. We have a stake in our many forms of slavery, and freedom is often a heavier burden. I suppose it’s partly because there is always the question, How am I going to eat tomorrow?
Jesus said his burden was light (Mt 11:30), but it is light only if we get under it fully. When we try to hold onto it with one hand while holding our addictions and attachments with the other, it becomes heavy. When we have a moment of real freedom we attract another enemy or two. Still, we pray to set free. Free for what? Free to set others free. He himself came “to set the downtrodden free” (Lk 4:18).
Donagh O’Shea, O.P.
Friday, September 4, 2009
New Wine In Fresh Wineskins
Today’s First Reading (Colossians 1:15-20), is a paean, a song written by Paul in praise of Christ Jesus. No one has ever seen the Father (cf. John 1:18), because God is a pure spirit, who does not have a physical body. Jesus is at once the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, eternally begotten of the Father, and the Son of Mary, born in human form and flesh at the moment of the Incarnation.
Christ existed long before he had a physical body. All things in heaven and on earth were created through him. He also cooperated with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the creation of everything that is not physical, but spiritual: the choirs of angels, archangels, principalities and powers were brought into being by the Word of God, who is Christ Jesus. Further, it is in Christ that all creation holds together.
Paul goes on to show that Christ Jesus is the head of the Church, which is his mystical body. The word “church” translates the Greek word “ekklesia” which literally means “assembly”. It does not refer to the building, but to the people who assemble in that building for worship.
In the next verse, Paul calls Christ Jesus “the first born from the dead”. On Good Friday, He died on the cross; but he did not remain dead, and on the morning of the third day, he rose from the dead. In the bible, both New and Old Testament, we read about people who died, and came to life again (for example 2 Kings 4:32-27; John 11:38-44); but all of them died again. Christ will never die again. After his resurrection from the dead, his human body left this world and rose into the heavens. Yet he is not alive only in the eternal kingdom of the Father, but remains alive here, in a new body, which is the Church. The Church was born when Christ came to life again after his crucifixion and death. Paul reminds us that we are called to eternal life through Christ, and, please God, we will receive a new and glorified body when we pass from this world to the next.
Christ died on the cross. He did not stay dead but he became alive again. We read about some people in the Bible who died. Then they became alive (for example 2 Kings 4:32-37; John 11:38-44). But all those people died again. Christ will never die again. He became permanently alive first, before anyone else did. He has a new body. The church began when Christ became alive again. And he has the most important rank in the church. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 35-58, Paul tells us that we will become permanently alive because of Christ; our bodies will be glorified as is his own body. This is the wondrous gift Jesus has gained for us through his death and resurrection.
+++ +++ +++ +++
In today’s gospel (Luke 5:33-39), the Teachers of the Law pose a question to Jesus : “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and offer prayers constantly, and the disciples of the Pharisees do likewise; but your disciples never refrain from eating and drinking.” Jesus answers them in two ways. First he asks a question: Should the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? When the bridegroom is gone, there will be time enough for fasting.” Then he gives an example: No one puts new wine into old wine skins. New wine must be put into fresh skins.”
An explanation is in order, since most of us are accustomed to seeing wine stored in bottles, not in wineskins. A wineskin is a leather pouch that looks like the bellows of a bagpipe, with a drinking spout attached to the end. When new wine is place in a skin, it continues to ferment, producing carbon dioxide gas. If new wine is poured into an old, dry wineskin, the skin will burst, and the wine will be lost. Aged wine, on the other hand, will not produce the gas, and it can be put into older wineskins without the risk of bursting the skin and losing the wine.
The message here is clear: Don’t let your mind become like an old wineskin – withered and rigid. Make sure it stays soft and flexible. Living our faith makes great demands on us throughout our lives. We are called to live not for power and wealth in this world, but for God. We are asked to set aside selfish goals and to place ourselves at the service of our sisters and brothers in God’s love. We are invited to empty ourselves of the desire for earthly power and wealth, and to imitate the self-emptying poverty of Christ. And, beyond that, we are asked to be willing to lay down our very lives for our brothers and sisters and – still a greater challenge – to love our enemies as we want God to love us.
