Fish for People

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament^* proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). The psalmist from the texts of the RomanCatholic Lectionary today proclaims truth. Encounter with the mystery and majesty of God through the sheer awesome reality of nature and the created world seems to be an experience which touches fewer human hearts in our time. Paul addresses the Romans about our justification before God through faith. Our hearts awakened by God through a touch from another human or from the world around us are invited to faith in God. The action of telling others about the joy and peace in faith is both natural and challenging. The choice of fishermen by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew today is seen by Friar Jude Winkler as an example of how God transforms our talents to make the action of confessing the Word begin with developing qualities in our being which are already there. MarkLatta of Creighton University initiates an action of confessing with his lips today in his reflection on the challenge of the priority which love and trust in God is meant to have in our lives. It is number one priority! The working out of faith is done in developing trust. The desire we have for the best for those we love is an expression of Love. It is best realized as we trust the invitation to “Follow Him” as Matthew testifies in the Gospel today of the calling of the four fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and John. The short biography of Andrew by Leonard Foley, O.F.M. and revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M., patron Saint of Scotland (and other countries) notes that as an Apostle, we understand that his life changed. A commentator writes “the Gospels give us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an apostle. That is enough. He was called personally by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus' power and to share his life and death. Holiness today is no different.” Fishers know that special talent and technique are required to patiently draw marine life from the water. Patience, perseverance, presence, faith, dedication, determination, bravery and love are some of the talents of natural fishers. The gift of faith brings the trust that this foundation will be transformed by God into a living Temple confessing Love in action.

Passion dreams and peace

One of the blessings offered to humanity is the ability to live life with passion for our vocation. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary place us in the tension between fear of the interruption of the life giving work we do and the deep consolation and joy in the surrender of our passion and life force to the One, like a Son of Man, coming on a cloud who restores joy and peacefulness to us as to Daniel after dreams of terrible beasts in the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel. Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc comments on a Greek Orthodox teaching about the Aramaic phrase Bar 'ěnoš "son of man". This phrase in Jewish and Christian eschatological understanding refers to the Messiah. Dr Pentiuc suggests rendering the phrase as "son of weakness" or "the weak one." This contradiction of the power of the earlier vision is in harmony with Jesus humanity and the suffering servant image in Isaiah. Modern day anxiety, often presented to us in dreams and flashes of that terror that things might go terribly wrong is the reflection from SusanNaatz of Creighton University. The awakening to peace through re connection of the signs of the Presence in our lives is the advice given by Jesus today in the Gospel from Luke. Don Schwager comments that “the Lord does give us signs, not only to "wake us up" as a warning, but also to "rouse our spirits" to be ever ready and eager to see his kingdom come in all its power and glory”. Our passion in our vocation is that Spirit roused by Love to serve.

Meeting the lions

Perhaps we face days which appear to be daunting and offer many challenges. The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer some direction and assurance that we will not go through tough times alone. The story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den presents the triumph of trust in the plan of God for our lives. Daniel was not devoured by the lions. God had a different mission for him. We would have a different meditation on this story if Daniel had been martyred by the lions. Our trust in God is not limited by our current finite human existence. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the sense of a community or family responsibility for sin which we have narrowed to an individual accounting. The punishment intended for Daniel was imposed on the family of those who had brought false witness. Dick Hauser, S.J of CreightonUniversity presents a Preacher’s Prayer "Lord, I know that nothing can happen to me today that You and I together can't handle" The Gospel from Luke is Jesus telling of the destruction of Jerusalem in a passage which also presents conditions associated with the end times. Our trust in God though cataclysmic events may be experienced in tragedies of war, hurricane, typhoon, earthquake and tornado. The gift of grace to find thanksgiving in our hearts for today, and through today in the United States, is part of the spiritual message of Father HenriNouwen as shared by Deacon Greg Kandra as another form of the preacher’s prayer.

Speak to the worldly empires

The proclamation from the canticle in the third chapter of the Book of Daniel” Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever” is shown in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary today to be a precept violated by those who profane the sacred traditions of the Jewish people in the text from the fifth chapter of Daniel. Friar Jude Winkler notes that even though the destruction of the Babylonian Empire is prophesied by Daniel, the text applies to the oppression of Jewish religious practice and desecration of the Temple by the Seleucid Empire about 200 years before the birth of Jesus. The Gospel from Luke tells of the great tribulation which will accompany the struggle of believers as we move toward the end time. The consequence of proclaiming the Good News may be rejection and persecution. The Vatican has released the first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, of the Holy Father, Francis. Like Daniel, Francesco speaks truth about some challenges of today’s world. He exhorts people to say “No” to many aspects of modern culture which are contrary to the Word and example of Jesus. He includes an economy of exclusion, idolatry of money, a financial system which rules rather than serves and inequality which spawns violence. Believers must go with the assurance of Jesus, expressed by Friar Jude as ‘they might kill us but they will never harm us’ and speak mene, mene, tekel, and parsin (Daniel 5:25) to the world.

