The question of who looks out for us is given an answer by
the psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The Lord is
praised for the way He watches over widows and orphans and brings the wicked to
ruin. We often have opinions on how quickly God should work to take care of
things even when we are not certain of who can be considered widow, orphan or
wicked. The letter of Paul to the wealthy Church leader in Colossi from whom
the slave, Onesimus, had run to Paul who was writing this letter from prison,
is a plea for a widow-orphan person that he might be returned to Philemon as
more than a slave. Friar Jude Winkler does not understand this petition of Paul
as a condemnation of slavery. It is an appeal for change in attitude toward a
person who is accepted as a brother in Christ. Our social structures and our
traditions bias our thinking about justice and righteousness. The Gospel
passage from Luke today had been understood by some in Jesus time, according to
Friar Jude, to associate the Passion of Christ with the end of the world. The
caution of Jesus to His disciples is to be prepared. Our personal time line is
a mystery to us. The Kingdom of God is proclaimed by Luke to be among us.
Indeed our relationship with Jesus today is our participation as subject in the
eternal kingdom. Our preparation for the future is to trust that faith will
motivate us to be active in support of the widows and orphans of our time and
place while we make decisions like the one placed before Philemon to bring life
and celebrate our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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