Keeping my brother and sister

Mercy and meaning are two concepts brought to mind through reflection on the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The passage from the Letter to the Ephesians is described by Friar Jude Winkler as belonging to the “household instructions” found in a few Christian sacred texts. The follower of Christ lives in the world which is organized according to human cultural norms. The Law of Love operates with the social organization to bring hope, peace and compassion to existing social frameworks. Many socially conscious theologians have advocated for large scale changes to social norms to bring about a preferential option for the poor and the marginalized. The apparent satisfaction of the Church leaders in the first century to work within cultural practices which supported slavery and ownership of women and children continues to disturb good people. In some cases, this discomfort with Christian history has kept them from pursuit of a relationship with God in the Christian tradition. We act as followers of Jesus to bring love to the social situation today. At the same time we need to reject concepts within our tradition which may tend to support the social status quo because of texts influenced by Stoicism or the cultural norms of the time in which they were written. The Gospel of Luke today draws our attention to the narrow door to the Kingdom of Heaven. Our tradition and our assumption of the mercy of God and our knowledge of the teachings and life of Jesus help us to support our efforts to tell others of Jesus. The authentic disciple comes to serve and is witness to the transformation in Jesus by being his brother’s and sister’s keeper.

More than an ordered life

The texts today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer perspectives on the growth of family life in service and love for each other. Friar JudeWinkler comments that the passage from the Letter to the Ephesians does not coincide well with other commentary of Paul on marriage. It contains Stoic influence which values an ordered universe in which the roles of people are well defined. This philosophy which influenced thought in the Roman Empire during the first and second century is developed by the author to go beyond stoicism to an exhortation to relate to people through love and mutual obligation. The advice of this passage may be difficult to transfer to the culture of today yet the treatment of spouse as a part of our own body certainly is still a valid goal. The words of Psalm 128 describe the blessing of the family. The gathering of family members around the table is a very tangible experience of the power of love and mutual obligation in relationships. Friar Jude offers consolation from the texts of the Gospel of Luke today wherein Jesus emphasizes that gradual growth of the Love of the Kingdom within people, families and communities is the usual path. The culmination of this care and attention to the little things of love is a marvellous witness to the ordering power of the Body of Christ in the universe.

People of integrity

The psalmist in the text from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today compares the way of the wicked and the way of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or do not sit in the seat of the scoffers. The first praise prayer of the Book of Psalms is a statement of the protection to prosperity of those who do not associate with evil people. The difficulty we have with this advice is that we can see parts of ourselves in the activities which are noted as being opposed to righteousness. The Letter to the Ephesians celebrates the freedom to love as Jesus loves which is the calling of the disciple. We understand that the Way to live is as Jesus and yet we are drawn to practices which would be confusing to those observing our lives. Our desire to follow the will of the Father appears to produce actions in the world which are no different than those who do not profess a relationship with God. Hypocrisy exists within us and within the institutions of good people struggling to be righteous. Friar Jude Winkler exhorts us to be aware of the danger that those who observe the life style of the followers of Jesus may not be transmitting as strongly as possible the power of the Gospel to transform lives. The WWJD (what would Jesus do) acronym can be the stimulus for seeking the guidance of the Spirit in our daily decisions. We understand the apparent excitement of the crowds in the synagogue when Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the synagogue official who tries to prohibit the loving healing of God to work on the Sabbath. The hypocrisy detector is very sensitive in people. Our intention is never to set off this detector and have the assessment of life in the Spirit diminished in the understanding of others. We are sinners who need to present our struggle and our desire to embrace higher moral values in our daily lives. Thank God.

The restoration of sight

The end of October brings change to North America. The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today highlight the changes for people and individuals as they respond to the Divine call to see the world around them in the light of their relationship with God. Commentators Friar Jude Winkler and Larry Gillick SJ note that the passage from the prophet Jeremiah has a very different tone from the negative condemnation of Israel in most of the book. The will of God is to restore the relationship with the remnant of Israel and reverse the separation which has occurred as a consequence of earlier decisions to abandon the leadership of God in their lives. The Letter to the Hebrews shows us the traditional role of the priest as one called by God to serve by making the Presence living among us visible to people through actions which witness forgiveness, compassion and love of the Father for His children. The author establishes Jesus calling to be high priest who is the Son of God. The messianic mission of Jesus is revealed to blind Bartimaeus as he is called to seek further change from Jesus in physical and, as Friar Jude points out, spiritual healing. The person of Bartimaeus is recognized by Jesus according to Larry Gillick, as he is addressed with the personal pronoun, you, instead of being known by his external appearance of the blind man. October ends with many in costume moving through darkened streets on All Hallowed’s Eve. The appearance we present in costume may be who we think we are or who we think we would like to be. The first day of November, the Feast of All Saints, invites us to change which allows God to reveal how He sees us as He invites us to restoration of our sight of His Presence among us.