Collapse of empire

The theme of destruction of the power structures in society comes from the texts today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The passage from the Book of Daniel is a prophesy of the destruction of the Seleucid Empire as God uses the Jewish people as a rock to smash the power of the conquerors. The IndependentCatholic News reports that Pope Francis had a private meeting in the Vatican with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. This was the fourth time the Russian leader has been to the Vatican. He met Pope John Paul II in 2000 and 2003 and had an audience with Pope Benedict in 2007. The Church today lives with political powers that have the ability to bring economic downturn, war and moral ambiguity to our societies. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the destruction of Jerusalem, as detailed by Jesus in the Gospel from Luke. He notes that the signs of the end (of Jerusalem or the world) are around us today. He advises that we live daily with “nothing left unsaid, nothing left undone”. The words of Harriet Beecher Stowe are similar “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone".  These statements need to be balanced by an awareness of words to have hurtful consequences. The Vatican is a place where diplomatic efforts to dialogue with world leaders are practiced. The gifts of the children of the light in dealing with the princes and principalities are uncertain. The believer needs to speak truth to power. Jesus reminds us that the truth which sets us free may come at great cost. 

Prudent and poison

The text today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary from the Book of Daniel, though set in the time of the Babylonian Exile was, according to Friar Jude Winkler and other authorities, written during the reign of Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV who defiled the Temple of Jerusalem in 168 BC, perhaps in an attempt to seize the temple treasure. The author of this text encourages the readers to reject the demand of the Greek conquerors to participate in Greek customs of worship and consumption of non-kosher food. This course of action was certainly not prudent or politically correct. The intention of the rulers was to assimilate the Jewish people into the political culture. The Gospel from Luke also challenges us to consider rejection of the prudent act in favour of acting out of love and trusting Providence. The culture in which we live does not support or understand the decision of the widow in the Gospel who gives all she has to the Temple treasury. We certainly could come up with a list of many modern values of responsibility, credit worthiness and even contribution to the economy which might be used to demonstrate the irresponsibility of her action. How can Jesus praise this gift?  Homilists like John Jay Hughes see Jesus recognizing the motivation behind the gift as Love. We may have the opportunity to be as loving in our contributions to others as the widow. This action will not only help increase the role of faith in our daily life, it will open us to be more generous in family life and in financial assistance to the destitute, as noted by MaryanneRouse of Creighton University. Decisions of Faith, which are not seen as prudent by the dominant culture, are a means to work against the constant pressure for assimilation into the culture driven by commercial gain which is losing Love based orientation.

Forgiveness and blessings from the King

  Today the psalmist in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary exhorts ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ (Psalm 122:1) The leaders of the ten northern tribes of Israel approach David in Hebron, the site of many important events in Jewish and Christian history, to go to Jerusalem and be the king of a united Israel. The Kingship of David according to Elna K. Solvang of Concordia College is expressed in the Book of Samuel as Israel's hope does not rest in a dynasty but there is hope that from the house of David will come forth trustworthy leadership, attentive to the voices of those in need, and in faithful service to God's goals for Israel and the world. Friar Jude Winkler examines the hymn of praise to Jesus in the first chapter of the Letter to the Colossians wherein Jesus is God truly present, who reigns over the spiritual entities of angels. This assertion is to address the theme in Greek philosophy which held that things spiritual were superior to things of the flesh. Today is celebrated in Roman Catholic and Anglican communities as the Feast of Christ the King. DrTaylor Marshall writes that Pope Pius XI promulgated an encyclical on Christ the King titled Quas primas December 11, 1925. The Holy Father issued it to mark the “sixteenth centenary of the Council of Nicaea” held in AD 325. The Council of Nicea in AD 325 defended the divinity of Christ from which flows Christ’s royal claims over humanity. Father Larry Gillick SJdraws us to consider the Eucharistic meal in comparison to the family meals which we celebrate at this time of year. The plan of God for people is proclaimed as a message of forgiveness and blessing from the King of the Jews on a throne of the Cross. Father Larry notes that the elders and the Romans saw their security in the death of Jesus. Linda Pepe understands the invitation of Jesus to stand with Him in Paradise as the kingship which brings the message to us about how far God is willing to go to free to the oppressed…. to ensure that the hungry are fed, and the naked are clothed and the poor are cared for and the sick are healed.