This was a new way of living – it was new wine, requiring a new spirit. Cyril of Alexandria wrote: “Those who live according to the old way cannot live by the structures of Christ…. The Lord shows this by saying that a tattered patch cannot be put upon a new garment, nor can old skins hold new wine….Those who adhere to the old way… have no share in the new order of things in Christ. In him all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17).”
The world, even in the early days of the Church, was weary of the old ways of pride and tyranny. It has even more reason to be tired of them now. That the Gospel still appears new and revolutionary is evidence that we haven't moved very far. The Gospel will always be Good News to us.
Christ existed long before he had a physical body. All things in heaven and on earth were created through him. He also cooperated with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the creation of everything that is not physical, but spiritual: the choirs of angels, archangels, principalities and powers were brought into being by the Word of God, who is Christ Jesus. Further, it is in Christ that all creation holds together.
Paul goes on to show that Christ Jesus is the head of the Church, which is his mystical body. The word “church” translates the Greek word “ekklesia” which literally means “assembly”. It does not refer to the building, but to the people who assemble in that building for worship.
In the next verse, Paul calls Christ Jesus “the first born from the dead”. On Good Friday, He died on the cross; but he did not remain dead, and on the morning of the third day, he rose from the dead. In the bible, both New and Old Testament, we read about people who died, and came to life again (for example 2 Kings 4:32-27; John 11:38-44); but all of them died again. Christ will never die again. After his resurrection from the dead, his human body left this world and rose into the heavens. Yet he is not alive only in the eternal kingdom of the Father, but remains alive here, in a new body, which is the Church. The Church was born when Christ came to life again after his crucifixion and death. Paul reminds us that we are called to eternal life through Christ, and, please God, we will receive a new and glorified body when we pass from this world to the next.
Christ died on the cross. He did not stay dead but he became alive again. We read about some people in the Bible who died. Then they became alive (for example 2 Kings 4:32-37; John 11:38-44). But all those people died again. Christ will never die again. He became permanently alive first, before anyone else did. He has a new body. The church began when Christ became alive again. And he has the most important rank in the church. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 35-58, Paul tells us that we will become permanently alive because of Christ; our bodies will be glorified as is his own body. This is the wondrous gift Jesus has gained for us through his death and resurrection.
+++ +++ +++ +++
In today’s gospel (Luke 5:33-39), the Teachers of the Law pose a question to Jesus : “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and offer prayers constantly, and the disciples of the Pharisees do likewise; but your disciples never refrain from eating and drinking.” Jesus answers them in two ways. First he asks a question: Should the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? When the bridegroom is gone, there will be time enough for fasting.” Then he gives an example: No one puts new wine into old wine skins. New wine must be put into fresh skins.”
An explanation is in order, since most of us are accustomed to seeing wine stored in bottles, not in wineskins. A wineskin is a leather pouch that looks like the bellows of a bagpipe, with a drinking spout attached to the end. When new wine is place in a skin, it continues to ferment, producing carbon dioxide gas. If new wine is poured into an old, dry wineskin, the skin will burst, and the wine will be lost. Aged wine, on the other hand, will not produce the gas, and it can be put into older wineskins without the risk of bursting the skin and losing the wine.
The message here is clear: Don’t let your mind become like an old wineskin – withered and rigid. Make sure it stays soft and flexible. Living our faith makes great demands on us throughout our lives. We are called to live not for power and wealth in this world, but for God. We are asked to set aside selfish goals and to place ourselves at the service of our sisters and brothers in God’s love. We are invited to empty ourselves of the desire for earthly power and wealth, and to imitate the self-emptying poverty of Christ. And, beyond that, we are asked to be willing to lay down our very lives for our brothers and sisters and – still a greater challenge – to love our enemies as we want God to love us.
This was a new way of living – it was new wine, requiring a new spirit. Cyril of Alexandria wrote: “Those who live according to the old way cannot live by the structures of Christ…. The Lord shows this by saying that a tattered patch cannot be put upon a new garment, nor can old skins hold new wine….Those who adhere to the old way… have no share in the new order of things in Christ. In him all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17).”
