Tradition to control our privilege

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today connect to contemplation about our need to control.

Saint Paul Miki and Companions: “My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me.” https://t.co/jDj5QI6p5R

— Elizabeth Scalia (@TheAnchoress) February 6, 2018

In the First Book of Kings Solomon recognizes the inability to contain and control the Presence of God.

Jesus confronts, in the Gospel from Mark, the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who seek to control the smallest details of the lives of people often in opposition to the Law of Moses.

* [7:5] Tradition of the elders: the body of detailed, unwritten, human laws regarded by the scribes and Pharisees to have the same binding force as that of the Mosaic law; cf. Gal 1:14.

The Enter the Bible website comments on the understanding of Solomon as he dedicates the Temple.

The theme of hearing in or from "heaven" (vv. 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 45, 49) lifts up the important idea that Solomon never asks God to hear from the "temple," supposedly God's "house." God cannot be contained in a "house." The divine transcendence is maintained without compromising the proximity needed in the prayer. God's "forgiveness" also repeats a number of times (vv. 30, 34, 36, 39, 50). But this forgiveness is always predicated upon one's prayer, confession, or repentance, stressing that the temple is a place of prayer at least as much as it is a place of sacrifice.

Mike Cherney offers a prayer in response to his feeling of a disconnect in his workplace between how the tradition is practiced and the basis of the tradition.

Heavenly Father,I pray today for the strength to see and act on what is important.Grant me forgiveness for the times when I have lost focus.
Assist me in distinguishing between how the tradition is practiced and the basis of the tradition.
Help me to avoid frustration with the rules and limitations that I encounter.
Do not allow the potential routine of life to interfere with how I respond to You.
The days may be long, and the tasks may be many.
When fatigue may blur my focus, I ask for Your guidance in how I live out my personal mission.

Don Schwager explores Jesus comments on the hypocrisy and ignorance of the Law of the Pharisees in the Gospel today.

Jesus accused them specifically of two things. First of hypocrisy. Like actors, who put on a show, they appear to obey God's word in their external practices while they inwardly harbor evil desires and intentions. Secondly, he accused them of abandoning God's word by substituting their own arguments and ingenious interpretations for what God requires. They listened to clever arguments rather than to God's word. Jesus refers them to the prophecy of Isaiah (29:31) where the prophet accuses the people of his day for honoring God with their lips while their hearts went astray because of their disobedience to God's laws.

Friar Jude Winkler compares the realization of Solomon of God humbling himself to the Christian experience of Jesus Presence in Sacraments. The Law of Love is our basis for separating human tradition from Divine Law.  

A Post by Franciscan Media takes us to the scene of the violent martyrdom of Saint Paul Miki and Companions in Nagasaki centuries before the extreme violence of atomic warfare killed so many there.

Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, immediately killing over 37,000 people. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers, and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits, and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans, and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his Church

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, in his reflection on Jesus Sermon on the Mount, asks: How can we be peacemakers?

In Jesus’ teaching and in his life, we see modeled nonviolent, peaceful action. He encourages us to likewise “turn the other cheek” and not return vengeance with vengeance. There is no way to peace other than through peacemaking itself. But many think we can achieve peace through violence. We say, “We will stop killing by killing.” Sadly, that is the way we think, and it is in opposition to all great religious teachers. Our need for immediate control leads us to disconnect the clear unity between means and ends.

The universal Divine Presence invites us to seek peace by the intercession of the Holy Spirit thereby connecting with the source of peace within. Richard Rohr reminds us that seeking peace means standing up in nonviolent resistance to systems of injustice. It involves learning the skills of nonviolent communication and conflict resolution.

References


(n.d.). 1 Kings 8:1-66 Solomon Dedicates the Temple - Enter the Bible. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from https://www.enterthebible.org/Controls/feature/tool_etb_resource_display/resourcebox.aspx?selected_rid=675&original_id=31

(n.d.). 1 Kings, chapter 8 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/1kings/8:22

(n.d.). Mark, chapter 7 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/7

(n.d.). Online Ministries at Creighton University. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). Saint Paul Miki and Companions – Franciscan Media. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-paul-miki-and-companions/

(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/