Tension between greatness and grief

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today teach us to tackle the tensions that are a consequence of our pursuit of truth and happiness.

Attachment and detachment

The Second Letter of Peter describes a virtuous path from faith to love.

* [1:5–9] Note the climactic gradation of qualities (2 Pt 1:5–7), beginning with faith and leading to the fullness of Christian life, which is love; cf. Rom 5:3–4; Gal 5:6, 22 for a similar series of “virtues,” though the program and sense here are different than in Paul. The fruit of these is knowledge of Christ (2 Pt 1:8) referred to in 2 Pt 1:3; their absence is spiritual blindness (2 Pt 1:9).

The prayer of Psalm 91 is for protection from forces that threaten our progress in our spiritual journey.

* [Psalm 91] A prayer of someone who has taken refuge in the Lord, possibly within the Temple (Ps 91:1–2). The psalmist is confident that God’s presence will protect the people in every dangerous situation (Ps 91:3–13). The final verses are an oracle of salvation promising salvation to those who trust in God (Ps 91:14–16).

In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus describes, in a parable, the consequence of rejection of the Son by the Jewish religious leadership.

* [12:1–12] The vineyard denotes Israel (Is 5:1–7). The tenant farmers are the religious leaders of Israel. God is the owner of the vineyard. His servants are his messengers, the prophets. The beloved son is Jesus (Mk 1:11; 9:7; Mt 3:17; 17:5; Lk 3:22; 9:35). The punishment of the tenants refers to the religious leaders, and the transfer of the vineyard to others refers to the people of the new Israel.

The Gospel inspires Andy Alexander, S.J. to ask if we really experience that a portion of God's kingdom has been entrusted to us? How are we using it? Are we returning the "fruit" to God?

Each of us can reflect upon our place in creation and ask these kinds of questions. We can reflect upon our roles in relation to God's desires for what we've been asked to tend, to care for, to give life to. Too often, it is easy in our culture to see a big compartmentalized divide between "my life" and "my spiritual life." In God's eyes, we each have a vocation - a call, a mission, a purpose. We've been entrusted with so much, e.g. personal gifts given us by virtue of where we were born, the way we were raised, the education we received, the values and cultural heritage which shaped us. We have been entrusted with responsibilities, roles in our families, in our parish communities, in our cities and world. We have been blessed with relationships and loved ones who sustain us and for whom we sacrifice to give gifts of life. When we give thanks, today, for all these blessings, we can recognize that each blessing is a way God has entrusted us with a mission. Take care of this for me. Bring life here for me. Be a bridge builder here for me. Die to yourself, as I have done, in imitation of me.

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Peter 1:2-7 explores how we share in the divine nature even if such a promise might seem way beyond us.

Of course, these aren’t always easy things to do. We may have a share in Jesus’ nature, but we are also subject to sin and temptation. That’s why God has given us his Holy Spirit. The more you ask the Spirit for help, the more you’ll find yourself thinking—and acting—like Jesus.

Metropolitan Paul Yazigi compares the gifts of Peter and Paul to the Church as he celebrates the embrace of two different lives and expressions of faith.

Friar Jude Winkler notes that the author of 2 Peter offers a path to live a life of virtue. He urges us to demonstrate our commitment by living it in our everyday life. Friar Jude analyses the detail of the prediction of Jesus death in the parable and ties the cornerstone mentioned to Golgotha and Jesus cross supported by an imperfect stone.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, recognizes we often live in a creative, transformative dance between attachment and detachment.

The contemplative stance is the Third Way. We stand in the middle, neither taking the world on from another power position nor denying it for fear of the pain it will bring. We hold the hardness of reality and the suffering of the world until it transforms us, knowing that we are both complicit in evil and can participate in wholeness and holiness. Once we can stand in that third spacious way, neither directly fighting or fleeing, we are in the place of grace out of which genuine newness can come. This is where creativity and new forms of life and healing emerge.

This is modeled on Jesus experience and is sometimes called the Third Way.

References


(n.d.). 2 Peter, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/2peter/1

(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 91 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/91

(n.d.). Mark, chapter 12 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/12

(2012, December 2). Virtues' embrace | Metropolitan Paul Yazigi. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from https://paulyazigienglish.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/95/

(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/