The Divisions which Continue

The Text from the Book of Jeremiah in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today tells of the ‘stiff necked people” who are portrayed as walking backyards in the journey toward greater unity with God. The failure of the people to listen, to hear obediently is lamented by the prophet. The psalmist recalls the time in the desert at Meribah and Massah (doubt and discontent) when the people of the Exodus tested Providence even in the glow of their deliverance from Egypt. We are the complicated people who, even though Luke has Jesus remind us that a kingdom divided cannot stand, hold to both directions at the same time. We are attracted toward intimacy with the Joy, Peace and Love yet we look back and walk back to the life that divides us from the destiny we seek. Who can understand this “stiff-necked” people? God.

Law Prophets and Relationship

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the Law as taught by Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy and fulfilled by Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew. The experience of teaching is often that learners appear satisfied with the surface of the subject. Those learning the Law often appear to make the rules and the regulations the matter about which they are expert. Moses points to the lesson of the living the Law and being the people about which it is true “‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him?” The lived law leads to intimacy with the Divine and/or intimacy with the Divine is evidenced by living the Law. The psalmist praises the unique gift of the statutes and ordinances of God to the Hebrew people. The life of disciplined living in the light of the Law is a witness to all nations. The religious authorities of Jesus time were mistaken when they accused Jesus of breaking the “Law”. Religiosity can cause the accumulation of human regulations in that extreme vanity and arrogance of setting rules for God. The fruit of living the Law is taught by example to those who observe the lawful behaviour of people on the journey to greater communion with God.

Cycles of Commitment

The prayer of Azariah in the text from the third chapter of Daniel from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today is a reminder of the cycle of attention and neglect with which the relationship with the Divine is lived. As the passage reveals, we seek to implore God to restore our intimacy in those times of desolation when we find “We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no holocaust, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favour with you” (Daniel 3:38). Azariah and the psalmist appeal to the nature of God who they have known for steadfast love, mercy, leader and teacher of the humble to become a part of their lives again. The Gospel of Matthew reaffirms the mercy and forgiveness of God through the responses of Jesus to Peter’s questions on the how much we need to forgive. The parable of the unforgiving servant indicates that the life of those who are not forgiving will be separate from the deep intimacy with the Divine. In his bestselling story of his personal relationship with God, the Shack, William Young presents the essential need to forgive as the means we must use to grow and move in our journey toward the experience of intimacy with the Divine. The prayer phrase “as we forgive those who trespass against us” is truth and mission.

Expectation Exactly in Error

The Story of the healing of the Syrian Naaman by the prophet Elisha from the second book of Kings in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today presents how the expectations we have for intimacy with the Divine may actually take us away from the relationship we seek. We always seem to know better. Our understanding is that things would work better if God behaved towards us as we specify. What grounds do we have for such pride and arrogance? When we dare approach the realm of the Divine should we not be in a deep state of spiritual receptiveness? The psalmist expresses the deep thirst of humanity to be in communion with God. The psalmist proclaims his openness to being lead by God to this intimacy. The difference between hearing the invitation and “listening to” the indwelling Spirit may be shown in comparing the first and second response of Naaman in the text. “Listening to” requires an obedience of our spirit to attend to and take in the communication with the expectation of a gift for our being. The blindness which results from pre judgement is described by Jesus in the episode from Luke’s Gospel in which the truth of His message to the religious authorities or the failure of their responsibility to “listen” has angered His audience to the point of seeking His death.

The Thirst for Divine Knowledge

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Third Sunday of Lent take us from the temptation in the desert where there is little life and distraction to the community well, the hub of life and the mission from the Father to quench the thirst of people for understanding of the Divine. Jesus is left alone by the well in Samaria, according to the Gospel of John. The “woman at the well” is a Samaritan who comes to the well alone avoiding the social contact with the other women of her community. The passage from John makes it clear that the disciples are scandalized by Jesus dialogue with this woman who is thirsting for communion with the love of God. She is aware of the Messiah from the Jewish tradition and this man who has violated the social norms by speaking to a woman and a Samaritan in private appears to be prophetic about the state of her relationships with men. The water He offers is to be life for her for eternity. She will not thirst for intimacy again. The realization of this promise will be experienced through faith, as Paul proclaims in the letter to the Romans. The Spirit of God will be indwelling and it will make the love of the Divine apparent to us. Paul reminds that the evidence of the love of the Divine for humanity lies in the accomplishing of the will of the Father that the Divine Son, the Messiah, would die, by crucifixion, not “for a good man” as Paul suggests many of us might do, but for all humanity, for eternity. The psalmist proclaims the desire that we would hear the “word of the Lord” and be different from our ancestors and or own recent past. We hear the Lord as the quenching of our thirst to be whole in and through the intimacy of our indwelling Spirit with the Divine.

