The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today encourage us that trust in God and the movement of the Spirit will be the basis of the faith that brings us to right relationship with the Divine and Creation.
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| Faith to find truth and beauty |
The reading from the Letter to the Romans declares righteousness through Faith and justification apart from the Law.
* [3:27–31] People cannot boast of their own holiness, since it is God’s free gift (Rom 3:27), both to the Jew who practices circumcision out of faith and to the Gentile who accepts faith without the Old Testament religious culture symbolized by circumcision (Rom 3:29–30).1
Psalm 130 expresses the intensity of our waiting for Divine Redemption.
* [Psalm 130] This lament, a Penitential Psalm, is the De profundis used in liturgical prayers for the faithful departed. In deep sorrow the psalmist cries to God (Ps 130:1–2), asking for mercy (Ps 130:3–4). The psalmist’s trust (Ps 130:5–6) becomes a model for the people (Ps 130:7–8).2
Jesus concludes the denunciation of the Pharisees and Scholars of the Law in the Gospel of Luke.
* [11:49] I will send to them prophets and apostles: Jesus connects the mission of the church (apostles) with the mission of the Old Testament prophets who often suffered the rebuke of their contemporaries.3
Today’s readings raise some questions for Molly Mattingly. What information do I want to control? What truth would I rather avoid? And, in what ways is God inviting me to enter into interior and exterior practices of faith so that our relationship may grow?
Exterior practice is not an “occasion for boasting,” as St. Paul says in today’s first reading. It can cultivate, but not replace, a relationship with God. It is also the result of a relationship with God: the more I love God, the more I am drawn to service of God’s people. We’re all in the same boat (I hope) as Church, navigating relationship with God both personally and as a people, for “God is one.”
Secondly, I hear “tell the whole story.” … I can’t help but think of the recent movements to remove statues of historical figures from public places because they seem to condone the oppressive actions of their subjects. The statues don’t tell the whole story. They memorialize a rosy version of history for the dominant (white) culture. We are only beginning to learn how to tell the whole story of our country.4
Don Schwager addresses the question of “What does Jesus mean when he says they have taken away the key of knowledge?”
The religious lawyers and scribes held the "office of the keys" since they were the official interpreters of the Scriptures. Unfortunately their interpretation of the Scriptures became so distorted and difficult to understand that others were "shut off" to the Scriptures. They not only shut themselves to heaven - they also hindered others from understanding God's word. Through pride and envy, they rejected not only the prophets of old, but God's final prophet and Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "key of David" (see Isaiah 22:22; Revelations 3:7) who opens heaven for those who accept him as Lord and Savior. He is the "Wisdom of God" and source of everlasting life.5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 11:47-54 comments it’s ironic, then, that Jesus reprimands these “scholars of the law” in today’s Gospel for missing the entire point of Scripture (Luke 11:46). The scribes were supposed to hold “the key of knowledge” that would open the door to a deeper understanding of God’s word (11:52).
Now, we don’t have to be learned scholars to understand the Scriptures. What’s more, we have all been given a kind of “key of knowledge” at our baptism—the Holy Spirit. It’s the Spirit’s role to take the words that we read on the page and write them on our hearts. Even when we read the same passage many times over, the Spirit can make new and different words, phrases, and meanings jump out at us. We just have to be willing to carve out a time and a quiet place so that this can happen.
If you don’t do so already, get into the habit of calling on the Spirit when you open your Bible. Just pray, “Come, Holy Spirit” several times slowly and quietly. Then choose a passage and read it prayerfully. While you may not be moved by everything you read, over time the Spirit will unlock more and more of God’s word for you. He may even lead you to join a Bible study or give you insights through your Bible’s footnotes or a good commentary.6
Friar Jude Winkler explores our spiritual bankruptcy eliminated by Jesus. The salvation at the last day of Paul is compared to the realized eschatology of Luke and John. Friar Jude warns that systems of interpretation may be used to imprison people in false teaching.
A post from Franciscan Media offers insight into Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Saint of the Day for October 17. Ignatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome. Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus.
Ignatius’s great concern was for the unity and order of the Church. Even greater was his willingness to suffer martyrdom rather than deny his Lord Jesus Christ. He did not draw attention to his own suffering, but to the love of God which strengthened him. He knew the price of commitment and would not deny Christ, even to save his own life.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, presents Tim Shriver, a friend and Chair of Special Olympics, works with many people whom our culture excludes or disregards. Through their eyes he has come to see God’s presence in every human being. As you read Tim’s words, imagine how you might stand in solidarity with someone “on the edge,” someone who has been excluded, and see that individual through God’s eyes.
You cannot believe in or practice unitive consciousness as long as you exclude and marginalize others—whether it is women or people of different sexual orientations or people of religious or ethnic minorities or, in my experience, people with intellectual disabilities. My work is largely with and in support of people who have significant vulnerabilities because of intellectual disability. In many cultures these people are excluded and oppressed, though often unconsciously, even more so than other marginalized groups. . . . They are thought to be hopeless. Mostly they are ignored and forgotten.
For twenty years I have been mentored by these same people. Some might not be the best-spoken, the most articulate writers, the most celebrated thinkers, the fastest runners. And yet, despite all of that, I have met person after person who emanates a kind of radiant light. After a while, even the densest of us may have our eyes opened to that something which transcends all superficial distractions of disability: the unimaginable beauty of every person. That beauty is ours for the seeing if only we have the eyes to see, if only we pay attention.8
The invocation of the Holy Spirit prepares our spiritual eyes to see more clearly the distortions of the truth we encounter that attempt to distract us from the practice of goodness and praise of beauty.
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