The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to learn from our life experience and the guidance of the Spirit in the Word about the path we are invited to follow to fullness of life.
The reading from the Book of Wisdom, outlines the errors of the wicked.
* [2:1–20] In this speech the wicked deny survival after death and indeed invite death by their evil deeds.
* [2:12–5:23] From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52–62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts. The description of the “righteous one” in 2:12–20 seems to undergird the New Testament passion narrative. (Wisdom, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 34 offers praise for Deliverance from Trouble.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John the people ask “Is This the Christ?”
* [7:14–31] Jesus teaches in the temple; debate with the Jews.
* [7:26] The authorities: the members of the Sanhedrin (same term as Jn 3:1). (John, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)
Martha Slocombe opens the Bible and reads John 7. It wasn't just what Jesus did but also the words he spoke that transformed those in his sphere. Jesus used his words to claim his identity as sent by God and being from God, even in the midst of peril.
Over two-thousand years later, we still hear Jesus' words, we read them, we pray with them, we live by them, and we are transformed by them. I think back to the time in middle school when I was struggling and unsure where to turn, and I flipped open my Bible to read the scripture in front of me. Something in those words of God and the work of the Holy Spirit within me completely changed how I saw the situation. In such a profound way, the words of scripture – the Word of God – made me different from then on out: at peace in the midst of my difficulty. I was transformed in a way that I cannot fully explain, yet I come back to this place time and time again, where the fog dissipates and I can breathe in God's word.
When have the words of God filled you and changed you and made you see the world in a whole new way? (Slocombe, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “Christ our physician,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 comments that our deepest identity comes from God your Father. He created us, and by virtue of our Baptism, we have become his son or daughter. Like Jesus, that should be the focal point around which everything else in our life revolves.
Being deeply grounded in our identity as God’s son or daughter will change us. It will affect what we choose to do with our time and energy. It will move us to pray and celebrate the sacraments. It will influence the way we relate to people and the way in which we speak to them. It will make us more aware of the needs of the poor. And it will give our lives purpose and meaning—because like Jesus, we, too, have been sent to proclaim the good news of God’s merciful love.
What an honor it is to be called a son or daughter of God!
“Father, help me to live out my identity in you.” (Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the Book of Wisdom as the last book of the Hebrew Testament, written in Greek, that presents Jewish Wisdom as great as Greek Wisdom. The good person in silence, by his life, condemns evil and selfish people. Friar Jude reminds us of the agricultural history of the feast that Jesus attends in the Gospel of John and that He indicates to the people that He comes not from Galilee, but from God the Father.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us of our deepest Reality in God, which we cannot access except by facing our lived realities. James Finley says, “The greatest teacher of God’s presence in our life is our life.
” For some reason, it is easier to attend church services than quite simply to reverence the Real—the “practice of the presence of God,” as some saints have called it. Making this commitment doesn’t demand a lot of dogmatic wrangling or managerial support, just vigilance, desire, and willingness to begin again and again. Living and accepting our reality will not feel very spiritual. It will feel like we are on the edges rather than dealing with the essence. That’s why many run toward more esoteric and dramatic postures instead of bearing the mystery of God’s suffering and God’s joy inside themselves. But the edges of our lives—fully experienced, suffered, and enjoyed—lead us back to the center and the essence, which is Love. (Rohr, 2009)
We invoke the Wisdom of the Spirit to enlighten us about the errors that lead us away from applying the Word of God to the everyday events on our journey to full life.
References
John, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/7?1
Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/03/15/913306/
Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?17
Rohr, R. (2009, June 3). Facing Reality. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/facing-reality/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). His Hour Had Not yet Come. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=mar15
Slocombe, M. (2024, March 15). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/031524.html
Wisdom, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/2?1
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