Father and Sons

The texts today from Micah and Psalm 103 in the Roman Catholic Lectionary set the stage for the marvellous parable of steadfast love expressed in the Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother from the Gospel of Luke. The more ancient texts recognize the action of God against sin and the need of the Divine to chide and rebuke the actions of humanity in turning away from the intimate relationship offered by God. The overwhelming truth for these authors is the steadfast love of God which is always present for humanity. The words of Luke’s Gospel which are the climax of the parable are “But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him”. This is a small indication of the nature of the Divine desire for intimate communion with people. While we may remain “yet at a distance”, God is watching for our return.

The sign by surrender to scandal

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for today, about 9 months from Christmas, presents texts that highlight the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. The prophet Isaiah presents to Ahaz the promise of Immanuel, or “God is with us” which is the realization of the deep communion of the Divine with humanity. The Incarnation, the Word becomes flesh, is a scandalous idea to the understanding of the Divine as remote and detached from human reality. The letter to the Hebrews, addressed to people of a tradition very familiar with making sacrifices for sin, presents the overwhelming sacrifice to God of Jesus, Divine Son, as the offering willed by God to make reparations for all sin, for all time. The psalmist proclaims the joy of knowing and doing the will of God. Jesus in the Easter Events of the New Passover, the Crucifixion and Resurrection completes the will of the Father. The great movement of love from the Divine to be Present within humanity is exercised through the “Yes” of a young Hebrew girl to be the “virgin who gives birth” and incorporates the Divine. The promise described by Isaiah is realized the description in Luke’s Gospel of Mary’s faith and trust, beyond what her senses could provide reassurance, the she was to be the joy of doing the will of God, in the face of the real step beyond the norms of a society which was not kind to unwed mothers who were following the instructions of a message delivered by an angel from God. The Mystery of the means by which the Divine acts in the lives of people is always keeping us in awe and wonder.

Trust and Action

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary challenge our tendency to excuse our less charitable behaviour. Maybe it is inconvenient to stop and be present. Maybe we are embarrassed by the sense of concern that comes from our heart. It may be socially awkward to act against social norms. We will take care of it later. The prophet Jeremiah understands how our “heart may not be in it” right now. He exhorts us to know the fruit of life and growth which comes from trusting the intimate relationship with the Divine which prompts us to good doing and avoid the desert of always acting to avoid producing good fruit. The psalmist makes the comparison between the wicked who takes bad advice from his environment and the blessed who attends to the continuous communion with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit and lives fully like the tree by the stream. The Gospel of Luke recounts the consequence of inability of the rich man to get around to attending to poor Lazarus who begged unseen at his gate. Life is in this moment which requires our attention.

Paradox in Plots and Protection

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today may cause us to consider “What’s in it for me?” The Prophet Jeremiah finds that his sincere efforts to speak to and for the good of his people and encourage them to re-establish their Covenant relationship with God are met with plots against his life. The prophet pleads for the dissonance he detects in his situation to be heard by God. Our sense of persecution even while we are doing “good work” gives us empathy with the psalmist calling for deliverance from enemies and persecutors. The Gospel of Matthew recounts Jesus declaration to his disciples that His mission in and to Jerusalem will include arrest, persecution and crucifixion by the Gentiles. A more distasteful scenario for their friend and rabbi could not possibly be imagined. This revelation of a plan which seemed paradoxical is place next to the apparent scramble for place in the “Kingdom” presented by Jesus. The impact of the evangelist “looking back” at the journey to Jerusalem from the perspective of decades after Jesus resurrection may account somewhat from the placing of the teaching on servant leadership following so closely after Jesus prediction of His fate in Jerusalem. The need to continue to put one foot in front of the other, at times, in the face of apparent contradiction, cognitive dissonance and persecution is the call to faith and trust in the Providence which will ‘turn all things to good” as we slave to lead in the vineyard.

