The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the Presence of God in our world and particularly with us in times of fear and uncertainty.
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| Present Providence |
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah declares the Lord is with the prophet like a dread warrior.
the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;1
Psalm 69 is a prayer for deliverance from persecution.
* [Psalm 69] A lament complaining of suffering in language both metaphorical (Ps 69:2–3, 15–16, the waters of chaos) and literal (Ps 69:4, 5, 9, 11–13, exhaustion, alienation from family and community, false accusation). In the second part the psalmist prays with special emphasis that the enemies be punished for all to see (Ps 69:23–29). Despite the pain, the psalmist does not lose hope that all be set right, and promises public praise (Ps 69:30–36). The Psalm, which depicts the suffering of the innocent just person vividly, is cited often by the New Testament especially in the passion accounts, e.g., Ps 69:5 in Jn 15:25; Ps 69:22 in Mk 15:23, 36 and parallels and in Jn 19:29. The Psalm prays not so much for personal vengeance as for public vindication of God’s justice. There was, at this time, no belief in an afterlife where such vindication could take place. Redress had to take place now, in the sight of all.2
The passage from the Letter to the Romans contrasts the experience of sin through Adam with the grace and Life lived through Christ.
* [5:12–21] Paul reflects on the sin of Adam (Gn 3:1–13) in the light of the redemptive mystery of Christ. Sin, as used in the singular by Paul, refers to the dreadful power that has gripped humanity, which is now in revolt against the Creator and engaged in the exaltation of its own desires and interests. But no one has a right to say, “Adam made me do it,” for all are culpable (Rom 5:12): Gentiles under the demands of the law written in their hearts (Rom 2:14–15), and Jews under the Mosaic covenant. Through the Old Testament law, the sinfulness of humanity that was operative from the beginning (Rom 5:13) found further stimulation, with the result that sins were generated in even greater abundance. According to Rom 5:15–21, God’s act in Christ is in total contrast to the disastrous effects of the virus of sin that invaded humanity through Adam’s crime.3
The Gospel of Matthew questions whom to fear and encourages courage under persecution.
* [10:26] The concealed and secret coming of the kingdom is to be proclaimed by them, and no fear must be allowed to deter them from that proclamation.4
Larry Gillick, S.J. notes the Covid pandemic has entered the world’s community from within nature itself. Maybe in time, myths will be created about how exactly it occurred. We live these days with its consequences, even deaths. The Law of Moses indicated how to live free from the virus of Sin, but Sin prevailed.
There will come a saving vaccine for us some day, but Jesus is not that at all. The virus has modified the behavior of many of us, but not all and so there are sad consequences of the passing-on of the disease. A vaccine will perhaps arrest the sickness and deaths. Jesus is not a cure-all like that. He is the Divine Continuation of God’s Infinite Creative Love. He is revealed as an Invitation rather than inoculation. He does not prevent our sins, but by His obedient life, death and resurrection, He heals the fractures of our own sense of being receptive to that Love.
We do pass on the virus by reckless living these days. We pass on sin in a similar manner. Jesus, the “New Adam” is constantly overflowing with that saving grace. He heals us so as to enter again and again that creating Love with which the Eucharist heals us and sends us. As His new apostles, we are sent to live, not as little vaccines, but as the real presence of the One Sent to Heal, Jesus Christ, our Savior. 5
Don Schwager quotes “Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows,” by John Chrysostom, 344-407 A.D.
"What do you see in creation of less value than a tiny sparrow? But even the sparrow will not fall without God's knowledge. Jesus does not mean that the sparrow falls by God’s direct will because it is unworthy but that nothing that occurs is hidden from God. If then God is not ignorant of anything that happens in creation, and if God loves us more truly than the best human father, and if God loves us so as to have numbered our very hairs, then we need not be afraid. Jesus said this not to indicate that God literally has a number placed on the very hairs of our head but rather to show that God has perfect knowledge of everything about us and providentially cares for everything about us. Therefore, if God both knows all things that happen to us and is able to save us and willing to do so, then whatever we may be suffering, we need not think that God has forsaken us in our suffering. For it is not God's will to keep us wholly separated from that which elicits dread but rather to persuade us not to make an idol out of whatever we dread. It is this, more than anything else, that constitutes deliverance from dread. 'Therefore, don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.' Don’t you see that God views your fear with more concern than the lives of many sparrows? He already knows the secrets of your heart. Hence Jesus adds, 'Do not fear.' For even if that which you dread prevails, it prevails only over your body; this is the limited part of yourself, which nature will surely take in due time and bring to an end." (excerpt from The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 34, 2-3) 6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Jeremiah 20:10-13 comments that it is comforting to know that even a great prophet like Jeremiah had bad days. It gives us some perspective on our own lives. Who among us hasn’t wished vengeance on someone who has hurt us? We know we shouldn’t, we know it’s wrong, but sometimes we find it very hard to resist the pull toward resentment and revenge.
But remember this: you are not alone! You are part of a Church filled with saints, both famous and obscure, who show that change is possible. You also have friends you can turn to for support when you need it. And most important—and most reassuring—you have the Holy Spirit, who is always ready to remind you of Jesus’ love and to give you his grace and encouragement.
Jeremiah had far more good days than bad days because he never gave up. Neither should we.
“Lord, teach me how to love everyone, even the people who are making my life difficult.”7
Friar Jude Winkler provides some background to the fear of Jeremiah that he was in grave danger. In Romans, Paul speaks of Jesus bringing us back from spiritual and physical death. Friar Jude reminds us that transparency in our lives and trust in Providence brings boldness to our efforts.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments if cosmology is the study of the origin, processes, and shape of the universe, then it also involves the study of God, the universe’s Creator. He finds it utterly enticing, but he also knows how threatening it has been to Christian thought as a whole.
If we cannot put these two seeming opposites of the divine and human together in Jesus Christ, we usually cannot put these two together in ourselves, or in the rest of the physical universe. A merely personal God becomes clannish and sentimental, and a merely universal God never leaves the realm of abstract theory and philosophical principles. But when we learn to put them together, Jesus and Christ give us a God who is both personal and universal. Jesus is a map for the time-bound and personal level of life, and Christ is the blueprint for all time and space and life itself.
When cosmology became largely a secular science, a large number of Christians felt free to reject evolution and history. Today, however, we are living in a wonderful time of convergence. We have a chance to bring them together again. As author Beatrice Bruteau (1930–2014) wrote: “We need a new theology of the cosmos, one that is grounded in the best science of our day . . . so that all the world turns sacred again . . .” [1] I hope this week’s meditations offer you a vision of a cosmology that is scientifically accurate and still entirely suffused with the presence of God.8
We meditate fearlessly about the Presence of God in the universe and our relationship to God within our true self.
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