The world, even in the early days of the Church, was weary of the old ways of pride and tyranny. It has even more reason to be tired of them now. That the Gospel still appears new and revolutionary is evidence that we haven't moved very far. The Gospel will always be Good News to us.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
They Have Left Everything To Follow Jesus
Today’s First Reading (Colossians 1:9-14) begins where yesterday’s left off. In the previous verses (1:1-8), Paul had told the Christians of Colossae how grateful he was for what God had already done for the Christians of Colossae. Now, he prays that they will know what God wants from them in the future, and that they will live in a manner pleasing to the Lord, that they will grow in their knowledge of God, and that the good deeds they perform will bear fruit.
A Christian can please God only with the help of God’s grace. Paul prays that the Christians at Colossae will be strengthened by God’s power, so that they might have endurance and patience. Paul reminds the Colossians that among the gifts of the Holy Spirit are counted not only patience and endurance, but also peace and joy. He invites them to give thanks to God the Father, who has made them fit to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
The opposite of light is darkness. In the Scriptures, “darkness” refers to the Satan and his works. The Lord Jesus has freed us from the power of darkness, and has brought us into the realm of light, where Christ our Lord is King. It is through Christ that we are children of the light and of the day, not of the darkness and the night. We have been freed from the darkness of sin, and brought into heavenly light by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, which freed us from our sins, and opened for us the gates of the Kingdom of God.
+++ +++ +++ +++
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing!” said Simon Peter in today’s gospel (Luke 5:1-11). When Jesus called him, Peter had given everything had to follow him. Not that he had very much to begin with: a boat and a few nets, which doesn’t sound like much, but it was all he had. It is not so much what Peter possessed that might hold him back. Rather, it was that the boat and the nets were all he relied on to feed his family, including his mother-in-law. Peter had the courage to come to the end of his resources. Before the end of the story, he would be dragged even further. The carpenter from Nazareth whom he followed would be crucified, and, having nothing else to do, he would return to where his story had begun, to Capernaum, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. Yet, John’s gospel tells us that night he would catch nothing. Now he was a man without a past or a future. But soon, he would see a specter walking on the water, a phantom that looked like that carpenter from Nazareth. But that, as the teller of tall tales would say, is another story.
How significant it is to come to the end of your resources! “Jesus allowed pitch blackness to envelop my soul”, wrote the young French novice in her journal. “I wish I could express what I feel, but it is impossible. One would have to travel through that same sunless tunnel to have an idea how dark it is … There is a wall that towers to the sky and hides the stars.”
And then, how amazing her next words: “I have never before so strongly felt how gentle and merciful God is. He sent me this heavy cross just at the moment I was strong enough to carry it. … Now, nothing hinders me. I want nothing any longer, except to love, until I die of love. I am free, and I fear nothing.”
A French biographer of Saint Thérèse said it was typical of her to always be at the end of her resources. She never gave of herself by halves – always everything she had. She never had anything up her sleeve: no tricks, no disappearing acts, no clever excuses, no blaming others, no delays. That is why she always remained fully present and totally vulnerable to her experiences. That is the reason God could give her so great a burden. – He knew she had the capacity to bear it. The Prince of Darkness also knew her capacity, and made sure she was rarely tested at less than 100%. Then again, for those who love God and are called according to his plan, everything works out for the good. But that comes about only in the final paragraph of the last chapter of the Book of Life.
A Christian can please God only with the help of God’s grace. Paul prays that the Christians at Colossae will be strengthened by God’s power, so that they might have endurance and patience. Paul reminds the Colossians that among the gifts of the Holy Spirit are counted not only patience and endurance, but also peace and joy. He invites them to give thanks to God the Father, who has made them fit to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
The opposite of light is darkness. In the Scriptures, “darkness” refers to the Satan and his works. The Lord Jesus has freed us from the power of darkness, and has brought us into the realm of light, where Christ our Lord is King. It is through Christ that we are children of the light and of the day, not of the darkness and the night. We have been freed from the darkness of sin, and brought into heavenly light by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, which freed us from our sins, and opened for us the gates of the Kingdom of God.