Knowing but not doing

The texts today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent address the situation of knowing the best path but not doing it. This is a very human behaviour. Isaiah reminds the people of his time of the action of God in the biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 19) Isaiah’s people know of the need for discipline, goodness, justice if they seek to be more intimate with the Divine. This knowledge is not enough for them or for us. The Prophet concludes his exhortation to change with the promise of God that the people can be forgiven and cleansed of their wrongdoing. The psalmist reminds us that God is not a creature like us. There is a danger to reduce the Divine to the personality of a good, intimate and like ourselves, flawed friend. This is a misunderstanding. The Divine relationship can put our hypocrisy in our face. The psalmist echoes “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips? In Matthew’s Gospel, the section today is called Jesus Denounces Scribes and Pharisees. We are the Scribes and Pharisees. We also hear Isaiah remind us that we also know that we can move from our hypocrisy by discipline and obedience towards more authenticity in our relationship with God. That is good!

Confusion Mercy and Forgiveness

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary explore behaviours of believers which have taken them away from the deepest intimacy with the Divine and have as the Book of Daniel expresses brought confusion to our faces. The confusion which sets in and draws us away from our direction to grow in holiness is the effect of our decisions to act for ourselves, our ego and our pride. The psalmist cannot make a claim of being worthy of forgiveness but does appeal to the nature of God and the “Name” which is love and compassion. The Gospel of Matthew relates Jesus instruction on imitating the Father in mercy and pointing to the need to be merciful as you seek mercy, to be forgiving as you seek forgiveness and to give was you seek to be blessed with gifts

Mountaintop Experience

Many people recall “Mountaintop Experiences” in their lives. The account of these experiences may have some similarity to the episode of the Transfiguration of Jesus from Matthew’s Gospel in the Roman Catholic lectionary today. We may explain these experiences as knowing when we were in top form. The sense of the liturgy today is the role of faith in the movement we discern towards holiness and deeper intimacy with the Divine. We are called to reflect on the mountaintop as marker and challenge for change. Larry Gillick SJ, of the Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Creighton University offers a reflection on the change in the understanding of Jesus experienced by the apostles, Peter and James and John. Their friend and teacher is suddenly presented as much more. The revelation is beyond their understanding. The Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) and the message declaring the beloved Son are to be integrated into their journey. How? When? The reality of “mountain top experience” is often difficult to grasp. As Paul exhorts Timothy in his second letter to surrender himself to the holy calling which is to accomplish the purpose of God through the power of the grace and intimate union with Word made flesh. Genesis begins the story of the faith journey of Abram, who responds with faith in a reality he cannot see to continue his obedience to the will of God. The blessings he has known in Haran are to be carried as memories as he lives the new challenge of responding to the call to move on to greater intimacy and trust. The psalmist proclaims “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love” The ‘fear’ around mountaintop experience has a few components. Certainly the fear connected with awe, amazement and the unknown is present but the ‘fear’ which builds hope, faith and the trust which enables action is the ‘fear’ that the new revelation, relationship or understanding will disappear. It is the ‘fear’ in which we work out our salvation.

(Gillick S.J., 2011)



Gillick S.J., L. (2011, March). Daily Reflection. Retrieved March 20, 2011, from Creighton University's Online Ministries : http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/032011.html

Faith and Steadfastness

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are chosen to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary. The texts establish the salvation history of the promise of God to Abraham and to David of continued steadfast Presence with the descendants of Abraham and of the establishment of a New Kingdom through the descendants of the great king David. The fulfillment of these promises requires faith. The descendants of Abraham were, to human eyes suddenly to end with Isaac as Abraham obeys the direction of God to sacrifice his only son. The glory of David’s Kingdom and his personal righteousness before God seemed to place his descendants in line to continue as God’s Monarchy. However, the human failing of David brought him to the shadow of decline and disgrace. The intimacy of his relationship with the Divine continued through triumph and tragedy, holiness and dishonour. In the letter of St. Paul to the Romans the case is made for the faith of hoping against hope and beyond what our senses reveal being the essence of our continued intimacy with the Divine. God is steadfast in continuing the Covenant. The role of the people is to be open as Mary and Joseph, in Matthew’s Gospel to accept the direction and will of God which is consistent with both the ancient promise to be Present and the call to live through faith in the relationship with the Divine.

