The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to seek the life presented to us by the Spirit that is governed by love for all those we encounter on our journey.
The reading from the Prophet Zechariah declares that many Peoples are drawn to Jerusalem.
* [8:3] Faithful city: a unique biblical epithet for Jerusalem, signaling the importance of the holy city and its leaders for establishing justice in society (see also vv. 8, 16, 19). Holy mountain: Jerusalem and its Temple, the sacred center of the holy land (2:16) and of the whole world. (Zechariah, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)
Psalm 87 expresses the Joy of Living in Zion.
* [Psalm 87] A song of Zion, like Ps 46; 48; 76; 132.
* [87:2] The gates: the city itself, a common Hebrew idiom.
* [87:5–6] The bond between the exile and the holy city was so strong as to override the exile’s citizenship of lesser cities. (Psalms, PSALM 87, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, a Samaritan Village refuses to receive Jesus.
* [9:51–55] Just as the Galilean ministry began with a rejection of Jesus in his hometown, so too the travel narrative begins with the rejection of him by Samaritans. In this episode Jesus disassociates himself from the attitude expressed by his disciples that those who reject him are to be punished severely. The story alludes to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12 where the prophet Elijah takes the course of action Jesus rejects, and Jesus thereby rejects the identification of himself with Elijah. (Luke, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly comments on people who seem to think that they have received the Lord’s favor to do things they think God wants them to do that are often just what they want to do or think things they want to think. While that might not seem particularly problematic, their process of prayerful discernment often does not consider the negative effects of their decisions on others. When met with opposition, rather than work through a process of negotiation and mutual understanding, they hold their positions arguing that God is on their side. Further, they condemn those who disagree with them as unbelievers. They justify all this with religious thinking that seems to me to reflect more judgement thinking often found in the Old Testament than the good news of the Gospel found in the New Testament.
Jesus was not going to make this a power play about who he was and what they needed to do. He rebuked the disciples and moved on because he addressed problems like this at a much higher level. There are a lot of complex political issues that surround the context of this story found in Luke, and there are plenty that surround our lives today as well. But I don’t think they are about which nation God favors or which people God loves. And they certainly don’t justify calling down fire power to consume our enemies, though we so often do that. Fortunately for us, Jesus moves us to a new place in history with his story. He addresses these problems at a much higher level. His story is about God’s love for all people, not just those who think like us. It seems to me that when we think and act from the perspective of God’s love for us and all people through Jesus, God is with us. (Dilly, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus gave power and authority to his apostles,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"It would be false to affirm that our Savior did not know what was about to happen, because he knows all things. He knew, of course, that the Samaritans would not receive his messengers. There can be no doubt of this. Why then did he command them to go before him? It was his custom to benefit diligently the holy apostles in every possible way, and because of this, it was his practice sometimes to test them... What was the purpose of this occurrence? He was going up to Jerusalem, as the time of his passion was already drawing near. He was about to endure the scorn of the Jews. He was about to be destroyed by the scribes and Pharisees and to suffer those things that they inflicted upon him when they went to accomplish all of violence and wicked boldness. He did not want them to be offended when they saw him suffering. He also wanted them to be patient and not to complain greatly, although people would treat them rudely. He, so to speak, made the Samaritans' hatred a preparatory exercise in the matter. They had not received the messengers... For their benefit, he rebuked the disciples and gently restrained the sharpness of their wrath, not permitting them to grumble violently against those who sinned. He rather persuaded them to be patient and to cherish a mind that is unmovable by anything like this."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 56) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 9:51-56 comments that some of the deepest wounds we carry come from times of rejection, when someone chose not to love us. Because of these encounters, we may feel justified in responding like James and John. While it’s understandable that we might feel pain in these moments—and even afterward—by God’s grace, we don’t have to call down “fire from heaven” (Luke 9:54). Instead of lashing out, we can look to Jesus, who blesses those who curse him.
Like James and John, we struggle to understand a God who allows us—or anyone else—to reject him. We can’t fully grasp God’s enduring love. It’s a love that tenaciously seeks us out and then humbly and tenderly waits for us to respond. Today, let’s thank Jesus for enduring so much in order to save us. Let’s praise him for his mercy. And let’s show that mercy to the people around us.
“Lord, thank you for loving me so patiently!” (Meditation on Luke 9:51-56, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler explains the blessings that God will provide in Jerusalem for the exiles returning from Babylon after 539 BCE. Nova Scotia coal miner, Josh, is cited as an example of being a witness to his faith to the people in his environment. Friar Jude reminds us that the Samaritans, like many today have not received the gift of faith so we must reject the response of the Sons of Thunder in the Gospel.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that today we commemorate the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1226), the date he passed from death into eternal life.
Oct. 3rd: Transitus of St Francis (Evening Prayer)
7:00 pm at St Catherine of Siena Church Bayer’s Road Halifax
- Evening Prayer will be chanted by candle-light to commemorate the transition of St Francis from earthly to heavenly life.
Father Richard introduces us to the “wholemaking” life and death of Francis. Francis held many opposites together in himself, embodying what Fr. Richard calls a “unique wholeness”.
Francis had a unique wholeness. He was at once very traditional and entirely new in the ways of holiness, and he is still such a standing paradox. He stood barefoot on the earth and yet touched the heavens. He was grounded in the Church and yet instinctively moved toward the cosmos. He lived happily inside the visible and yet both suffered and rejoiced in what others thought was invisible. Again and again, he was totally at home in two worlds at the same time, and thus he made them into one world.
He, like all saints, delighted in both his Absolute Littleness and his Absolute Connection in the very same moment. Of course, they totally depend on one another. He and Clare died into the life that they loved instead of living in fear of any death that could end their life. They were both so very eager to love, and they somehow knew that dying to the old and unneeded was an essential part of living this love at any depth.
When we experience living in the present moment, away from the events of the past and our apprehension of the future, we are reachable by the Spirit to celebrate life and love.
References
Dilly, B. (2023, October 3). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/100323.html
Luke, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?51
Meditation on Luke 9:51-56. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/10/03/798139/
Psalms, PSALM 87. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/87?1
Rohr, R. (2023, October 3). A Wholemaking Saint — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-wholemaking-saint/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=oct3
Zechariah, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/zechariah/8?20
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