Signs of Ascent

The psalmist praises God and declares that those with clean hands and pure hearts who do not lift their souls to what is false and who do not swear deceitfully shall ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary remind us of the difficulties which our fathers in the faith have lived to be examples of patient, peaceful people striving to maintain the bond of peace of one faith, one Lord and one Baptism. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the setting of the Letter to the Ephesians being Paul’s imprisonment. The front of our cathedral basilica bears these three “one phrases” from the text. The important nuance for those who pass this church is to place the slogan in the context of the great calling of Jews and Gentiles to be joined by the Spirit in following Jesus. The text celebrates inclusion and does not present exclusion or the necessity to accept a particular culture or tradition as a condition to being called into unity with the Spirit. We so often interpret the signs and symbols in ways which favour our preferences, understanding and prejudice. In the Gospel from Luke today, Jesus exhorts us to open our eyes and see that attitudes based in unclean and insincere self serving motives will have the consequences in our missing opportunities to ascend the hill of the Lord.

No fire please

Our open response to the call to conversion has effects which bring awe and thanksgiving to people for the deep love and wisdom of God. This sentiment is expressed in the passage today from the Letter to the Ephesians in the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The author is reflecting on the calling of the Gentiles into the community of followers of Christ in union with the Jewish believers. This unity, peace and love is beyond human expectations and is a work the Holy Spirit revealing through faith the dimensions the unconditional love of God for people. The praise of the psalmist for the steadfast love of God which keeps our soul from death seems to be in discord with the declaration of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke that His passion and resurrection and the reception of the fire of the Presence of God in the Holy Spirit will shatter peace and bring conflict. Friar Jude Winkler and Frank Doyle SJ comment that Jesus is not intending to bring separation but the faithful living the Life of the Spirit will witness by their faith, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, patience and love to a inner transformation which will threaten the domination of society by greed and self serving activity. Jesus complete giving of self in the “baptism” of His passion will destroy the established rules and practices of people in relationship to God and to each other. The awe of the wisdom and love in change of heart too often is preceded by rejection and alienation of the person responding with ‘yes’ in a world which defaults to ‘no’.

Gifted to see the Love of God

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary identify two states of humanity in relationship with the Divine. The Letter to the Ephesians, which Friar Jude Winkler explains was written in the name of Paul, celebrates the realization of the Apostle to the Gentiles that he has participated in a miraculous work of the plan of God for people. The unity of Jew and Gentile in the same Baptism as followers of the Way is God’s work. We see that the need to heal divisions in the world is ongoing. The model of the early Church wherein the Spirit of the Love between the Father and Son is active and breaks down obstacles to seeing the Life of God in the other is the place to which we need to return. The praise and thanksgiving in the canticle from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is our hope as we work to bring unity to humanity through deep respect and love for the beliefs and spiritual experience of all people. Be prepared for the return of Jesus at the end of life is the message from the Gospel of Luke. The Evangelist knows human nature is torn between taking care of self and service to others. The extent to which we are aware of our role in the plan of God to continue the work of Paul to proclaim the universal community of love in the Body of Christ through the witness of our lives is the extent to which we are accountable for this life.  As we attend to the great transformation of self and the world to which we are called our lives will be sustained in the awesome work of being His disciple.

Adjusting the early ideas

The texts today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary are from the last half of the 1^st century. The author of the letter to the Ephesians, according to Friar Jude Winkler, is using different ideas than Paul. Jews and Gentiles were not seen as disappearing into one people by Paul. The reference to the Church resting on the Apostles refers to an earlier generation. Paul thought of himself as an Apostle. In the text from the Gospel of Luke the faithful are urged to be watchful because, at the time of the writing of this Gospel, the expected return of Jesus to signal the end of the world has not yet occurred. Our time is still one of waiting for the return of Jesus, but the Church as an institution is built and protected for the long haul. The protection of the Institution is, at times, in tension with the sensibility of the Christians of the first century who may have lived with less attachment to temporal and material. The mindset of the watchful servant of the Gospel of Luke may not have concentrated on institutional policy and doctrine. The establishment of a proper apostolic link or the acceptance of “seamless garment” of uniformity among believers seems to be superfluous to servants anticipating Jesus commencing the resurrection of the dead for the last days. The Church resident in the Body of Christ is the living witness of the Kingdom. The early decisions to solidify the institution may produce great fruit in our time if they can be revisited and the faithful returned to living in a sense of anticipation of great change led by the action of God.