Look a little longer

Occasionally our interpretation of the events of life needs to be disturbed by taking a look from the point of view of the other. This is the presented in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the view of the author of the First Book of Maccabees about the death of the Greek Emperor who had sacked Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple. The deep depression which beset the ruler over these crimes leads to his death. The truth of our feeling at times that the death of some world leaders would bring such good as we would expect changes from oppression to freedom, starvation to health. The root causes of these situations are often deeper than one person. Nate Romano, S.J. ofCreighton University finds some words to share a more considered view of the Sadducees, the very conservative Jewish sect who did not accept resurrection from the dead, who challenge Jesus in the Gospel passage today from the Gospel of Luke. The method used by Jesus to change their frame of reference gives them room within their own paradigm to consider some a different bit of evidence from Moses. The little bit of light which is reflected from situations which we may initially see as completely dark is perhaps the Spirit encouraging patience and perseverance to discover the point of departure to another path.

Purify our plans

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary bring the themes of purification and cleansing to mind. These actions are presented in the episode from the Book of Maccabees where Judas and his brothers, the Hasmoneans, liberate the Temple which had been desecrated by Hellenistic worship during occupation of Israel by Seleucid invaders. The Gospel from Luke tells of Jesus zeal for the sanctity of the Temple as he drives out the merchants and restores teaching and respect. This action attracts the attention, according to Friar Jude Winkler, of the Roman occupying authorities who were always on guard for acts of rebellion, particularly during holiday times. Those with control or monetary interests, like the Pharisees, are alerted to the need to deal with Jesus as one who is interrupting their plans. The personal housekeeping that Carol Zuegner of Creighton University recommends involves finding more time for prayer and perhaps prayerful music, as the Church remembers St Celia today. The conflicts of the holiday season and western commercialism with our faith life and the maintenance of religious festivals to focus on the light of Chanukah, which introduces the greater Light of the Divine, and Incarnation of Jesus which brings the Light to humanity are like the initial attractiveness of Hellenistic culture to the Jews which eventually led to the need for purification and cleansing.

Two rebellions with modern lessons

The texts today in the RomanCatholic Lectionary from the Gospel of Luke and the Book of First Macccabees show us two rebellions against two conquerors of the land of Israel and give us an opportunity to consider what determines our course of action against the forces which may be opposing our Life in the Spirit. Some of the people in the time of the priest Mattathias, who out of zeal for the traditions of the people of the Covenant murders the offenders and begins a rebellion, looked at the adoption of Hellenistic rules and regulation about religion as a kind of modernization, according to Friar Jude Winkler. This acceptance of the regulation of the state of religious practice is too present in our so called modern time. The grief of Jesus over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans after another rebellion about 200 years after Mattathias is used by Andy Alexander, S.J. of Creighton University to recall the recent lament of Pope Francis at Lampedusa that the modern world is losing any ability to live the grief of those suffering because of our political, social and economic attitudes, processes and decisions. How will our zeal to live the invitation of Jesus to intimacy with the Divine present itself in the battle against forces which work on our indifference to the human cost of the way the modern world is conquering our sense of basic justice. Our zeal to provide the necessities of life to our brothers and sisters should motivate our action. The tension is between using the plough or the sword as it was for Isaiah (Isaiah 2:4) and Jesus. Let us begin in the model of Jesus with prayer and weeping.

When glory appears

“Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full” is the response today to the psalm in the Roman Catholic Lectionary This praise proclamation is appropriate for the texts from the Second Book of Maccabees and from the Gospel of Luke. The second book of Maccabees, which is only in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox canon, tells individual stories of the decision of Jewish believers to accept martyrdom instead of submitting to the demands of the Greek rulers to practice pagan rituals including the eating of ``unclean`` food. The glory for which the faithful await is their return to God in resurrection.Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that this faith in resurrection is also a sustaining hope for full joy in the Christian journey when we are beset with the twists and turns of life that can so often steal our joy. The history ofthe Land of Israel in the period 166 - 129 BCE was one of struggle against the Hellenist Seleucids which culminates in the triumph of the Maccabees (Hebrew for hammer)/Hasmoneans (family name) and the restoration of worship in a purified Temple which is celebrated in Jewish tradition as the holiday of Chanukah. The ruler character in the parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke who goes away and leaves the administration of his kingdom in the hands of those who work for him isinterpreted by some as Jesus preparing His disciple for the long time between His death and return in the final days. During this time, Robert P. Heaney, John A. Creighton University Chair, advises that we be alert to the directive that we are responsible to God to use our gifts to bring return on the investment of God in us to His people. The action of making our gifts work for the benefit of others requires faith. The apparent unfairness of those who have the most coins in the parable getting more applies to faith. Faith which is not exercised in action and reaction with the people of God dies and strips us of the joy which the psalmist knows can be ours in the Presence of God.