The balance of good and evil

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary resonate with the world condition and the internal condition of the battle between good and evil. The role of evidence in the exercise of judgement is too often neglected. The assessments in the Book of Ezekiel about the wicked man changing to good and the righteous man choosing evil are serious. The righteous man descends to iniquity, abominable things and treachery after presenting evidence of his previous goodness. This rejection is deemed mortally serious. Some analysis uses the mass balance method of measuring good and evil. The good and righteous acts of life only need to “outweigh” the nasty and self serving episodes. The texts today support the importance of the intention and direction of our movement in the tensions between good and evil. The psalmist aware both of the depth with which his transgressions have damaged the intimacy with the Divine and the immeasurable mercy and forgiveness of the Lord expressed in the intense desire of the Divine to restore the relationship. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus cautions against a surface, keep the rules and laws, approach to right relationship with God and others. The intention and the direction of our engagement with God and people marks the path we are currently living in the tension between self worship and intimacy with the Divine through our indwelling Spirit.

Seeking Help

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are a reminder of the tension that people experience between doing and wanting things to go “my way” and seeking help, even Divine help when situations appear to be beyond our understanding and control. How does this tension impact our relationship with the Divine? The ancient evidence like that in the story of Ester is that God hears the cry of people in dire situations. The praise proclaimed by the psalmist today are reminiscent of the well known Psalm 23 in which intimate experience of the nature of God boosts the faith of people that the “right hand of God delivers me’. The less omnipotent image of our relationship with the Divine expressed in Matthew’s Gospel is of the parent who knows what the child needs. The parent and child dialogue about wants and needs. The choice of the child is preserved to provide evidence and support for the good decisions and choices. The consequence of the poor decisions also needs to be understood. The Divine relationship like the parental one is marked by close watching and constant vigilance. The Parent sees the turn to Home while the child is ‘still a long way off”.

Aware of the Signs

What is missing in the vision and hearing of the generation to which Jesus addresses himself as recorded today in the Gospel of Luke from the Roman Catholic Lectionary? The Book of Jonah tells of the consequence of the visit of Jonah to the city of Nineveh, in reluctant and delayed obedience to the message of God. The sign of Jonah prompts the desire of the population to return to the intimate understanding of the Divine in their lives. The great psalm of the return of the repentant to the Lord declares that by the teaching and example of the one who has had a change of heart many will return to the invitation to intimacy in the Divine. Luke appears to identify that many remain to be touched by the example of those in the past and now those in the present who are responding to the “Follow Me” of Jesus to the intimate communion of indwelling Spirit and the Divine Presence. The call is to wake up and use the practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to generate the inner disposition to be aware of the signs all around us.

Not empty phrases

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present a thread on the power of words. The prophet Isaiah declares that the Word of God goes forth with power to accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. The Creation Narrative in Genesis is the realization of the universe from the Word of the Creator. We seek out and try to hear the “Words” spoken to our ancestors that we might come to some understanding of the role of the Word we hear in our lives. The psalmist declares today that are aware of the Presence of the Lord when we hear and fear Him. This ‘fear” is related to the nature of the fear we experience in our intimate relationships. We ‘fear’ that the relationship may be damaged and the beloved may move away. This awareness is of the Presence. It is in communion with our indwelling Spirit and we hear the words which speak to our ‘name’ or essence. The Gospel of Matthew presents the “words” given us by the Word Made Flesh to begin, continue or conclude our focused dialogue with the Divine. In the times of trouble and ‘fear” sweeping people it is a strong collection of mighty phrases to reset our compass and reconnect our being with the Divine.

The Name reveals much

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present some of the moral direction which is written in the Book of Leviticus. The text reminds the reader that the laws described are relate to the being and the essence of the Divine. The refrain of I am the Lord repeats. The ancient wisdom contains proclamations like that of the psalmist that there is wisdom, righteousness, enlightenment and truth in the precepts of God. This is a consequence of the necessity of the Law and moral direction of the Divine to glorify action done in the name of God and conversely to indicate those decisions and actions which do not honour the Divine Essence or name. The Gospel of Matthew today is part of a parable of the “final judgement” the actions of humanity are reviewed and among those which honour the Name of the Lord are the acts of love, charity and inclusion which the Gospel indicates were acts for and to Jesus himself.