In the world to live faithfully

The world in which we live brings us marvelous life adventures and opportunities. From the teaching of Paul we understand that are called to be justified with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Friar JudeWinkler points out that the language of the author of the text from the letter to the Ephesians from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today is different. The author speaks of being saved by the free gift of our faith in Christ. This salvation draws us up from the choices we may have made to follow the allures and passions of the world which put our gratification, success and desires ahead of living in the Spirit of God which draws us to life as a witness to love, service, compassion, patience and selflessness. The theologians separate the justification of our living today and our salvation on the last day when we are raised to eternal communion with God. The time of justification and the time of salvation will hopefully meet on our last day and unlike the rich fool in the parable from the Gospel of Luke, we will not be in the midst of building for and serving ourselves when our life is demanded of us. The praise today in the song of the psalmist for the steadfast love of God, which the author of Ephesians proclaims to be unconditional, is the background music which motivates our decisions to seek greater intimacy with God through the Jesus and Life in the Spirit in the world which is gift to us.

The disciple serves

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer instruction in discipleship. The text from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is the consolation to Israel of the Suffering Servant who will be crushed as he gives himself for the life of the other. Friar Jude Winkler touches on the theme of the suffering of just persons to expiate sin. He comments that this idea was not current in either the time of Isaiah or the time of Jesus. The reward for a just life is supposed to be success. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of Jesus who knew no sin, accepting our life and experiencing our temptation to self gratification. He addresses the worldly response of James and John to the third proclamation of His upcoming Passion and death. They offer to “ride shotgun” in His Kingdom. Father Larry Gillick, SJ, comments that they have only known Roman style “kingship” and are prepared to be princes of the new order. The “Cup” which they accept from Jesus will be a cup of Blood and suffering for others. The “Baptism” will be a death to their old life and a rising to a life in Christ with the actions of the servant leading others to the experience of Love, which is God. The disciple serves.

Thanksgiving for the Spirit sustaining our witness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary speak in a particularly relevant way to a celebration to which we look forward later today. A group of men have met together for over 25 years to review their life in the Spirit under the Cursillo topics of piety, study and action. The thanksgiving of Paul for the faithfulness of the Ephesians and his prayer for them to increase in their understanding of the hope, riches and greatness of their relationship with Jesus is echoed as we pray in gratitude for the graciousness of the support of the Holy Spirit in our group. Friar Jude Winkler comments about the triumph of Jesus, incarnate in human flesh over death and His position in authority over angelic creatures as a statement to correct Greek thought about the corruption of the flesh and the inability of flesh to be associated with the Divine. Our body is the instrument whereby we are able to bring compassion, mercy, peace and forgiveness in tangible ways to those who we meet along our journey. Our reflections on “closeness to Christ” over 25 years have been the encounters with Jesus through the actions of people. The Gospel of Luke expresses the mission that we give witness to our faith openly and transparently. Our struggle, at times, to do this is supported by our faith in the Holy Spirit to continue to guide and gather the efforts of believers to glorify God.

Transparent and transitory

The proclamation of the psalmist that the world is full of the goodness of the Lord is a truth which is brought to our sight by the heirs to the Promise celebrated today in the passage from the Letter to the Ephesians in the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the mark of the Spirit on the Jewish Christians calls them to live in that Spirit and to welcome to the communion in the Spirit the Gentile converts who have also inherited the Promise of Life in the love of God. The text from the Gospel of Luke is wisdom literature which shows that living in the Spirit makes us cognizant of the need to seek transparency so that our whole life may witness the Presence of God in the world celebrated in the Psalm. The knowledge that witness in this life is transitory and our understanding of the actual events in time which will demonstrate our faith to others is weak alerts us to mindfulness of our need to perhaps surrender selfishness, popularity and financial success to humility, compassion, forgiveness, patience, peace and charity.

Chosen but not perfect

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today uses texts to commemorate the feast of the evangelist Luke. Tradition is the source of much of the information about this author of a Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. FriarJude Winkler tells us that he was a physician and a Gentile. The language and medical detail in his writing point to an educated person. The text from the second letter to Timothy indicates that Luke was with Paul. Scholars have placed Luke as a disciple of Paul. We understand through the personalities of the evangelists and the apostles that God uses imperfect humanity by choice to be the labourers in the field. The disputes between the holy men of our tradition are sometimes forgotten as we sanitize their life stories. This is very unfortunate. The trust in God required by imperfect agents as they try to bring peace and healing to others is absolutely necessary. The expression of the mission in the Gospel of Luke to proclaim that the Law of God does reign in the lives of people through the Spirit in their relationship with the Incarnate Son is witnessed in the transformation and transcendence in the lives of the disciples who gather the harvest. Perfect lives would not require us to join the psalmist to cry out to God and know the Presence which comes near and changes those who call on Him in truth.