An element of surprise

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.⁴ I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill (Psalm 3:3-4) The relationship expressed by the psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today is one which we all seek to know. A shield from God to protect us from the influences that threaten to destroy our peace and contentment seems an ideal righteous environment. The elderly, like Eleazar, in the passage from  the Second Book of Maccabees should perhaps be given some kind of a pass to the peace and contentment of retirement but FriarJude Winkler reminds us of the great responsibility of those gifted with the experience of life to be examples of living the Gospel in their relationships with others. Many spiritual writers including Richard Rohr in his book FallingUpward celebrate the freedom of the ‘second half of life’ to live in witness to the great Love of God. The surprise of becoming a “white martyr” as our mission at retirement time offers a renewal of the role we see ourselves doing in the vineyard. The Gospel of Luke is an account full of journeys and surprises. As Jesus is travelling through Jericho to Jerusalem He becomes the object of the deep desire of Zacchaeus to see Him. Perhaps as a chief tax collector Zacchaeus, is in the second half of life. This encounter with Jesus has been interpreted in more than one way. The tense of the Greek verb can favour the scenario where Zacchaeus is like the Prodigal Son who declares an intention in the future to repent and perhaps convert or in the comments of Dan Clendenin, he is a righteous man today who Jesus identifies to show us how we too often misjudge without having all the information. It that light, the tax collector has been living as the “white martyr” receiving scorn and rejection as the result of the careless assumptions of the community. The ‘realized eschatology’ in the Gospel of Luke reminds us that the Life in the surprise of Love is now! 

Interrupt me

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today offers some meditation about seeing the path we should take and the difficulty we may have with the crowd who are distracting us from fullness of life. The psalmist cries out to proclaim that he is frustrated in the zeal he has for the decrees of God because his foes despise him and ignore the message of Life from God. When Israel came under the control of the Greek Empire in the two centuries before the birth of Jesus, many of the Jewish people reacted to the destruction of Jerusalem and the imposition of pagan religious practice by adopting the customs of the conquerors. The Books of Maccabees tell of brothers who saw things differently and rebelled against this invasion. In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus is on His journey to Jerusalem and, as noted by Don Schwager, is very likely adopting a teaching style of rabbis to talk to the crowd as He walked. We are invited by Michele Bogard of Creighton University to put ourselves in this text. We might be become aware of times when our desire to hear and teacher or homilist has been interrupted by a person distracting us from the flow of the session. We recall our frustration and annoyance about this intrusion into our doing something good, worthwhile and perhaps holy. Another position in the Gospel is that of Jesus. How likely are we to have stopped telling our important story or teaching to say to the one who interrupts   (Luke 18:41) "What do you want me to do for you”?  The path of our movement to holiness is fraught with interruptions. The Spirit will become present to us as an interrupting of patterns which are moving more with the crowd perhaps away from our mission. Hear the Word!

The Good Day is coming

The journey of Christians following Jesus often brings opportunity to reflect on the aspects of life which we truly value. The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today give advice and warning about choosing to live without consideration of true value. The Prophet Malachi, according to Friar Jude Winkler, is extending an understanding among Jews of his time that those outside the Law, the Gentiles, were the evildoers who would meet the wrath of God to the members within the community who had seemingly had forgotten the Love of Yahweh for the poor ones and who used their power and privilege to live well as respected Jews without the need to act in Love and justice. The Second Letter to the Thessalonians is addressed to some in that community who have accepted a life style of not contributing to the community because the imminent end of the world would make such work futile. The Gospel from Luke warns that the timing of the end of the world is not known. The tribulation to which Jesus refers is a constant in human history. Father LarryGillick SJ comments on Jesuit martyrs in El Salvador for whom the fear and tribulation of their opponents wrought by the work of these Christians living the Word led to their execution. Father Roberto Donato (Lectio Divina Nov 14 2013) and Father Larry point to the beginning of this Chapter of Luke where the poorest widow is putting all her savings in the temple collection basket while the wealthy gave from their surplus. She, by putting her money in the treasury, places her treasure in the good times coming (Luke 21.1-4). The working disciple of Jesus is given faith to see the true values which lead to Love and justice.

