Healing when needed

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with themes of peace and healing against backgrounds of hate and violence.

Some places of peace

The Letter to the Hebrews connects the priesthood of Jesus to that of Melchizedek who offered bread and wine when peace was achieved after battles by Abraham.

 * [7:1–3] Recalling the meeting between Melchizedek and Abraham described in Gn 14:17–20, the author enhances the significance of this priest by providing the popular etymological meaning of his name and that of the city over which he ruled (Heb 7:2). Since Genesis gives no information on the parentage or the death of Melchizedek, he is seen here as a type of Christ, representing a priesthood that is unique and eternal (Heb 7:3).1

Psalm 110 is a psalm of King David connecting to Melchizedek.

In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus anger and frustration with the hard hearts of the Pharisees is visible as his enemies plot to kill him after he heals A Man with a Withered Hand.

 * [3:1–5] Here Jesus is again depicted in conflict with his adversaries over the question of sabbath-day observance. His opponents were already ill disposed toward him because they regarded Jesus as a violator of the sabbath. Jesus’ question Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil? places the matter in the broader theological context outside the casuistry of the scribes. The answer is obvious. Jesus heals the man with the withered hand in the sight of all and reduces his opponents to silence; cf. Jn 5:17–18.2

Nancy Shirley considers the liturgical cycle and knows as we enter “ordinary” time, we repeat this every year – the birth, the miracles, the passion and death, more miracles – yet this is still not so ordinary.

 I think about the birth of any baby and the changes that ensue for everyone involved – nothing is ordinary there – everything has changed. I bring all this up because sometimes I fall into the routine of thinking that life is ordinary yet need to remind myself to stop and realize just how extraordinary it is.  If I take the time, I see the “God-winks” or “God-incidences” that occur daily, the little, and sometimes big, miracles that are part of our lives. Too often, I am stuck just sailing along thinking that I am running my life and large and in charge. I’m grateful to say that more and more I do recognize those “miracles” whether it is in the quiet moments of snuggling my youngest granddaughter or in an interaction with a student.  I catch that glimmer of my blessings and my awareness is more frequent (perhaps something with getting older and, hopefully, wiser).3

Don Schwager quotes “The tender compassion of the Lord,” by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

 "Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, 'Come here.' Then he challenged the Pharisees as to whether it would be lawful to do good on the sabbath. Note the tender compassion of the Lord when he deliberately brought the man with the withered hand right into their presence (Luke 6:8). He hoped that the mere sight of the misfortune might soften them, that they might become a little less spiteful by seeing the affliction, and perhaps out of sorrow mend their own ways. But they remained callous and unfeeling. They preferred to do harm to the name of Christ than to see this poor man made whole. They betrayed their wickedness not only by their hostility to Christ, but also by their doing so with such contentiousness that they treated with disdain his mercies to others." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 40.1)4

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 3:1-6 asks how do we react when someone rubs us the wrong way? How welcoming are we to the “misfits” in our church? Like the man at Mass and the religious leaders in Mark, we have a choice.

 But something happened that morning at Mass that led this teenager to have a dramatic encounter with the Lord. He began reading the Scriptures and attending Mass regularly. He met with the pastor and joined the parish. Soon he became an altar server and began singing in the youth choir. When the man saw all of this, he felt ashamed for judging this misfit teen harshly.5

Friar Jude Winkler explores the meaning of the King of Peace. The Gospel of Mark contains two sets of 5 opposition stories about Jesus. Friar Jude reminds us of the opportunity we have on Sunday to do good.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments on the huge leap the creed makes between “born of the Virgin Mary” and “suffered under Pontius Pilate”. A single comma connects the two statements, and falling into that yawning gap, as if it were a mere detail, is everything Jesus said and did between his birth and his death! Called the “Great Comma,” the gap certainly invites some serious questions. Did all the things Jesus said and did in those years not count for much? Were they nothing to “believe” in? Was it only his birth and death that mattered? Does the gap in some way explain Christianity’s often dismal record of imitating Jesus’ life and teaching?

 Both creeds reveal historic Christian assumptions about who God is and what God is doing. They reaffirm a static and unchanging universe and a God who is quite remote from almost everything we care about each day. Furthermore, they don’t show much interest in the realities of Jesus’ own human life—or ours. Instead, they portray what religious systems tend to want: a God who looks strong and stable and in control. No “turn the other cheek” Jesus, no hint of a simple Christ-like lifestyle is found here.6

We are called to reflect today on snap judgments made in the manner of Pharisees and the need to pay attention to more than credal statements as we follow Jesus.

References

1	(n.d.). CHAPTER 7 Melchizedek a Type of Christ 1* This Melchizedek king of .... Retrieved January 23, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/hebrews7.htm
2	(n.d.). Mark chapter 3 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 23, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/3
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved January 23, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 23, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
5	(n.d.). 2nd Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved January 23, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/
6	(2019, January 22). Daily Meditations Archive: January 2019 - Center for Action and .... Retrieved January 23, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/01/