Some scoffers to be heard

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary bring us into consideration of the role of civil law, Church law and politics in the decisions and path of the followers of Christ. The Church commemorates an early bishop of Antioch and martyr in Rome, St Ignatius of Antioch, today. He was caught up in the zeal of the Roman ruler for religious uniformity in the Empire. This religious law sought order by prescribing an official and pagan worship. Paul delivers, according to Friar Jude Winkler, an extremely well crafted message to the Galatians to compare the total disorganization of the licentious life flirting with vice and the superlative virtues associated with the Life in the Spirit. The idea is that the Law condemns by creating dividing lines between good action and evil action giving the clever human legalistic mind the false sense of righteousness by “staying inside the line”. Political discourse today between social conservatives who look to law to bring justice and social liberals who advocate policies of communal attention to the needs of the marginalized have polarized Christian activists. Our mandate, like that voiced by the psalmist, is to be thankful for the guidance of God in our lives and to avoid the advice of the wicked, who are motivated by their comfort, and have forgotten that the path to peace and righteousness before God is marked by evidence which is the fruits of the Spirit presented to the Galatians.

Rules that ruin

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary remind us of the tendency we have to reduce the description of the path we take in life to “tell me what you want me to do.” Paul is adamant in his letter to the region of Galatia that accepting the demand of the Jewish Christian missionaries that new converts accept circumcision as the sign of entry into the community of Jews who, as Friar Jude Winkler comments, have recognized Jesus as the Messiah promised by God for His people, is to reject the Spirit which leads us to Christ through faith working in love. We might suggest to Paul that “we could have both”. Paul warns that to take on the yoke of part of the Law is to take it all. Certainly we have evidence that we slip, like the Pharisees in the text from the Gospel of Luke, into being very observant of traditions and religiosity which satisfies our checklist of being Christian. The inner mediation, like the thanksgiving of the psalmist, reveals our relationship with the loving God. He provides guidelines and boundaries within which we live the freedom of faith that trusts in God to invite us toward holiness and away from selfishness.  This dynamic relationship operates so that our capacity for love increases and we grow with each challenge instead of taking comfort in a static satisfaction that I have followed all the rules.

Four come to witness

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary bring us four figures who are familiar to us as people in the Bible who responded in special ways to their encounter with God. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the story of Sarah and Hagar presented by Paul to the Galatians is an example of the rabbinic technique of midrash which is not based on modern Western logic. Paul connects the free woman Sarah, wife of Abraham, mother of Isaac, to the Spirit and the Promise. He associates the slave wife, Hagar, mother of Ishmael, with the law and the condemnation of people for sin. The message that we are justified by faith is the Good News that the Love of God is unconditional. It is not offered because we have or are something or someone prescribed by Law or tradition. Faith is the step of Abraham to trust God beyond what his senses told him was logical. Our logic is insufficient to grasp the Transcendent and Immanent One. The Gospel of Luke gives us an episode where Jesus uses two other personalities from the Tradition to compare the faith of Gentiles in Nineveh and the acceptance of the pagan Queen of Sheba with the stubborn intransigence of the people of Israel to whom He speaks. We are called to deeper relationship with the Divine. This movement requires faith which is shown to us in the actions of the ‘cloud of witnesses’ who are and have been transformed by faith. They stand in our midst and in our history. We call out in praise to God like the psalmist when we see how we, the needy, have been raised from the dust and lifted from the ash heap of our self satisfaction.

Wisdom words and wealth

The prayer of Solomon for Wisdom sets the stage for our consideration of the question of the rich young man to Jesus in the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. What will this wisdom mean to Solomon? Father Larry Gillick SJ comments that the author of the Book of Wisdom is presenting an exhortation to the kings and rulers of Israel to be conscious of the temptation to forgo the traditions and observance of the spirit of the Covenant as the influence of neighbouring cultures may make temporal gain and success too attractive. The rich young man who kneels before Jesus seeking knowledge of the next step in the path to eternal life is seen, according to Father Larry, by the eyes of Jesus as a precious and loved person who in the eyes of the truth of the Word, described in the text from the Letter to the Hebrews, is laid bare and stands naked and beautiful before Jesus. The Teacher sees him as being possessed by his possessions and offers him wisdom about being free and fully alive. Father Larry is reminded of the student who seeks the knowledge or the certification of academic success but is not open to risk living as the experience of learning about self and our true needs. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the great surprise of Jesus disciples to His challenge to the rich young man. In Jesus time, wealth was understood to be evidence of the blessing of God on your life. We still cling to the idea that our wealth is helpful to our growth in our relationship with God. Friar Jude makes the obvious observation that the many, who have no material wealth, cling to hope in the grace of God more fervently than those secure in their wealth. The blessings, received in this time, by those who have been able to hear the Word of wisdom and move away from that which possesses them bring the life of peace, joy, community, hope and compassion in union through the Holy Spirit with the Body of Christ.

