The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine our actions that may have attempted to reduce the glory of God that is visible in the lives of all His Creatures.
Glory on our journey
The reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians reminds us that people reflect God as treasure in Clay Jars.
* [3:18] Another application of the veil image. All of us…with unveiled face: Christians (Israelites from whom the veil has been removed) are like Moses, standing in God’s presence, beholding and reflecting his glory. Gazing: the verb may also be translated “contemplating as in a mirror”; 2 Cor 4:6 would suggest that the mirror is Christ himself. Are being transformed: elsewhere Paul speaks of transformation, conformity to Jesus, God’s image, as a reality of the end time, and even 2 Cor 3:12 speaks of the glory as an object of hope. But the life-giving Spirit, the distinctive gift of the new covenant, is already present in the community (cf. 2 Cor 1:22, the “first installment”), and the process of transformation has already begun. Into the same image: into the image of God, which is Christ (2 Cor 4:4).1
Psalm 85 is a prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favour.
* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9).2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus' attention in the Sermon on the Mount is concerning anger.
* [5:22] Anger is the motive behind murder, as the insulting epithets are steps that may lead to it. They, as well as the deed, are all forbidden. Raqa: an Aramaic word rēqā’ or rēqâ probably meaning “imbecile,” “blockhead,” a term of abuse. The ascending order of punishment, judgment (by a local council?), trial before the Sanhedrin, condemnation to Gehenna, points to a higher degree of seriousness in each of the offenses. Sanhedrin: the highest judicial body of Judaism. Gehenna: in Hebrew gê-hinnōm, “Valley of Hinnom,” or gê ben-hinnōm, “Valley of the son of Hinnom,” southwest of Jerusalem, the center of an idolatrous cult during the monarchy in which children were offered in sacrifice (see 2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 7:31). In Jos 18:16 (Septuagint, Codex Vaticanus) the Hebrew is transliterated into Greek as gaienna, which appears in the New Testament as geenna. The concept of punishment of sinners by fire either after death or after the final judgment is found in Jewish apocalyptic literature (e.g., Enoch 90:26) but the name geenna is first given to the place of punishment in the New Testament.3
Eileen Burke-Sullivan (2017) admits that, for a good part of her life, the concept of glory did not include the humility of genuine holiness. In fact, however, the root of the word “glory” as we understand it in English is the root for holiness. Authentic “glory” reflects the holiness of God’s self.
In these weeks after Pentecost it is worth spending our time asking Jesus how we share in His mission. What enables us to be more radiant in His glory? If I ask in prayer to see the glory of serving the Mission of Christ, I will begin to attract others to the Good News because of the radiance of love shining forth from my features. It is no wonder Pope Francis insists that we must live in joy and hope in this life – that is the glory that God gives us to bring others to love and forgiveness. When we know our own glory is unimportant then we give room in our bodies for God’s glory to be revealed!4
Don Schwager quotes “Taming the Tongue,” by Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD).
"What are we to do? Whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. But no human being can tame the tongue. Will everyone therefore go to the hell of fire? By no means. Lord, you have become our refuge from generation to generation (Psalm 90:1). Your wrath is just. You send no one to hell unjustly. Where shall I go from your spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence (Psalm 139:7), unless to you? Thus let us understand, my dearly beloved, that if no human being can tame the tongue, we must take refuge in God, who will tame it. Does your own human nature prevent you from taming your tongue? No human being can tame the tongue (James 3:8). Consider this analogy from the animals that we tame. A horse does not tame itself; a camel does not tame itself; an elephant does not tame itself; a snake does not tame itself; a lion does not tame itself. So too a man does not tame himself. In order to tame a horse, an ox, a camel, an elephant, a lion and a snake, a human being is required. Therefore God should be required in order for a human being to be tamed. (excerpt from Sermon 55:2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Corinthians 3:15–4:1, 3-6 comments that we know the truths about Christ’s work of salvation, but in order to “see” him, we have to turn to him. There are many ways we can do this. In the pages of Scripture, we see Jesus healing and reaching out to the lost. As we look at a crucifix, we can see the sacrifice of love he made for us. We can see him in the faces of the people around us, especially the poor. In the Tabernacle at church, we can see his great humility in being present in the Eucharistic Bread.
Think about what happens each time you “see” Jesus in one of these ways. When his grace and mercy touch you, you are changed. You know that you are loved eternally, no matter what you have done. You experience the peace that comes from knowing you are forgiven. Your anxieties lessen as you begin to see things from an eternal perspective. And you also want to be better—to be more like him. So turn to Jesus today. Let him remove the veil and open your eyes to the face of God. “Lord, I want to see you today!”6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the role of the veil for Moses, at Jesus death, and to our understanding of God. Jesus' teaching extending the Law was not in the scrupulous manner of the Pharisees, but in a spiritual manner. Friar Jude connects making peace in the Gospel to our understanding of purgatory.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that regular contemplative practice allows us to maintain some measure of nondualism whenever we are asked to move beyond our comfortable binaries. It seems that everything we put in a neat and tidy package must eventually be allowed to come undone, including our understanding of our bodies, gender, and attraction. This awareness, too, is a part of God’s incarnation in Christ! In this passage, transgender and Christian author Austen Hartke dialogues with Lynn Young, who identifies as non-binary, Native American, and Christian, about the significance of this passage from Galatians 3:26–28.
So what was Paul thinking about these different pieces of our identity when he penned Galatians 3:28? And what does this verse mean for our understanding of gender? Was Paul saying that gender was no longer important—that through our baptism in Christ our gender identities were all erased or irrelevant? I very much doubt it. What Paul said about gender in this verse was revolutionary in that it confirmed that there was no patriarchy or misogyny in God’s new kingdom; it broke down the barriers between genders and between people of different genders and God. . . .7
Our transformation in the Spirit removes the veil that obscured the light and life of God in all Creation.
References
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