Living in His name

The refrain to the psalm in the liturgy today which uses texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary declares the blessedness of the one who comes in the Name of the Lord. What are the characteristics of such a person that we can glean from the text in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah? The city of Jerusalem is presented to the people as the dwelling place of those who know the peace of a deep relationship with God. These people are not the lofty princes who depend on their skill in negotiation with other political leaders, but the poor and humble who have experience of trust in God. Marcia ShadleCusic of Creighton University expresses this understanding of how we may be mislead when we have “got it all figured out” through reliance on our own moral compass. Pope Francis' new Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium - "The Joy of the Gospel", identifies the need of the Church to reassert in missionary action solidarity with the poor with whom we will rediscover the faith which is deep trust in Providence. The Gospel from Matthew provides the necessary counter balance to a theme we might assume is presented of letting things come and go in our lives and going with the flow. The one, who comes in the Name of the Lord, has accepted the discipline of the disciple which this section of the Gospel of Matthew, according to Don Schwager, declares that there is only one way in which a person’s sincerity can be proved, and that is by one’s practice. We are creatures of habit. The foundation on which we need to build the structure which withstands the assault of our consumerist narcissistic culture is the action modelled by Jesus to give self in forgiveness, mercy, compassion, patience and love to others. This person can be celebrated as one coming in the Name of the Lord.