Faith of Mary for all

Paul addresses the domination of life by sin in the text today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The letter to the Galatians is a response to the criticism Paul has been receiving from Jewish Christian missionaries for his apparent neglect for the requirements of the Law in the acceptance of Gentiles as followers of Jesus. The ability of the Law to point out our sin and condemn us for it has been a kind of discipline which attempts to enforce good behaviour among believers. Justification before God through Jesus is unconditional and not based on our status according to Law. Trust in Jesus love for all is the faith which justifies people. This faith, as the psalmist proclaims, is the heritage of the children of Abraham and Jacob. It is admission to the Promise. Friar Jude Winkler comments that Paul did not mean that the distinctions between Gentile and Jew, slave and free, male and female would disappear. Rather these distinctions make no difference in the acceptance of believers to Baptism in Christ. The Gospel of Luke presents the true nature of the blessedness of Mary. As the ‘perfect disciple’ she heard the Word of God and made it part of her very being. The faith and trust of Mary is the justification which we all are called to embrace where Jesus is present in our being. Friar Jude has pointed out in the past that the Church was Marian before it was Petrine or Pauline. Faith is before authority and life in the Spirit.

Better rabbi

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer the challenge of seeking the deeper understanding of actions through which we attempt to live in relationship with God. Paul has been accused by Jewish Christian missionaries to Galatia of being a fraud who does not understand the necessity of the strict observance of the Law for righteousness before God. Friar Jude Winkler explains that Paul skillfully uses Jewish midrash as the technique whereby he opens the story of the faith of Abraham to establish the consequence of condemnation by the Law and the triumph of faith as the blessing from Abraham to his descendents. Friar Jude details how Paul asserts his Jewish background by “out rabbi-ing the rabbi”. Depending on the external rituals, observances and slogans of religiosity can lead to the kind of contradictory proclamation of the people in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus is accused of using demonic power to cast out demons. The declaration of Jesus that being undecided is not a spiritual position urges us to spend time reflecting on our practices which may be providing momentary spiritual comfort but, as the example of demon exorcism indicates, the false sense of well being offered by ritual and rules may delay or defer the transformation of our life style to one of trust in our intimate relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Justification

The Roman Catholic Lectionary presents texts today which emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit in living in intimate peace with God. Friar Jude Winkler reminds us of the impassioned struggle of Paul with the Jewish Christian missionaries who traveled to Galatia to expose Paul as a fraud who had forsaken the observance of Jewish traditions as actions which are required by humans for righteous life with God. The experience of Paul and the Good News of Christianity is the revelation of God’s gracious love as a free gift. Our justification by faith is the acceptance that we trust in God to include us in the promise of the Canticle today from the Gospel of Luke that God will send a mighty Saviour to protect us from our enemies and continue the Covenant with Abraham that is the path to being righteous before Him. Luke exhorts us to pray to God and to seek that revelation of the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives which has sustained and raised us from the life of worldliness that Paul warns the Galatians against should they abandon the Spirit and return to seeking justification in the Law. Our quest for the riches of the gifts of the Spirit from the Father is not in vain as Jesus explains in the Gospel of Luke where He compares the generosity of human parents to their children with the uninhibited total Love of God for us.