+++ +++ +++ +++
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing!” said Simon Peter in today’s gospel (Luke 5:1-11). When Jesus called him, Peter had given everything had to follow him. Not that he had very much to begin with: a boat and a few nets, which doesn’t sound like much, but it was all he had. It is not so much what Peter possessed that might hold him back. Rather, it was that the boat and the nets were all he relied on to feed his family, including his mother-in-law. Peter had the courage to come to the end of his resources. Before the end of the story, he would be dragged even further. The carpenter from Nazareth whom he followed would be crucified, and, having nothing else to do, he would return to where his story had begun, to Capernaum, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. Yet, John’s gospel tells us that night he would catch nothing. Now he was a man without a past or a future. But soon, he would see a specter walking on the water, a phantom that looked like that carpenter from Nazareth. But that, as the teller of tall tales would say, is another story.
How significant it is to come to the end of your resources! “Jesus allowed pitch blackness to envelop my soul”, wrote the young French novice in her journal. “I wish I could express what I feel, but it is impossible. One would have to travel through that same sunless tunnel to have an idea how dark it is … There is a wall that towers to the sky and hides the stars.”
And then, how amazing her next words: “I have never before so strongly felt how gentle and merciful God is. He sent me this heavy cross just at the moment I was strong enough to carry it. … Now, nothing hinders me. I want nothing any longer, except to love, until I die of love. I am free, and I fear nothing.”
A French biographer of Saint Thérèse said it was typical of her to always be at the end of her resources. She never gave of herself by halves – always everything she had. She never had anything up her sleeve: no tricks, no disappearing acts, no clever excuses, no blaming others, no delays. That is why she always remained fully present and totally vulnerable to her experiences. That is the reason God could give her so great a burden. – He knew she had the capacity to bear it. The Prince of Darkness also knew her capacity, and made sure she was rarely tested at less than 100%. Then again, for those who love God and are called according to his plan, everything works out for the good. But that comes about only in the final paragraph of the last chapter of the Book of Life.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
I trust in the mercy of God for ever!
First Reading
Colossians 1:1-8
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother: To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 52:10,11
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God
forever and ever.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
Gospel
Luke 4:38-44
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
+++ +++ +++ +++
Paul begins his letter to the people of Colossae in the style that was usual in those days: He identifies himself; he addresses the people to whom the letter is addressed; he gives them greetings.
Paul describes himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus”. An apostle is someone whom God sends to bring the Good News of the gospel to a new community, or someone who is sent to a newly formed community as its leader. No one simply decides to become an apostle, but is called by God. It is a calling, or, to use the Latin-based word, a “vocation”. Paul includes in his greeting Timothy, who often accompanied him on his apostolic journeys. He addresses this letter “to the holy and faithful brothers and sisters who live at Colossae.” His greeting to them offers them “grace and peace”. Grace a gift God grace to each of His children at the first moment of our existence. Grace is a gift, which we do not deserve and cannot earn; “sanctifying” grace (grace that makes us holy) is the life of God within us. Throughout our lives, God continues to grant us gifts of “actual grace” (grace to guide our actions) to help us to do what is good, and to resist temptation to do wrong.
Pau gives thanks to God for the people of Colossae who will read this letter, and prays that they will grow in the faith, hope and love which God has granted to them. It was Epaphras who told Paul about the Christians at Colossae, which suggests that Paul has never visited this city before. The apostle comments the people of Colossae for having believed, and for putting their faith in Jesus. As a result of their faith, they have learned to love one another. Love, as the word is used here, is not a feeling, not an emotion, but an act of the will – a decision – to treat other people as we want to be treated, and beyond that, to put our petition in the Lord’s Prayer into action in our lives: “Forgive others their offenses as we would want the Lord to forgive ours”.
The Christians at Colossae had been taught the Way of Jesus by Epaphras, but they strayed, and started listening to false teachers, so Paul reminds them of the true message of the gospel. So, in this letter, Paul emphasizes that what Epaphras had taught them is true, and what they have heard from others is false. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, and the Christians are called to bear fruit, in love, and truth, as they have learned from Epaphras, who has been a faithful messenger of Christ to the people of Colossae, and a trustworthy reporter from them to Paul.