A Prayer Plan

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today praises the deliverance of the Israelites by God. “For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.” (Psalm 105:42). An analysis of the time line of God in keeping the Promise shows that Abraham would not live to see the growth of his people to be as numerous the stars. Moses, later, would not cross over to the Promised Land after the great escape from Egypt at the hands of God praised today by the author of the Book of Wisdom. The timeline of the action of God is not the schedule of the finite imperfect creatures who are His Children. The parable from the Gospel of Luke today reminds Eileen Wirth ofCreighton University of her action in response to the requests of her children. The process of parents and children coming to a solution over the latest request is one of the inexperienced and impatient working with the more experienced, patient and loving parent who seeks the best for the child as he hopes to direct the request to the best outcome. Friar Jude Winkler encourages Christians to adopt the chutzpah often found in Jewish prayer. The expression of our passion, even in as an animated discussion or argument with God, in the manner of Abraham, wherein we explore the reasons perhaps that God might not look so good by refusing our request is prayer which opens our relationship to see and hear more of the Love of Our Father. (and the “Our Father”). Don Schwager cites (Luke 17:5) to tell us ask the Lord to increase our faith. The trust of Abraham and the faith of Mary that God acts beyond the boundaries of human understanding to bring us closer in intimate communion through the Spirit is the solid foundation to pray with patience and persistence in an expectant manner.

What we see

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today presents texts which offer a meditation on how what we see and what we believe are so closely connected. The author of the Book of Wisdom could make the observation today concerning those who only accept humanistic or logical understanding of the “Big Questions” that “for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things? (Wisdom 13.9)” Creation reveals the Creator. Perhaps we focus too much on the What? When? And How? of the universe? The question for deep meditation is Why? The psalmist proclaims the wordless truth about God which goes out to those who seek to see in the rhythm of day and night life. The Gospel from Luke today is rich in images about life, judgement and separation. This text is often included by those seeking some literal evidence to argue about pre tribulation rapture as opposed to post tribulation rapture. Michael D. Guinan, O.F.M brings a review of the tradition of Roman Catholic thought on this matter. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the visibility of the action of God in daily life and the possible misunderstanding of rapture from interpretation of Revelation and the words of Paul. The experience of God and the Love we know as intimacy with Jesus, who preferred the company of sinners, makes the sudden separation of righteous and wicked in a rapture (Luke 17:34) an action very far removed from the image in the Gospel of Luke of God with infinite patience calling for sinners to be reconciled. Perhaps the understanding of Catie O'Malley at Creighton University which focuses on Luke 17:33 is the essential difference presented between our life when we live in service of others, because of Jesus Love, and our experience of life when we are serving ourselves. Don Schwager comments that our intimacy with a godly person does not allow us to pass off our responsibility to Live the Word. We are not preparing for that sudden judgement if we allow our spiritual journey to be done by proxy. The people in our daily lives are the vineyard where our Love will become service and we will lose our lives as we gain Life as intimate participant in the Life of the Creator of heaven and earth.

Wisdom to see the flashes

The search for knowledge and understanding of the nature of God is a fundamental human quest explored in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. An attribute of God is wisdom. The manifestation of this Wisdom is proclaimed in the text today from the Book of Wisdom. People in pursuit of holiness are assured that “in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets” (Wisdom 7.27). Friar Jude Winkler explains the numerology of this passage of 21 attributes as the superlative expression of perfection. A Jewish commentary on Wisdom literature includes the observation that wisdom comes to man only as a divine gift, and that it belongs to the very nature of God himself. In the Gospel passage from Luke , today, Jesus addresses the nature of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Joan Blandin Howardof Creighton University expresses the experience of a Roman Catholic believer that the “Kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21) as one of lack of attention to the Living Spirit being in the events of our everyday life. The commentaryfrom other sources, perhaps those without a Eucharistic Presence experience, seems to have difficulty with the Kingdom which is now through Jesus Present Within. The flashings in the sky mentioned in this passage have many reflections in the time line of acceptance of Jesus Presence, observations actions of the Spirit, His Resurrection and the final days. The Gift of Wisdom leads us as we struggle to comprehend. This Sunday's scripture text (about the end times) is encouragement for the faithful who worship God and try to live justly and righteously.

On the road to holiness

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary speak to us in several ways. The appeal of the psalmist that we bring justice and rescue to the lowly ones is a theme which is linked to the text from the Book of Wisdom. FriarJude Winkler comments reminds us that those who have gifts from God, like power and authority, are also responsible to use those gifts to advance the Will of God. Friar Jude suggests, in harmony with the author of Wisdom, that those who have more gifts, like authority, power, the Law, the Covenant, the Eucharist are more accountable to God than those who are not so gifted. The observance of life seeking holiness, communion with the Divine, will take us closer to fulfillment of our mission. For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness (Wisdom 6.10). The Gospel from Luke builds on the theme of gratitude for our gifts and Friar Jude suggests that we pause to consider our diary of gratitude for the gifts from God. Cindy Murphy McMahon of CreightonUniversity prays to be more like the Samaritan, who sees the healing and turns to Jesus in a profound decision to change direction, be thankful and move to conversion. The recognition of those events in life which are calling us to conversion is not as common as it would be if we could pause to consider the healing events of each day. The Gospel of Luke is directing us to continue to journey with Jesus to Jerusalem. On the way to the Holy City, the nine Jewish lepers experience healing. John Davies uses the theme of journeying in places which society has considered dangerous and with people who have been marked as unclean as the path which will reset our understanding of the truth about the marginalized to whom we are called to bring the justice and rescue praised by the psalmist. Jesus leads us to holiness in the city where He will give the witness to complete, total and unconditional Love.