Simply put

The contrast between simplicity and prolonged involved interpretation of our action in relation to God appears as a theme in the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The issue of the legitimacy of the preaching of Paul is under question by Jewish Christian missionaries who have come from Jerusalem to Galatia. Paul recounts the events of his visit to Jerusalem to confer with Peter and James. He presents the mission of Peter as one to the circumcised and his own mission as one to the uncircumcised. FriarJude  Winkler expresses the concern of Paul that the message of no partiality of God for special people might be lost in this dispute over how Jewish tradition was to be observed among Gentiles who convert. Friar Jude sees misunderstanding in the events cited by Paul as hypocrisy by Peter. It is unlikely that Peter wished to make a significant theological statement by his actions. If people thought it better that he refrain from eating with Gentile converts, then he would not eat with them. We are often guilty of reading into events the interpretation that favours our position. The more we are fervent about our cause, the more we see strategic opportunities to advance our ideas and the more we seize the initiative without the pause which may be better and which is modelled in the prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke today. The simple petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in this Gospel can be seen as presentations of attitudes which we seek in our relationship with God and people. The attitudes of openness to intimacy, praise of God, obedience to His will, satisfaction with sustenance, compassion and trust will dampen our aggressive assertion of our position and allow the simple truth to dominate our appreciation of people and their action before God.

How to procede

The tension between attitude and approach of different people is a theme which is touched in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. Paul addresses the people of Galatia. According to Friar Jude Winkler, he is denouncing Jewish Christian missionaries who are attempting to discredit his preaching. He presents his credentials as a learned scholar and former Pharisee who studied at the feet of Gamaliel, a leading member of the Jewish Temple court in the first century, to rebut the claim that he has abandoned Jewish tradition. Paul proclaims his mission to spread the Good News is the action required of him as a result of a personal revelation from Jesus. He presents evidence of a serious plan to confirm that call in consultation with Peter and James in Jerusalem. Is personal revelation present today? Is our mission determined by the direction set by Church authorities always according to tradition? The apparent tension between these points of view may be approached from the contemplative study of our relationship with God as vocalized by the “fearfully and wonderfully made” praise of the psalmist. We are capable of much through the grace of God. This grace, nurtured in the listening demonstrated by Mary in the episode from the Gospel of Luke, will inform and empower us in action like the hospitality of Martha. The choice Martha asks Jesus to affirm is countered with the question of how much we are doing to listen to the will of God which is often in tension with our plan to get things done. So often we are called to live with “Both/And” instead of pursuing one path or the other. Tradition or revelation? Yes! Contemplation or service? Yes! Justice or compassion? Yes! God helps us!

Who is my neighbour?

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts in the Roman CatholicLectionary which are not specifically chosen for Thanksgiving. The message of Paul to the region of Galatia is a repudiation of Jewish Christian missionaries from Jerusalem who are declaring Paul to be an impostor and liar. Paul strongly proclaims freedom from Jewish cultural practices for Gentiles who follow the Way. Friar Jude points out that those baptized as a result of Paul’s missionary work were becoming converts to Judaism. The followers of Jesus, Messiah, were still meeting in synagogues at this time. The welcome for Gentiles is part of the revelation from Jesus experienced by Paul. This unmediated contact with the Divine is difficult in Jewish tradition. In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus addresses the nature of living the great Commandment as he scandalizes the audience with the parable of the Good Samaritan, the hated enemy who acts with love and compassion to the one, who may be ritually unclean, suffering from tragedy. The message of risking loving and being servant to others as the preferred worship of God is a revolutionary revelation to those hearing these words.

Helping hands at harvest time

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for Canada offers texts which are used in the liturgy today to commemorate Thanksgiving Day for Canada. Thanksgiving at harvest time is an ancient observance. Thanksgiving in the United States is in late November. Perhaps November is a difficulty month to encourage thanksgiving in Canada. The texts speak of the qualities of love which surround the act of thanksgiving. The Letter to the Colossians exhorts people to live with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. The family gathering for a holiday is often the place to practice these qualities. The Body of Christ, which is Jesus Present, celebrates Eucharist or “thanksgiving” in liturgy. The wisdom of the Vatican II Council expresses the transformation of the Body of Christ in the Eucharist as becoming what we are. This realignment of our awareness in Eucharist is our “knock” on the door with which we are opened as children of God to hear and live the Word in life. We pause in awe and deep gratitude for the relationship we have with Jesus and the experience of love we know in the Body of Christ in the flesh of family and friends who have been Eucharist to us. The Golden Rule lived by members of the Body of Christ is the Way to bring the desire of people, expressed in the prayer of the psalmist today, for love, peace and justice to fruition. ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37). We do pray that the Lord receives more labourers for the harvest as the warmth of Thanksgiving attracts more members of the Body of Christ to active, loving, humble service of people.