+++
Commenting on the text of this gospel (Luke 4:38-44), Saint Cyril of Alexandria wrote: Although he was able to perform these miracles by a word and a movement of his will, yet to teach us something useful for us he also lays his hands upon the sick.” That “something useful” was the incarnation of the Word of God. Dominican Father Donagh O’Shea comments “If this wasn't a main pillar of the Christian faith, it would be called ‘New Age’ by many people now.”
Luke’s account of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is the only one which does not mention physical contact, as the other versions do. “He took her by the hand and lifted her up” (Mark 1:31), “He touched her hand” (Matt. 8:15)
When we look back at the early Christian heresies, many of them seem grounded in a denial of the Incarnation. Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, to seem) appears about 70 AD. It held that Jesus was a pure spirit and only seemed to have a physical body. This attitude shows a problematic attitude toward the body: the body is the primary ground of shame, and some found it unthinkable that the Logos (the Word of God) be contaminated by dwelling in a human body.
St Cyril, on the other hand, wrote about “the holy flesh which Jesus had made his own [in the Incarnation] and which was endowed with the power of the Word.” The Apostle to the Gentiles had written, “The body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Cor 6:13); and again, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19).
Of course, our own bodies are temples in less than perfect condition – in need of repair. Through sin, the body becomes a temple that tries to expel the Lord of Life. Ancient commentators tended to see all the sicknesses mentioned in the gospels as symbols of sin. Writing about Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever, St Jerome wrote, “Each one of us is sick with a fever. Whenever I give way to anger, I have a fever. There are as many fevers as there are faults and vices.”
Preachers in the past tended to dwell rather a lot on guilt and shame as techniques for driving us to repentance. The trouble with that is that it separated us from Christ at the very time when we needed his contact most. Certainly we knew we could confess our sins later; but if we had known sooner the touch of his hand Confession might not have seemed such a juridical thing. The result is that many older people have such a legacy of guilt that when you speak to them about the healing power of Christ their eyes show nothing at all, their torment is all frozen over. Jesus didn't wait till the woman was standing up; “he lifted her up.” We need to feel the Lord’s touch while we are still laid low by our sins.
Colossians 1:1-8
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother: To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 52:10,11
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God
forever and ever.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
Gospel
Luke 4:38-44
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
+++ +++ +++ +++
Paul begins his letter to the people of Colossae in the style that was usual in those days: He identifies himself; he addresses the people to whom the letter is addressed; he gives them greetings.
Paul describes himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus”. An apostle is someone whom God sends to bring the Good News of the gospel to a new community, or someone who is sent to a newly formed community as its leader. No one simply decides to become an apostle, but is called by God. It is a calling, or, to use the Latin-based word, a “vocation”. Paul includes in his greeting Timothy, who often accompanied him on his apostolic journeys. He addresses this letter “to the holy and faithful brothers and sisters who live at Colossae.” His greeting to them offers them “grace and peace”. Grace a gift God grace to each of His children at the first moment of our existence. Grace is a gift, which we do not deserve and cannot earn; “sanctifying” grace (grace that makes us holy) is the life of God within us. Throughout our lives, God continues to grant us gifts of “actual grace” (grace to guide our actions) to help us to do what is good, and to resist temptation to do wrong.
Pau gives thanks to God for the people of Colossae who will read this letter, and prays that they will grow in the faith, hope and love which God has granted to them. It was Epaphras who told Paul about the Christians at Colossae, which suggests that Paul has never visited this city before. The apostle comments the people of Colossae for having believed, and for putting their faith in Jesus. As a result of their faith, they have learned to love one another. Love, as the word is used here, is not a feeling, not an emotion, but an act of the will – a decision – to treat other people as we want to be treated, and beyond that, to put our petition in the Lord’s Prayer into action in our lives: “Forgive others their offenses as we would want the Lord to forgive ours”.
The Christians at Colossae had been taught the Way of Jesus by Epaphras, but they strayed, and started listening to false teachers, so Paul reminds them of the true message of the gospel. So, in this letter, Paul emphasizes that what Epaphras had taught them is true, and what they have heard from others is false. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, and the Christians are called to bear fruit, in love, and truth, as they have learned from Epaphras, who has been a faithful messenger of Christ to the people of Colossae, and a trustworthy reporter from them to Paul.