Here among you as a shepherd

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary may cause us to consider our reward for a righteous life. The Book of Wisdom brings us the image of the being in the hands of God at death. The section of this book is entitled the Destiny of the Righteous. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the concept of life after death which was present at the time. The Greek notion was the separation of a soul from the body. The righteous are understood by the author of Wisdom to have lived a disciplined life trusting in God which may have been seen from the outside as disaster or punishment. The style of the Luke in writing his Gospel often uses a literary technique to have us accept momentarily one idea or image and then reverse our direction and show us his message. We agree, even though, as suggested by Maureen McCann Waldron ofCreighton University, we have little cultural understanding of slavery that the slave returning from work is not served by the Master. However in this parable, Jesus may be the Master who does just that! Maureen McCann Waldron writes about the joy in living with an attitude of service and how our relationships with others are so much richer when we aim to serve. She cites recent words and action of Pope Francesco as showing a direction which in which we are led by Jesus. Friar Jude reminds us that we are asked to Love, God and neighbour. The discipline we adopt to aim ourselves in that direction brings the daily reward of acting like God. We can stand with the psalmist and praise God for the rescue He provides from sin through helping us to live as He directs. “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done” (Luke 17:10)

Awe and wonder

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present the tension between attention to detail and discipline and the big picture of Divine Presence which may incorrectly cause us to be negligent about the “small stuff”. Which attitude about God do we adopt? The Creator who fills the universe and sustains the processes which unfold for people at the level of nations and communities is the One who knows when I sit down and when I rise up. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me (Psalm 139:6). Friar Jude Winkler comments that one of the last books in the Catholic and Orthodox canon of the Old Testament gives advice to rulers on living the good life within the Spirit of God. Sin and deceit are contrary to that Spirit and the full wisdom offered to us as gift from God is prevented from full action through our decisions to serve self instead of attending to Wisdom. Joe Zaborowski of CreightonUniversity takes comfort in the response of Pope Francesco identifying himself as a sinner. The faith which Luke has Jesus describe as capable of moving mountains is gifted to us. Friar Jude reminds us that our response to this faith is to trust God and others. The lack of this trust and being overcome by our own selfish action may lead us to offer temptation or as Don Schwager notes from the Greek, scandal to those who have not been gifted with the Wisdom in which we are overcome by the wonderful Presence of God. Do we continue our journey focused on the Big picture overcome in awe or on the little ones who look for guides from those they trust? Yes!

Faith trumps death

The action of the Sadducees to attempt to trap Jesus in the Gospel from Luke in the Roman Catholic Lectionary brings a response from Him that “those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Luke 20.35) Father Larry Gillick SJ reminds us that Jesus comments are to alert us to the tendency, like that of the Sadducees to look to the literal interpretation of the Law to guide our relationship with God. The Leverite marriage rules were adopted by the Jews from prevailing customs in the Middle East to guide the rules of passing on of estates. Friar Jude Winkler note that the battle against the customs and law which are intended to persecute believers requires us to seek the strength of Divine assistance as the author of the second letter to the Thessalonians prays in the text today. The Life which we share in Christ continues through to our resurrection. The “resurrected “ live in God and are free from the constraints of mortality.

Temple is Living

In the text today from the Gospel of John in the Roman Catholic Lectionary Jesus challenges the crowd, who are angry that he has cleared from the grounds of the Temple those who had turned it into a market place, that if they destroy this Temple, He will build it up in three days. The Evangelist tells us He was speaking of the temple of his body (John 2:21). This description of Jesus as the Temple is one of the aspects of prayer which Friar Jude Winkler identifies as prayer in communion with Jesus. Paul tells the Corinthians that we are God’s Temple; we present to the world an opportunity to encounter God through our witness to the Spirit living within us. The congregation of the people of God is fashioned by our Love in Christ into a visible Temple of believers who rest on the foundation of Christ. Our life as the Body of Christ is to be the healing and restoring water of life which the Prophet Ezekiel predicts the Babylonian exiles will experience as they return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple. In structures which are built of the sweat of the believer and the materials of nature shaped into a sacred space we can pause in the silence which tells us of God.