Covenant Concerns

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary counter contemporary culture in considering several ideas which challenge us as we try to fit Love, order, growth and commitment together in life. Father LarryGillick SJ prepares our consideration of the union of men and women in the text today from Genesis by setting a stage where this first book of the Bible addresses how things came to be and how they should be. It sketches the pieces of the Divine puzzle and indicates how they go together. Modern people are not less concerned with these ancient questions but are less likely to accept a dictated answer. The struggle with “Why” is catholic and perpetual. The text from the Book of Hebrews, written to an audience from Greek and Jewish background, uses a midrash approach according to Friar Jude Winkler. This is learning and deepening of understanding of Sacred Text by discussion and questioning. The unquestioned acceptance is not the tradition of Christians and Jews. The learning process is a struggle. Father Larry acknowledges that the union of people in marriage is, at times, a struggle with suffering. The culture is not open today to enduring suffering as the door to change and growth. Jesus is described in Hebrews as One made perfect for us in suffering. Thanksgiving, in Canada tomorrow, is a time when the suffering, growth, joy, appreciation and frustration can come together as families and friends gather to be thankful for the lives of each other. Those who have been blessed by marriage know the growth which Covenant relationship brings as we change and reveal the deep mystery of who we are to and with the intimate other. The passage from the Gospel of Mark concludes today as Jesus suspends the discussion of the Law of Moses concerning divorce, raised by the Pharisees, to bring into their midst a child as the example of our need to accept an attitude of openness as we search the mystery of the order of things while we celebrate the gifts of intimate relationships offered by the Creator to be our most suitable and needed growth companion. We pause this weekend to be immensely thankful for that marriage covenant relationship which fills life and witnesses love, compassion, patience, mercy, understanding, forbearance and endurance to the world.

Cloudy vision

The vision we have is clouded. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer some reflection on the bias our emotions and expectations bring to our ability to see God Present in life. The psalmist praises God for the gift of humility through which understanding of the precepts of the Lord has come to him. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the repentance of Job to God as he comes to realize how limited his vision has been and how foolish he was to be ruled by emotion. At the same time, Friar Jude advises that we need to work through and struggle with our feelings and emotions in relationship with the Divine. Like Job, our path to enlightenment may be through deep struggle. The Gospel of Luke reinforces a reality visible in the catholic experience of God where the faith and trust of the many witnesses to a deep relationship with God, past and present, is so much more a revelation of the Life in Christ than the wisdom and intellectual arguments of those gifted in scholarship and presentation. The celebration proclaimed by Jesus in this text is not in honour of the great works of healing accomplished by the disciples but in the deep relationship of the Holy Spirit given them with the Father, through the Son. This life in the Way is the vision which has been pursued by seekers of the truth.

Simply marvelous ignorant being

Our being, fearfully and wondrously made, inspires the psalmist to praise the all present and omnipotent God in one text from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. We can benefit by a few moments of meditation on the amazing cooperation of biological, physical and metaphysical forces which maintain our conscious living. The symphony of life looking inward is a complement to the universe of wonder when we gaze outward. In the Book of Job, God speaks and silences the attack which Job had presented on the action of God. Friar Jude Winkler reassures that Job was right to expose pursue and expose the limitations of the traditional Wisdom thinking about the link of misfortune to sin. The good man is subject to tragedy and disaster. The Presence of God in suffering as the One most compassionate is in the Mystery. We explore our world intellectually and emotionally because we are so created. Friar Jude warns us not to let our theology restrict God to our definition. The author of the great work Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas Aquinas, left it unfinished after a spiritual revelation that it amounted to the straw which was used to clean up messes in the attempt to understand God. The Gospel of Luke warns us about complacency in our faith. Those closest to Jesus and the work He did were able to be satisfied with their own ideas about His work and message. As a consequence of this failure to see, Luke warns that they have missed the Kingdom of God which will attract the pagans and outsiders to greater intimacy with the Divine. An attitude of “Catholic arrogance” often impedes people when the sacraments, saints, scripture, scholars, magisterium and tradition cause us to close our eyes to the ongoing living experience of people with God in the world around us. The fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of Vatican II is approaching. The Spirit which moved to revitalize the Church, at that time, invites us to continue to be open to the Divine plan.

Francis honestly

Honesty before God is ironically a difficult position for people. The text today from the Book of Job in the Roman Catholic Lectionary is characterized by Friar Jude Winkler as “honest if messy”. Job has decided that he has been attacked by God. He is indignant and will make his charge of unfair treatment by God public. The struggle of Job is one which people acquainted with great suffering and tragedy know well. The gift of this Book of Scripture is the recognition of the reality of suffering and the confusion and wrestling with the role of God which we experience in life. The great assertion of Job today that he knows his Redeemer lives is the understanding which embodies honest hope for the future and deeper trust and confidence in Providence than the current situation warrants. This baseline certainty that God is love and will provide is the reality Jesus exhorts the seventy two disciples is to own in the passage today from the Gospel of Luke. The mission to live the Gospel and bring the news of the arrival of the Kingdom of God is to be lived in the flesh by curing the sick and depending on Providence and hospitality for our human needs. The gift of “peace” is given by the disciples to those who accept them and support them. Friar Jude reminds us that we need to use our gifts to work with Providence in prudence and planning. The Church today celebrates the feast of the “most beloved saint”, Francis of Assisi. The spiritual reach of Francis is beyond Christian believers to many seeking goodness and God. The ‘peace prayer’ of Francis proclaims the path through which the peace Jesus desires His disciple bring can be realized. The method of preaching the Gospel at all times, using words only if necessary, is the Franciscan life style which makes the Good News visible in action. Simple and honest love is the approach which changes lives.