+++
Commenting on the text of this gospel (Luke 4:38-44), Saint Cyril of Alexandria wrote: Although he was able to perform these miracles by a word and a movement of his will, yet to teach us something useful for us he also lays his hands upon the sick.” That “something useful” was the incarnation of the Word of God. Dominican Father Donagh O’Shea comments “If this wasn't a main pillar of the Christian faith, it would be called ‘New Age’ by many people now.”
Luke’s account of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is the only one which does not mention physical contact, as the other versions do. “He took her by the hand and lifted her up” (Mark 1:31), “He touched her hand” (Matt. 8:15)
When we look back at the early Christian heresies, many of them seem grounded in a denial of the Incarnation. Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, to seem) appears about 70 AD. It held that Jesus was a pure spirit and only seemed to have a physical body. This attitude shows a problematic attitude toward the body: the body is the primary ground of shame, and some found it unthinkable that the Logos (the Word of God) be contaminated by dwelling in a human body.
St Cyril, on the other hand, wrote about “the holy flesh which Jesus had made his own [in the Incarnation] and which was endowed with the power of the Word.” The Apostle to the Gentiles had written, “The body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Cor 6:13); and again, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19).
Of course, our own bodies are temples in less than perfect condition – in need of repair. Through sin, the body becomes a temple that tries to expel the Lord of Life. Ancient commentators tended to see all the sicknesses mentioned in the gospels as symbols of sin. Writing about Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever, St Jerome wrote, “Each one of us is sick with a fever. Whenever I give way to anger, I have a fever. There are as many fevers as there are faults and vices.”
Preachers in the past tended to dwell rather a lot on guilt and shame as techniques for driving us to repentance. The trouble with that is that it separated us from Christ at the very time when we needed his contact most. Certainly we knew we could confess our sins later; but if we had known sooner the touch of his hand Confession might not have seemed such a juridical thing. The result is that many older people have such a legacy of guilt that when you speak to them about the healing power of Christ their eyes show nothing at all, their torment is all frozen over. Jesus didn't wait till the woman was standing up; “he lifted her up.” We need to feel the Lord’s touch while we are still laid low by our sins.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
I Believe I Shall See The Good Things Of The Lord In The Land Of The Living.
When I start reading the epistle and gospel of the day in preparation for writing these reflections, I hope to find a link between the scriptures and current events. That doesn’t happen all the time, but it did today. I have been following the discussions in the media concerning the legislative proposals concerning the reform of health care in general and health insurance coverage in particular. Frankly, some of the “dialogue” has caused me some concern, especially in the context of today’s scripture texts.
In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminds us that it is easy to be lulled into complacency, like a homeowner who sleeps peacefully, while a burglar is planning to break into the house. We need to be alert and attentive, because we are children of the day, not the darkness, people of the light, not of the night. We need to be alert, not complacent, so that, if a sudden disaster arises, we will not find it difficult to escape or overcome. If we live together as God’s children, if we remain vigilant, if we encourage one another and build up one another, then we have nothing to fear, because God is with us.
The Psalmist today presents a positive and hopeful message. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. The Lord is my light, my salvation, and my refuge, of whom should I be afraid? Do you see “the good things of the Lord” in this land of the living? Let me ask that question another way: If I pour four ounces of water into an eight ounce glass, do you see the glass as half full, or half empty?
When Jesus spoke to the people of Capernaum on the Sabbath, they were astonished by the authority with which he spoke. But in the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by an unclean spirit. When they heard Jesus speak with authority, they were afraid that He had come to destroy them. Jesus rebuked the spirit, and ordered it to come out of the man.
Why do these scriptures resonate for me in the present political climate? I believe that, as citizens, we have an obligation to share what we have with those who have less; to help those who are striving to lift themselves and their families by their own bootstraps, by lending them a hand to help them up; to work toward a community where none consider their possessions to be exclusively their own, but all goods were shared communally, from each according to their means, and to each according to their need (Acts 4:32-35).
It concerns me that so many people in the United States, and still more in other countries throughout the world, lack basic health care choices. I am not concerned about why so many people lack these options, but only that they don’t have them. I don’t remember Jesus telling his disciples to feed the hungry unless they are ne’er-do-wells who ought to go out and earn their own living. I can’t give you chapter and verse of Jesus saying care for the sick unless the care they need would be deducted from my paycheck.