Shrewd children

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are invitations to contemplate the relationship between our work and the mission of God. The bold words of Paul in the Letter to the Romans may seem to be filled with boasting self praise. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the words are addressed to a community who have already been evangelized by Jewish Christians from Jerusalem. The words of Paul are sharing faith rather than instructing his audience. In that respect he is in harmony with the psalmist who finds that the steadfast Love and faithfulness of God have been the source of Life for all. In the energy of this Life, Paul has frenetically preached to much of the civilized world, in the sincere belief of the imminent last days. Today's passage from the Gospel from Luke has received many interpretations by religious commentators. George Butterfield of Creighton University cites a Quaker theologian, Elton Trueblood, who proposed that Jesus was simply joking. The energy and cleverness that the steward applies to the business of administration of the master’s goods is paralleled in the activity of Paul as Apostle to the Gentiles. Father Roberto Donato (Lectio Divina Sept 19 2013) points out that the dishonest administrator converts to action of distributing the riches of the master, which like the gifts of God, cannot be held for gain in our bigger barns. Jesus will declare the opposition of riches, food and money to the direction we are called to move by the Gospel. Friar Jude and many commentators understand the message here for followers of Christ to be as clever and energetic in living and giving Love as many of the shrewd and intelligent are in taking care of other business.

Reach all to heal

The portion of the Letter of Paul to the Romans in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today ends with the phrase “each of us will be accountable to God”. (Romans 14:12). What is the nature of this accountability? Kirk Peck of CreightonUniversity expresses the nature of this accountability as like the relationship between parents and children. Friar Jude Winkler uses the exhortation of Paul that we all live and die for God and not for ourselves as the call to abandon the sin, selfishness and passions which would keep us from giving our best efforts to help others. Parents can exhibit selflessness which is witness to both these themes. The Gospel from Luke presents a few dualistic points to begin contemplation of this text. The Pharisees who are scandalized by Jesus understand that association with sinners risks contagion of good people with bad action. A parent identifies with this concern about who are the people with whom my child associates. Luke may be presenting an exaggeration when he suggests that the shepherd, people in Jesus society who were often thought unclean by Pharisees, would leave the 99 to search for the lost one. This action may be as radical as Jesus dining with tax collectors. The other point to consider, expressed by Kirk Peck, is that of the parent who does attend to the lost, distressed and needy child and as a consequence, spends less time with the children who are safe, happy and secure. Don Schwager notes that the good shepherd who has compassion for the sheep in distress and the wife concerned with the financial stress of poverty will search until they find and rejoice in the success with the one which may be considered insignificant to those made insensitive by power, passion, position, pride and privilege. The exaggerated love that we exhibit when we reach out to others is our preparation to be accountable to God. 

Exaggerated Love

So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions (Luke 14:33). This verse concludes the passage from the Gospel of Luke in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the opening lines of this passage where Jesus declares that those who do not hate father, mother, brother and sister cannot be His disciple is an example of Jewish exaggeration. The texts from the Letter to the Romans and Psalm 112 are more direct proclamations of the Way of Love for one another and the ancient understand of the blessing which comes to the righteous. The generosity, mercy, compassion and care of those who are seeking Life in communion with God fills them with the Love proclaimed as the core of the Commandments addressed to our neighbours by Paul. The Gospel of Luke uses the exaggeration technique in the words of Jesus to focus our attention that the process of growing in Love of God and others is the movement, as Friar Jude notes, to give back to God all the people, talents and possessions that He has given to us. Love is the completion of our mission. Our wise calculus opens our hearts and trusts in God to use all we have for Love.   

Respond to the Invitation

^“6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:6) This statement precedes some ethical admonitions for those who Paul proclaims are members of the Body of Christ in the text today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The theme of these admonitions, as noted by Friar Jude Winkler, is that each member of the Body of Christ has a responsibility to use the grace or gift of God to serve others. A difficulty of service is hinted to by the psalmist today when we position ourselves as ones who are not occupied with things too great or too marvellous. Of course, the invitation of Jesus to relationship with God is beyond anything we understand or deserve. The parable of the great dinner from the Gospel of Luke tells us that too often we back away from this invitation with poor excuses. Don Schwager quotes Dieterich Bonhoeffer in a reflection on the awesome responsibility that goes with the free gift of grace. “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.” The power of grace enables the action in our life as we journey in the metaphor of Luke “with Jesus to Jerusalem” to be as full of zeal and compassion as that described by Paul to the Romans.