Job and the extent of God

The Book of Job brings the opportunity to meditate on parts of the Mystery of God which stretch our mind and imagination. The text in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today is a monologue wherein Job wrestles with his understanding of his nature as a good man and the mystery of how he must be seen differently in the eyes of God, if the preaching of his friends is true. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the friends of Job are relying on the script they know from the Wisdom literature that God punishes sinners. The consolation and support we try to bring to others as friends can reduce to prescriptions for them to “get better”. The limits of our love can be contrasted with the limitless love of God. The truth that God is love, and as Job observes, is Creator and Entity of scope beyond human understanding naturally leaves us speechless and humbled. This position of humility opens our heart to allow the possibilities and progress of our existence to be entrusted to God. The psalmist today seems to be less resolved than Job. Fear, which is the opposite of love, can be a strong motivation to call out to God. Great love and great suffering have been proposed by Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book about the 23^rd Psalm, The Lord is my Shepherd, as well established paths to intimacy with the Divine. The Gospel of Luke reminds us of the commitment to Love. When our experience informs us about love, we recall that the truly beloved draws us to them without hesitation. At our best as lovers, they become our goal. Jesus appears to respond harshly to the man who seeks to bury his father before continuing to journey with Him. Friar Jude instructs that Jewish practice was to bury the body on the day of death and wait a year to retrieve the bones of the deceased to complete the burial process. The desire to put off communion with the beloved until another year is not the commitment which will make a disciple who trusts and follows not on a schedule or when convenient but driven as a lover in pursuit of constant Presence.  

Guardian dear

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are opportunities to reflect on the protection of God for people. We have experiences where we find a path or direction which takes us away from what seems to have been a movement toward physical, emotional or spiritual harm. The other tension or influence toward opportunities to grow in love, mercy, compassion and empathy may take more reflection to identify but these experiences are also very memorable. The Book of Exodus recalls the protection experienced by the Israelites as they moved into the Promised Land. The fulfillment of the Divine plan is tied to our relationship with spiritual movement to protect our path. The first reading for some areas of the United States today is from the Book of Job. Friar Jude Winkler presents a view of the protection given Job through trials in which he certainly wished to be dead. The example in Job of faithful trust in God is the prayer for protection in Psalm 91. This cry for help is full of expectant hope of deliverance from fear and harm. In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus exhorts us to dwell in the humility and trust of children who can make not claim on their own status for privilege or position in society. Their fate is at the hands of others. The protection of God is known to the person who has been freed from reliance on our plans and schemes for existence. The opportunity to be aware of our life within the Body of Christ from which we can draw direction and support is a great Eucharistic Gift. The testimony and witness of many, living and dead, is part of the spiritual environment which moves us in the path of the Divine plan.

Wisdom in Paradox

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer wisdom in the form of short proclamations which point to challenges for those seeking holiness. The story of Job “a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8) surprises us when he is severely tested by tragedy and he responds in his grief with praise for God who both brings and takes away. The root of this wisdom is a relationship with the Divine which has broadened the understanding of Job to experience life beyond the temporal and finite. The awe invoked as we consider our own history and ponder the why of our existence invites trust in the Creator which transcends time and tragedy.  The Wisdom which Jesus offers in the Gospel of Luke is especially evident in the lives of those who have begun to live in the time of less struggle to get ahead known by Franciscan theologian, Richard Rohr, as the ‘second half of life’. The time when we lose visibility to the world where “first half” people are struggling to succeed and are offered humility, insignificance, meditation and selflessness as daily experiences is a special opportunity to grow in relationship to God and people from a position where we need not be the first priority. The community of people of the earth are more alike than different. Those who share our aspirations for love, peace, goodwill and blessed lives for our children and grandchildren are much more prevalent than those who do not share these values. We are encouraged by Jesus to bias ourselves to the positive in people. The fruit of inclusion and acceptance is attraction to love.