Tempted to be Selfish

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the 1st Sunday of Lent bring some reflection on temptation. The story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis tells us the awareness they have of their nakedness after they eat of the forbidden fruit of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. Larry Gillick, S.J. of the Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality sees the decision to not listen to God as the a consequence of our great lust for self knowledge coupled with our pride and God –envy to do it by ourselves. The knowledge we acquire through self satisfaction may be unclear and an unreliable measure of our being and we may feel uncertain and uncomfortable with the consequence of following the advice of internal serpents that we do not need the intimate communion with the Divine. In fact, when we lose sight of our Divine connection we understand nakedness and the discomfort of the visibility of our weaknesses. The appeal of the psalmist to be restored to the joy of the relationship with God concludes with the recognition that the spirit broken by disconnection from listening to God is the disposition which precedes the restoration of the communication between the indwelling Spirit and the Divine. Paul addresses the Romans with a magnificent comparison of the selfish act in the tradition of Adam which brought condemnation and the selfless act of Jesus which restored the intimacy with the Father through the free gift to all humanity. The episode in Matthew’s Gospel of the temptation of Jesus in the desert is an example of the grace and power in maintaining the connection with the Divine through which we acquire knowledge of our “real” being. That being finds its fulfillment in the relationship with the Divine and is alert to the false self that will seek development in directions away from listening to the indwelling Spirit. Gillick identifies pride, envy and lust for certainty through power as the temptations presented in the Gospel today.

A Path for Desperate Situations

The text in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today from the Prophet Isaiah outlines the intimate relationship between the Divine and the seeking person who is making selfless efforts to struggle towards living the will of God in desperate situations. Certainly we know that millions of humans daily struggle in the stress of existence. The people experiencing the effects of the earthquake in Japan are added to those contending with war in Africa and persecution in every corner of the globe. The psalmist proclaims the poverty and neediness that too often is the human experience. The psalm is a petition to God to gladden his heart. Between the lines we perceive that the prayer of supplication is and will be answered in the ongoing support of God for his life. Levy, in Luke’s Gospel, struggles as one cut off from his community by the work he does. Jesus sees beyond the image of tax collector and collaborator which the authorities see and invites Levy to join Him. The struggle to survive is greatly reduced for Levy and Jesus joins the liberation celebration to continue to draw the oppressed and marginalized to the intimate relationship of life.

The Fast Response

The people of Japan are experiencing a very large earthquake. The response of the electronic nerve system of the world wide communication networks has been extremely fast. Hundreds of millions of humans now share in the event. The indwelling Spirit moves toward communication with the Divine as we struggle to put the events and live pictures into some frame of understanding. In the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary we hear the call of the prophet Isaiah for a fast that is in solidarity with the impoverished and the oppressed. This morning millions on the planet are the subjects of our fast which brings us closer to them and God. The insignificance of the daily frustrations and aggravations becomes clear as we witness the literal sweeping away of material and temporal existence in the instant movement of the continental plates upon which our entire civilization floats. The Gospel of Matthew relates Jesus response to the lack of outward practice of the religious tradition of fasting among His disciples. The drawing closer to the Divine in the times of compassion, forgiveness, charity, affirmation and struggle with those overwhelmed by events is the fast response.

Choice Matters

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the second day of Lent are invitations to consider the role of choice in our spiritual journey. The paradox of the coexistence of choice and obedience is a tension which requires us to continue to explore this condition of existence. The exhortation of Moses to choose life in the Book of Deuteronomy can be erroneously reduced to the blind following of many laws and religious practices. The psalmist observes the life which is witnessed in the person who makes some choices about how to move through the events of the day. The method of meditation and avoiding situations which produce vexation for the spirit are ongoing choices which are made in communion with the indwelling Spirit or the law that is written on the heart of humanity. The fruit of these choices is peace and joy. The Gospel of Luke points to the choices which are made daily by the faithful to follow the Way of Jesus. The tension between the compassion, joy, peace and attractiveness experienced in this intimacy with the Divine and the acceptance and understanding that the choice is away from self aggrandizement and “my choices” to unity with His Will. This is not the path of the secular society and will likely present internal and external challenges to this “radical choice”.