Convolution and care

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?” is a line from a hymn quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today. Friar Jude Winkler comments that this question was the source of incredible wonder for Paul as he came to understand that God does not take away His gifts and Promise. God is faithful to The Covenant with Israel even though the message of Jesus is being rejected by the Jewish believers. Paul understands that the rejection by Israel opened the doors for the presentation of the Word made Flesh to the Gentiles. The mercy shown to the pagan Greek and Roman people is surely offered to the people of the Covenant. Personal experiences of the plan of God, which may seem convoluted to the human mind, may take the form of that encounter with a person who brings new life, joy and praise for God to our minds. Why did we encounter that person, in that place, at that time? Is it coincidence or convoluted Divine plan? The Gospel of Luke, we are reminded by Friar Jude, is very attentive to the special grace which is associated with the ‘anawim’ of Yahweh. The Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel translate the “poor in spirit” as ought not to be confined to economical need and distress, but may comprehend the whole of the painful condition of the poor: their low estate, their social dependence, their defenceless exposure to injustice from the rich and the mighty. The Gospel from Luke today has Jesus advise a Pharisee that the anawim are those you need to bring into your life and you will experience the action of God in love of those who live so close to His grace.

Conversion follows encounter

Our role or place in life is a question which often provokes moments of contemplation and query. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary shine light on the role of God in establishing our place. Friar Jude Winkler sees the great power of God expressed in the text from the Book of Wisdom as mercy. He argues that mercy is not, as we might assume on first thought, a virtue of weakness, but rather a virtue which requires great fortitude, patience and faith in the other. Father Larry Gillick SJ picks up the many aspects of Creation which are gifted to us by God. The one aspect of our living that is not created by God is our sin and God accepts it as our gift to Him. In the Gospel from Luke, the rich tax collector Zacchaeus risks public humiliation and perhaps retribution for his work as a tax collector for the Roman occupiers, when he accepts Jesus assertive call to be the one who must stay at Zacchaeus house today and comes down from the leaves of the sycamore tree where he had been hiding in an attempt to see more of this person Jesus. The risk taken by Zacchaeus was perhaps motivated by the contemplation of his role in life. The Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians today advises that not every calamity, war or peculiar happening is a sign of the end of the world, but the encounter of difficulty may be that call to us which we witness in the response of Zacchaeus. The change in life and the restoration of peace over his role in life is the fruit of conversion offered to Zacchaeus. The pattern we see is summarized by Father Larry as conversion follows encounter. Jesus meets us and the relationship makes the difference in our actions.

Seed for Life

²²The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for Canada today are used in the liturgy of the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. The words of Paul to the Corinthians “as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (1 Cor 15.20-23) are creed for Christians. The theme of relating death and life is the teaching of Jesus to Greek visitors to Jerusalem in the passage from the Gospel of John. Don Schwager introduces this Gospel as one written in Ephesus to a community of mostly Greek and Roman gentiles to whom John was presenting an answer to the question “Who is Jesus Christ?”. The text from Chapter 12 is set as Jesus uses a parable of seeds dying in the earth to bring life as grain in the future. The death we associate with Adam is our decisions to turn away from the direction which God has for us. Our encounter with Jesus is the gift from God to call us to the self death which restores our choice of the Will of God for our life direction. The dual nature of our self death is noted by Schwager as through one-time events like baptism and in daily repeating opportunities to choose Life and Love in our mercy, forgiveness, patience and compassion which focus our action to be in accord with the Will of God. The continual need to live in daily death to self is the habit which allows us to proclaim with Job the declaration cited at many funerals “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19.25-26).

Direction consolation

Our reaction to the explanation given in the Book of Revelation to the query about the great multitude who is gathered around the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal...” (Revelation 7.13) brings us consolation that our difficulties in living to be transformed and to transform the world will draw us to this very place. The liturgy for the Solemnity of All Saints is celebrated today with this text from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the apocalyptic language of the Book of Revelation concerning the great tribulation may be interpreted in at least two ways. Christian writers, including Luke, may have been referring to the expected final battle between good and evil prior to the return of Jesus at the end of time or as AlexRoedlach, of Creighton University, explains on the struggle of good and evil that we engage as a Christian community following our mission from God to transform the world through living the Word.  This is work of a community which is described in the first letter of John today as the children of God on a path to an unimaginable destiny. Travel on the road to that destiny is marked, energized and consoled by the Word in the Beatitudes presented today from the Gospel of Matthew. Friar Jude summarizes and characterizes these directions given by Jesus into life attributes of humility, transformation from brokenness, surrender, compassion and the single mindedness of attention to the Presence of God all around us in our brother and sisters and in the Holy Multitude who have already been washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb.