The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer contemplation of what are the situations where we are not far from the Kingdom of God.
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| Living in the Kingdom |
The reading from the Prophet Hosea is a plea for repentance along with an assurance of forgiveness.
* [14:4] These good intentions promise a reversal of Israel’s sins: no more reliance on “Assyria,” i.e., on foreign alliances (see notes on 8:9 and 12:2), on “horses,” i.e., on human power (10:13), and on idolatry (8:4–6; 13:2). Israel will trust in the Lord alone.1
Psalm 81 asserts if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility.
* [Psalm 81] At a pilgrimage feast, probably harvest in the fall, the people assemble in the Temple in accord with the Sinai ordinances (Ps 81:2–6). They hear a divine word (mediated by a Temple speaker) telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9), gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13). But if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility (Ps 81:14–16).2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus and the Scribes declare the First Commandment.
* [12:13–34] In the ensuing conflicts (cf. also Mk 2:1–3:6) Jesus vanquishes his adversaries by his responses to their questions and reduces them to silence (Mk 12:34).3
Eileen Burke-Sullivan cites contemporary theologian Jon Sobrino who has pointed out, false gods consume their worshippers, only Yahweh feeds those who worship him. In short, to practice idolatry is not only analogous to adultery, it is suicidal!
Out of this sorry picture of scarred lives and relationships God’s word is healing and life-giving: “I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.” Simply put, however, the capacity to receive this healing, this love, comes only to those who turn (or re-turn) to worship only Yahweh.
In the Gospel text for today Jesus interprets all the law (teaching and guidance) of Israel’s God and asserts that it is completely summed up in the transformation of the human heart from worshipping itself and the things of this world, to worshipping God alone. This is a worship that is grounded in a profound affection for God characterized and nourished by the right behavior that flows from such committed affection.4
Don Schwager quotes “The fire of God's love,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Gravity keeps everything in its own place. Fire climbs up, while a stone goes down. Elements that are not in their own place are restless until they find it. This applies also to us. My weight is my love; wherever I go, I am driven by it. By the love of God we catch fire ourselves and, by moving up, find our place and our rest." (excerpt from Confessions 13,9)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 12:28-34 notes that of course, Jesus is pleased with all we are doing this Lent. But he wants us to do these actions not just out of a sense of duty or obligation but also with a desire to love him and the people he has created in his image.
For example, if you sacrifice some sleep so that you can make it to an early daily Mass, you are receiving more of Jesus’ grace and peace. If you spend your Saturdays at a soup kitchen, you are growing in mercy and compassion for the needy… Fasting provides you with more time and space to think about God and the sacrifice he made to save us.6
Friar Jude Winkler connects two Hebrew words describing God, Covenant Love (Chesed) and truth/faithfulness (Emet). The proclamation of the Great Commandment is not far from the Kingdom of God. Friar Jude relates the Great Commandment to our intellect, soul, conscience, and material goods.
The blog of Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild, the occasional thoughts of a working woman rabbi in England, sheds light on the attributes of God reflecting on the deathbed conversation of Israel and Joseph (Exodus 47:29) … It seems to Rabbi Sylvia that the two words mean very different things, and placing them together (as happens fairly often in the bible) creates a new thing, a tension between loving kindness (Chesed) and truth/faithfulness (Emet) with which we must engage.
Chesed and Emet come together in God, and are a fundamental part of the Covenant relationship we have with God – this is clear from the texts. So it is a very easy stretch when reading those same texts to understand that we expect Chesed/loving-kindness from God EVEN THOUGH the truth of our being is not always deserving – hence the use of the middot in the selichot prayers of pardon throughout the Days of Awe.
But the real lesson in the deathbed conversation between Jacob and Joseph is not that we expect unconditional love and forgiveness from God, but rather that we have to mediate the one with the other for ourselves, that however we might perceive the truth of our relationship with someone else, when the chips are down, then Chesed also has to be in the equation. Indeed sometimes compassion has to override the truth of someone’s behaviour.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, observes as we grow in the spiritual life, our life will become increasingly centered. Only a few things will really matter. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, he sees a lot of people right now thinking this way. There’s a sense that we’re all in this together—every continent, country, class, religion, race, age, or gender. We’re all subject to this crisis. Suffering has an ability to pull you into oneness.
We see an increasing centering take place with Jesus and the disciples in the gospel text from this past Sunday [Matthew 17:1-9]. Jesus is leading the disciples towards the Transfiguration experience. He is preparing them for the cross, and saying, “It’s going to come! Be ready. It’s probably the only thing that will transfigure you.”
As I said in yesterday’s reflection, there are only two major paths by which the human soul comes to God: the path of great love, and the one of great suffering. Both finally come down to great suffering—because if we love anything greatly, we will eventually suffer for it. When we’re young, God hides this from us. We think it won’t have to be true for us. But to love anything in depth and over the long term, we eventually must suffer.
The disciples first respond to the Transfigured Christ with fear. In our global time of crisis, this is where many of us are today. The disciples mirror the itinerary of the spiritual journey: we start out with many concerns, fears, and worries. Our minds and hearts are all over the place. But Jesus comes, touches them, and says, “Get up and do not be afraid.” When the three disciples raise their eyes, they see nothing but one image: Jesus. Their lives have become fully focused and simplified on the one thing that is good, the one thing they desire, and the one thing that is necessary. What a moment of grace and encouragement!8
When we are brought together by great love or great suffering, fear can be replaced by love and we come close to living in the Kingdom of God.
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