Alms Prayer and Fasting

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are for Ash Wednesday the beginning of the “joyful season of Lent”. This description tries to present the understanding that the rediscovery of the invitation to live an intimate relationship with the Divine is the theme of the liturgical season of Lent. The first signs of spring may be visible for some and the rhythm of human existence prepares for new growth and relief from winter. The passage from Joel calls for the trumpeters to announce the desire of the Lord God to be restored to deeper intimacy with humanity. Psalm 51, the most elegant plea for forgiveness in the Bible, is the response of humanity to the invitation to intimacy with the Divine. The truth of the words of the psalmist resonate in our hearts. The joy of the anticipation of a renewed relationship is understood in this prayer. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to see that now is the time to accept the grace of the restoration of the intimate relationship with the Divine through the Life of Jesus and the prompting of the indwelling Spirit. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus clarifies the traditional repentance practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The public presentation of these practices is false piety. The personal relationship with the Divine puts these practices as means to act with humility and justice as we listen in prayer to the One who invites us to the relationship.

Trapped by Expectation and Assumption

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary cause consideration of how easy acceptance of the cultural norms or the “way we do it” can take us away from important growth in our journey and add to the inertia which keeps society enslaved to notions that impede development of community consciousness. Tobit is dealing with a disability which has necessitated that his wife, Anna, be the major bread winner in his family. Today, even in the booming economy of China, men have difficulty when their wives earn the income for the family. The International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. The modern phrase for the confusion of Tobit over the reward acquired by his wife might be cognitive dissonance. The mind strives to rectify any disagreement between the sensed reality and the concepts about that reality which are governing our thought process. The distress we encounter in difficulty can be personality changing. The gift of those close who, like Anna, can shake us back to reflection on our state is of immense value. The psalmist praises the virtues of the righteous who remain faithful, like Anna, to the direction of the Divine. They continue to pursue love and justice in spite of conditions which the popular opinion would provide encouragement to abandon. The Gospel of Mark relates another episode where Jesus avoids the trap of “dual thinking” and the pressure of the authorities to reduce His teaching to a yes or no response. The gift of intimate relationship with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit opens our responses to avoid entrapment in “easy choices”, obvious directions and prescribed roles for people.

The Good Action is not overlooked

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today take us to episodes where the good people suffer hardship as they do the right thing. Tobit is moved to be compassionate to the poor in his community of exiles under oppression from the Assyrians. The scorn of his neighbours is heaped upon him for his daring action to maintain the respect for the lives and death of his people. The psalmist proclaims the praise of the righteous who are compassionate, generous, merciful and just. The model set by such people is praised by the psalmist and peace and remembrance is the fruit of this life. The Gospel of Mark tells of the tenants of the vineyard who do not attend to the will of the owner. They decide on that their fortunes are better realized by an attempt to run the vineyard according to their plan which included the murder of the son of the vineyard owner. Mark records Jesus declaration that the “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ”. This expression and idea is found in several locations in the Bible. The religious authorities understand that Jesus is presenting the paradox that His life embodies and that gives hope to many who like Jesus and Tobit know the rejection that may accompany hearing and following the path of righteousness which is written in our being through the indwelling Spirit.

Listen Hear Obey

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today highlight the tension which exists between the Will of God and our will to accommodate our self aggrandizement. The advice of the Book of Deuteronomy is to attend to the path which has and will bring blessing to the community of believers. Moses exhorts the people of Israel to reflect on the path that remaining faithful to the direction of God and listening to the understanding of the Law which is written on their hearts. (Gillick, 2011)

The essence of the process of listening, hearing and obeying is proclaimed by the psalmist as trust in the guidance of the Divine to maintain the relationship regardless of circumstances including ridicule and rejection by other people. The obedience is to the will of God. Gillick reflects on the paradox of the difficulty of the finite temporal being to be aware of doing the will of the Divine. He places the emphasis on having and being faithful to trusting the direction revealed through the experience of hearing the Word through the person of Jesus. The assertion of Paul in Romans 3:28 - "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”. Is not a division between faith and works but reflects more of Gillick’s observation that our limitedness as finite creature will give us greater certainty about our trust through faith that we are maintaining the relationship with the Divine than our “personal works for redemption” and “credit” towards the afterlife.

The Gospel of Matthew offers us the promise that listening, hearing and acting on the Word experienced in the intimate relationship with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit and the person of Jesus will strengthen us against the surges of the waters of disconnection and destruction.



