The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the ways in which the Spirit is calling us to experience full life in our relationships with family.
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah describes his prophecies in the Temple.
* [26:1] The beginning of the reign: a technical expression for the time between a king’s accession to the throne and the beginning of his first official (calendar) year as king. Jehoiakim’s first regnal year was 608 B.C. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 26, n.d.)
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). (Psalms, PSALM 69, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus proclaims His nature to Martha, who declares her faith in Christ as Lord.
* [11:1–44] The raising of Lazarus, the longest continuous narrative in John outside of the passion account, is the climax of the signs. It leads directly to the decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus. The theme of life predominates. Lazarus is a token of the real life that Jesus dead and raised will give to all who believe in him. Johannine irony is found in the fact that Jesus’ gift of life leads to his own death. The story is not found in the synoptics, but cf. Mk 5:21 and parallels; Lk 7:11–17. There are also parallels between this story and Luke’s parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31). In both a man named Lazarus dies; in Luke, there is a request that he return to convince his contemporaries of the need for faith and repentance, while in John, Lazarus does return and some believe but others do not. (John, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
Jay Carney comments that while her contemplative sister Mary “stays at home,” it is the active Martha who seeks out Jesus. It is Martha who confronts Jesus in a biblical spirit of lamentation, decrying his past absence yet also calling on God to act through him.
It is Martha who confesses the hope of resurrection, and then goes on to proclaim one of the highest Christological statements in all of the gospels: “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” If the Church is built on the faith of Peter, it is also surely built on the faith of Martha, as well as the contemplative silence of Mary, and the new life given to Lazarus. (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The voice of life and joy that awakens the dead,” by Athanasius of Alexandria (295-373 AD).
"I am the voice of life that wakens the dead. I am the good odor that takes away the foul odor. I am the voice of joy that takes away sorrow and grief.... I am the comfort of those who are in grief. Those who belong to me are given joy by me. I am the joy of the whole world. I gladden all my friends and rejoice with them. I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). (excerpt from HOMILY ON THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 11:19-27 comments that family life is not always picture-perfect, but if the whole family tries to come together in faith, despite their differences, each member can grow in love, both for the Lord and for each other. We know that sometimes it is hard to get all family members on the same wavelength, but God can take even the most halting effort and bless it.
Let’s take today’s feast as an opportunity to pray for all families, including our own. May we all take strides to grow closer to each other. May we all take strides to grow closer to the Lord together. And most important, may we all welcome Jesus into our homes and invite him to live with us, just as Martha, Mary, and Lazarus did.
“Lord, be with every family, and help them embrace their calling!” (Meditation on John 11:19-27, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler locates the prophecy of Jeremiah in the Temple to the time shortly after the rediscovery of the Book of Deuteronomy as the prophet identifies two paths, one of which leads to destruction like that of the shrine at Shiloh. The false security of worship hides the need to be accountable for our sins. Friar Jude reminds us that the vitality of full life begins in our encounter with Jesus. In Luke, Jesus reminds Martha of the need for us to spend time with our guests.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that we must receive all words of God tenderly and subtly, so that we can speak them to others with tenderness and subtlety. He would even say that anything said with too much bravado, overassurance, or with any need to control or impress another, is never the voice of God within us. If any thought feels too harsh, shaming, or diminishing of ourselves or others, it is not likely the voice of God.
If we can trust and listen to our inner divine image, our whole-making instinct, or our True Self, we will act from our best, largest, kindest, most inclusive self. There is a deeper voice of God, which we must learn to hear and obey. It will sound like the voice of risk, of trust, of surrender, of soul, of common sense, of destiny, of love, of an intimate stranger, of your deepest self. It will always feel gratuitous, and it is this very freedom that scares us. God never leads by guilt or shame! God leads by loving the soul at ever-deeper levels, not by shaming at superficial levels. (Rohr, n.d.)
Divine guidance in our journey to greater fullness of life in our family is likely to move us to prayer, inclusion, and openness to attend to the needs of others.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072922.html
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 26. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/26?1
John, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/11?19
Meditation on John 11:19-27. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/07/29/451286/
Psalms, PSALM 69. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/69?5
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Listening to the Voice of God. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/listening-to-the-voice-of-god-2022-07-29/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jul29a
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