The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the effect of our passion and example as followers of Christ on the environment in which we journey.
The reading, chosen by the CCCB, from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah describes the call of Jeremiah.
* [1:5] Jeremiah was destined to become a prophet before his birth; cf. Is 49:1, 5; Lk 1:15; Gal 1:15–16. I knew you: I loved you and chose you. I dedicated you: I set you apart to be a prophet. The nations: the neighbors of Judah, along with Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians proclaims Christ Crucified.
* [2:3] The weakness of the crucified Jesus is reflected in Paul’s own bearing (cf. 2 Cor 10–13). Fear and much trembling: reverential fear based on a sense of God’s transcendence permeates Paul’s existence and preaching. Compare his advice to the Philippians to work out their salvation with “fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), because God is at work in them just as his exalting power was paradoxically at work in the emptying, humiliation, and obedience of Jesus to death on the cross (Phil 2:6–11). (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
Psalm 119 praises the Glories of God’s Law.
* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119, n.d.)
The Gospel of Mark describes the death of John the Baptist.
* [6:17–29] Similarities are to be noted between Mark’s account of the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist in this pericope, and that of the passion of Jesus (Mk 15:1–47). Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death (Mk 6:26–27; 15:9–10, 14–15). The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them respectful burial (Mk 6:29; 15:45–46). (Mark, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Maureen McCann Waldron reflects an encounter with Mother Teresa receiving the Eucharist from Father John Kavanaugh, S.J. that underlines that humility seems to be a key to today’s readings.
I can guess that each one of us has found ourselves in uncomfortable situations like Herod’s. We have thoughtlessly promised or bragged of something. We might have exaggerated our own importance in a situation and now find ourselves trapped into a conflict or confrontation we wanted to avoid.
Today we can ask God for the humility to recognize our weakness and human nature. We can remember that we have each been given many gifts, but that each gift is not ours, but from God.
And with that humility, we can ask for the grace to see the real presence of Jesus in our lives, in the Eucharist, and in each person we meet today. (McCann, 2022)
Don Schwager quotes “The Weakness of the Tyrant and the Power of the Beheaded,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help. As for John, he immediately inspired fear in Herod after his murder - for fear was disturbing Herod's conscience to such an extent that he believed John had been raised from the dead and was performing miracles (Mark 6:14-16)! In our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world, John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others. For each person repeatedly reading this Gospel says: 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother' (Mark 6:18). And even apart from reading the Gospel, in assemblies and meetings at home or in the market, in every place... even to the very ends of the earth, you will hear this voice and see that righteous man even now still crying out, resounding loudly, reproving the evil of the tyrant. He will never be silenced nor the reproof at all weakened by the passing of time." (excerpt from ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 22.8-9) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:17-29 comments that as happens with anyone with passion, people were drawn to John. Even Herod couldn’t stay away from him. It’s quite revealing that even though John zealously condemned Herod’s actions, Herod kept coming to listen to him—even in the prison of his own palace! John’s passion for the truth, for loving and serving God, was like a magnet drawing the king. That’s what passion does. It attracts other people by its enthusiasm and love.
Jesus wants all his disciples to be passionate, to be bursting with his life. He knows that our own zealous pursuit of him can be a catalyst that draws people to him. So let Jesus set a fire in your heart today. Spend time with him; get to know him better. The more you experience his presence and grace, the more excited you will become about him. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done; Jesus is attractive enough to melt—and ignite—every human heart. Let him fill you with his love so that your love will overflow to all the people around you. His light shining through you is the best possible testimony!
“Lord, fill me with passion for you. May my life draw everyone I meet to you.” (Meditation on Mark 6:17-29, n.d.)
Episcopal priest and CAC emerita teacher Cynthia Bourgeault describes how Jesus’ parables are a part of a genre that aims to bring about inner change in the hearer.
We can see the razor edge of [Jesus’] brilliance as he takes the familiar world of mashal far beyond the safety zone of conventional morality into a world of radical reversal and paradox. He is transforming proverbs into parables—and a parable, incidentally, is not the same thing as an aphorism or a moral lesson. Its closest cousin is really the Buddhist koan, a deliberately subversive paradox aimed at turning our usual mind upside down. . . . Their job is not to confirm but to uproot. You can imagine the effect that had on his audience! Throughout the gospels we hear people saying again and again, “What is this he’s teaching? No one has ever said anything like this before. Where did he get this? Where did he come from?” [1] (Bourgeault, 2022)
Theologian Harvey Cox explores how parables invite the hearer to encounter God in an everyday and ever-changing reality.
But Jesus’ stories, though similar to Zen koans in some ways, were also different in important respects. While the Zen stories aim at changing one’s perception of the world, Jesus wanted people to see that the world itself was changing, and that therefore, they had better change the way they looked at it. He invited them, in effect, to become part of the change. Time after time he said, “They that have eyes to see, let them see, and they that have ears, let them hear.” He simply wanted people to pay attention to what was going on around them and to discern a reality that was just under their noses. To describe this change he used a term that his listeners would have found familiar, though they might have been startled by the way he used it. He called it the coming of the “reign of God.” What he meant was that something was happening, not just in the consciousness of the listener, but also in the world itself. Something new and unprecedented was happening, and they could be a part of it. [2] (Bourgeault, 2022)
We are led by the Spirit to witness the fullness of life in our humble passion about our relationship with Christ.
References
Bourgeault, C. (2022, August 29). Wisdom Teachings — Center for Action and Contemplation. Cac.org. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/wisdom-teachings-2022-08-29/
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/1
Mark, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?17
McCann, M. (2022, August 29). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082922.html
Meditation on Mark 6:17-29. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/29/477438/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/2?1
Psalms, PSALM 119. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug29a
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