Gillick, S. ,. (2011, March 3). Daily Reflection. Retrieved March 6, 2011, from Creighton University Online Ministries : http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030611.html

Wisdom and Authority

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today bring consideration of the nature of Wisdom. The search of the author in the Book of Sirach is for that understanding of the universe which is the motivator for the spiritual journey of many. The psalmist proclaims delight in the Law of the Lord which perhaps is the Wisdom so valued by the first text. The completeness of the Law is a Mystery which Jesus does not unravel for His followers. The episode from the Gospel of Mark might be understood as Jesus avoiding the direct answer to the authorities as some kind of “divide and conquer” strategy. We so desire the authority in our lives to take sides. How frustrating it is to have to sort it out for ourselves and to journey along the path for some of the Wisdom so valued in the Hebrew text. Perhaps the journey is important as well as the destination.

pleasure and purpose in the people

The psalmist proclaims the pleasure that the Lord takes in His people in the refrain to the psalm from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The Wisdom of Sirach praises the righteous ancestors who continue to positively influence the people through their descendants in whom the tradition and practice of a covenant relationship with the Divine has been maintained. This relationship continues to bear fruit. The episode from the Gospel of Mark points out the two sides of the fruitful relationship with the Divine. We are called to greater intimacy, to bear fruit, even when it is not “in season”. We need to attend to the search and the journey and to continue to put right those things which are identified as obstacles to the deepest of relationships. The Gospel assures us that the power of the Divine is with us to help as we make those moves toward wholeness.

The work of words

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today emphasize the understanding of the impact of the Divine word on our existence. The Book of Sirach underlines the totality of the ‘Word’ of God. It is an image of Creation which exists as the consequence of the Word or Will of the Divine. A reference to the all things having two sides by Divine intent is perhaps a guideline for humanity to avoid the “dual thinking”, right or wrong, binary analysis of situations. The psalmist proclaims praise for the word of the Lord which has created the universe and the love righteousness and justice which are the fruit of the intimate relationship with the Spirit and Word of the Divine. The Gospel of Mark tells of Jesus encounter in Jericho of the blind beggar, Bartimae'us, the son of Timae'us with Jesus and His entourage. The text here is densely packed with meaning. The beggar is pushed away. Is his disease a mark of his sins and he is unclean? We are told of his parent. Has he inherited a status to be unworthy of approaching the “Teacher”? The blindness that is healed by Jesus, the Word made Flesh, is not that of the beggar but that of the onlookers and readers of the text today. The faith given and advocated is that to see beyond appearance and assumption. To see as the Word sees!

Knowing the Whole Story

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary contain a theme of assumptions about the nature of the Divine and the role of God in the lives of humanity. The Wisdom of Sirach presents the understanding that the Lord God protects the Hebrew people against the tribes which would bring harm. This understanding that the Divine honours promises to peoples may be extended in the texts from Isaiah to be understood as promises for all nations. The psalmist makes the appeal to God that the people will be attended to in their need because of the nature of God. God cannot be against the nature of forgiving, compassionate Shepherd. Commentators have identified this theme in the very familiar Psalm 23. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus announces for the third time that the scenario of His ‘triumph’ in Jerusalem would be humiliation by the Gentiles and death at the hands of the authorities. The final prediction of rising from the dead is almost unnoticed at the end of His announcement. The failure of people to take in the “whole story” is daily occurrence. We do hear what we want to hear. One aspect of obedience and being a follower of Christ is to ‘listen’. Did James and John know the whole story as they assented to Jesus fate in following the Will of the Father? Jesus does not take pains to ensure that they “fully understand” what they need to do. The value of “full understanding” is over stated for at least two reasons which are presented today. (1) “Full understanding” may be beyond our cognitive ability at the time and (2) the disciple needs to move forward in the relationship with the Divine through faith and trust. There is no other way for Creator and creature to collaborate intimately.

Faith Trust Obedience

The text from the Wisdom of Sirach today, in the Roman Catholic Lectionary, presents the strong advice not to appear before the Lord without an offering. What do we think of our obligation in the relationship with the Divine to which we are invited? The immediate and genuine responses of the creature to the Creator are awe and thanksgiving. The psalmist identifies thanksgiving as a movement of bringing an ‘acceptable offering’ to the Lord. The attitude of thanksgiving boosts joy and faith. The faith to which we are called is that of Abraham and Mary. It is faith beyond what our senses tell us. It is trust that puts self desire far behind the desire to follow the will of the Father. The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus response to Peter’s declaration that they have left everything to follow Jesus. Is this a statement of that trust of Abraham and Mary or is it the frustration of “What more do you expect?” Jesus responds with a promise and an observation of the present situation. The relationships building within the Kingdom of God are bringing life to the disciples now. The relationships are the links to the eternal and infinite.