Developing human dignity

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today connect Jesus presence as our Way and High Priest to the struggle for human dignity that is commemorated today in marking Martin Luther King Jr Day. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews connects the call of the Father for Jesus to be High Priest to His ordination from suffering and His understanding sympathy of life as a human. The Gospel from Mark declares the theme of Jesus as bridegroom to the Church that is not required to mourn by fasting while living in His Presence. Eileen-Burke Sullivan connects the texts today to the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr Day and the memorial celebration of St Agnes and their links to the history of the struggle for  human dignity. Don Schwager quotes “The presence of the Bridegroom,” by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D. The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 2:18-22 asks have we ever felt like an old wineskin, stiff and stuck in our old, comfortable ways? Even though God has made us a flexible, “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), we  may still be aware of habits and patterns of behavior that look more like the old, crusty ways of sin. Friar Jude Winkler connects Jesus priesthood to Melchizedek. The Hebrew understanding of being made perfect was ordination to the priesthood. Friar Jude develops the Gospel of Mark teaching on fasting and the awkward placement of the text on od wine and new patches. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, highlights the work of Diana Butler Bass who has brought new light to forgotten or misconstrued elements of Christianity. He share some of her research, that cites Justin Martyr (ca. 100–ca. 165) on what early Christians thought it meant to follow Jesus.