I doubt that the Apostle to the Gentiles would be very tolerant if the people gathered in the forum started trying to shout him down. In fact, that did happen occasionally, and he refused to preach the Good News to them. I suspect that the psalmist would be disappointed that we who have seen the good things of the Lord in the land of the living squander our bounty selfishly and refuse to share our wherewithal with the least of our brethren.
Is every one entitled to health care? If your daughter needed medicine and could not afford it, would you reduce your personal consumption in order to provide for what she needs? If your government asks you to pay a bit more in taxes so that a farm worker or a factory worker presently lacking any health care options could be given some basic care, would you answer, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) Would Jesus be telling his disciples that they shouldn’t provide genuine health care choices to all who are in need, so that they could afford better health care for themselves?
And so, my hope and prayer today, and the hope and prayer of Tom Purcell, Professor of Accounting and Professor of Law at Creighton University in Omaha, whose meditation on today’s readings was a major source for this one, is that we be given the grace (and that we use the gift) to look with fresh and Christ- like vision on this land so that all of us can see and appreciate the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, and that we might be steadfast in our efforts to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, and care for the sick.
In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminds us that it is easy to be lulled into complacency, like a homeowner who sleeps peacefully, while a burglar is planning to break into the house. We need to be alert and attentive, because we are children of the day, not the darkness, people of the light, not of the night. We need to be alert, not complacent, so that, if a sudden disaster arises, we will not find it difficult to escape or overcome. If we live together as God’s children, if we remain vigilant, if we encourage one another and build up one another, then we have nothing to fear, because God is with us.
The Psalmist today presents a positive and hopeful message. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. The Lord is my light, my salvation, and my refuge, of whom should I be afraid? Do you see “the good things of the Lord” in this land of the living? Let me ask that question another way: If I pour four ounces of water into an eight ounce glass, do you see the glass as half full, or half empty?
When Jesus spoke to the people of Capernaum on the Sabbath, they were astonished by the authority with which he spoke. But in the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by an unclean spirit. When they heard Jesus speak with authority, they were afraid that He had come to destroy them. Jesus rebuked the spirit, and ordered it to come out of the man.
Why do these scriptures resonate for me in the present political climate? I believe that, as citizens, we have an obligation to share what we have with those who have less; to help those who are striving to lift themselves and their families by their own bootstraps, by lending them a hand to help them up; to work toward a community where none consider their possessions to be exclusively their own, but all goods were shared communally, from each according to their means, and to each according to their need (Acts 4:32-35).
It concerns me that so many people in the United States, and still more in other countries throughout the world, lack basic health care choices. I am not concerned about why so many people lack these options, but only that they don’t have them. I don’t remember Jesus telling his disciples to feed the hungry unless they are ne’er-do-wells who ought to go out and earn their own living. I can’t give you chapter and verse of Jesus saying care for the sick unless the care they need would be deducted from my paycheck.
I doubt that the Apostle to the Gentiles would be very tolerant if the people gathered in the forum started trying to shout him down. In fact, that did happen occasionally, and he refused to preach the Good News to them. I suspect that the psalmist would be disappointed that we who have seen the good things of the Lord in the land of the living squander our bounty selfishly and refuse to share our wherewithal with the least of our brethren.
Is every one entitled to health care? If your daughter needed medicine and could not afford it, would you reduce your personal consumption in order to provide for what she needs? If your government asks you to pay a bit more in taxes so that a farm worker or a factory worker presently lacking any health care options could be given some basic care, would you answer, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) Would Jesus be telling his disciples that they shouldn’t provide genuine health care choices to all who are in need, so that they could afford better health care for themselves?
And so, my hope and prayer today, and the hope and prayer of Tom Purcell, Professor of Accounting and Professor of Law at Creighton University in Omaha, whose meditation on today’s readings was a major source for this one, is that we be given the grace (and that we use the gift) to look with fresh and Christ- like vision on this land so that all of us can see and appreciate the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, and that we might be steadfast in our efforts to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, and care for the sick.
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