The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the times and seasons of our lives and recall the moments of grace in which we experienced the Loving Presence that took us beyond the bounds of time and space.
Journey in time
The reading from Ecclesiastes declares everything has its time.
* [3:1–8] The fourteen pairs of opposites describe various human activities. The poem affirms that God has determined the appropriate moment or “time” for each. Human beings cannot know that moment; further, the wider course of events and purposes fixed by God are beyond them as well. * [3:11] The timeless: others translate “eternity,” “the world,” or “darkness.” The author credits God with keeping human beings ignorant about God’s “work”—present and future.1
A look back in time. (The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) - 1965)
Psalm 144 is a prayer for national deliverance and security.
* [Psalm 144] The Psalm may reflect a ceremony in which the king, as leader of the army, asked God’s help (Ps 144:1–8). In Ps 144:9 the poem shifts abruptly from pleading to thanksgiving, and (except for Ps 144:11) shifts again to prayer for the people. The first section (Ps 144:1–2) is a prayer of thanks for victory; the second (Ps 144:3–7a), a humble acknowledgment of human nothingness and a supplication that God show forth saving power;2
In the Gospel of Luke, we hear Peter’s declaration about Jesus and how Jesus foretells His death and Resurrection.
* [9:18–22] This incident is based on Mk 8:27–33, but Luke has eliminated Peter’s refusal to accept Jesus as suffering Son of Man (Mk 8:32) and the rebuke of Peter by Jesus (Mk 8:33). Elsewhere in the gospel, Luke softens the harsh portrait of Peter and the other apostles found in his Marcan source (cf. Lk 22:39–46, which similarly lacks a rebuke of Peter that occurs in the source, Mk 14:37–38).3
Vivian Amu comments that as human beings, we are acutely aware of time…...we are constantly checking our phones, watches, or calendars. We are constantly asking, “Are we there yet? .... Is it time yet? ......When will it be my turn?” We need things done at specific times, we want moments we love to last forever, and difficult times to pass quickly.
What would it be like to stop watching our clocks, to stop waiting, and to stop desperately needing to get ahead of ourselves? What would it be like to just rest in the knowledge that because everything has its time, like the time chosen for Christ to suffer greatly for our sake, there will be a time for everything to be brought to light----a time when we will come to a realization that all that is meant to happen in our lives has its time and place. When we rest in that knowledge, we become free from our worry, and then we have time to relish and take pleasure in the timelessness of God’s love for us.4
Don Schwager comments that Jesus knew that they did not yet fully understand his mission and how he would accomplish it. Don quotes Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, who explains the reason for this silence.
There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching about him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and the death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne him that the Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. He utterly abolished death and wiped out destruction. He robbed hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven. These things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable conclusion. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 comments isn’t it remarkable how appropriate this reading from Ecclesiastes is for this particular moment in history? It describes the common ups and downs of life, but it takes on a special resonance this past year. This has been a time of fear and suffering for those sickened by the virus, a time of mourning when loved ones have died, and a time of gratitude for those who remain healthy.
Today, acknowledge what you have been through these last few months—the ups and downs, the moments of joy and the moments of sorrow. Allow Christ to enter into each of these areas. He won’t judge you for feeling discouraged or frightened or alone. He understands the discomfort and distress of having your life disrupted in so many ways. Let him accompany you day by day through this “appointed time” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He longs to heal you and unite himself to you. Know that even when embracing is difficult, you can always rest in his embrace. “Lord, thank you for being my stronghold during life’s ups and downs.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on our desire for certainty amid the changing events of our time. Our certainty is in the Love of God. Friar Jude reminds us of Jesus as the “Son of Man” resonating with the Book of Daniel and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah rather than the conquering hero.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that it is only today that these different religious traditions are beginning to mix freely all over the world and are seeking to relate to one another, not in terms of rivalry and conflict, but in terms of dialogue and mutual respect. One of the greatest needs of humanity today is to transcend the cultural limitations of the great religions and to find a wisdom, a philosophy, which can reconcile their differences and reveal the unity which underlies all their diversities. This has been called the “perennial philosophy,” the eternal wisdom which has been revealed in a different way in each religion. . . .
The Second Vatican Council said that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in [other] religions.” [3] There is truth and holiness in all genuine religion. . . . It has been our experience in the ashram that the more we open ourselves to the other religions, to Hinduism in particular, the deeper our Christian faith grows. Our aim is the deepening of our own faith, which then becomes more open to others. . . . If you go deeply into any one tradition, you converge on a center, and there you see how we all come forth from a common root. And you find how we meet people on the deeper level of their faith, in the profound unity behind all our differences. . . . The grace of Christ is present in some way to every human being from the beginning to the end. [4]7
Fr Richard concludes that Bede Griffiths draws his theological insights from the teachings of the Catholic Church to which he remained committed and the Christian Scriptures, which he never stopped reading and interpreting as the word of God, yet now as a part of the perennial tradition. He is an example of how interspirituality can strengthen our Christian faith by deepening our capacity to love and respect the other. Reflecting on our journey through the times and seasons of our lives shows how God’s grace has interrupted our schedule and opened us to contemplate relationships beyond time and space.
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