The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us that death to self is often the path we need to follow to be agents of God’s mercy.
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| Desire Mercy |
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah describes Hezekiah’s Illness and his prayer for restoration to health.
* [38:21–22] These verses are clearly out of place. Logically they should come after v. 6, as they do in the parallel account in 2 Kgs 20, but the two accounts are not identical, and it appears that the version in Isaiah is abbreviated from that in Kings. If that is so, Is 38:21–22 would be a secondary addition from Kings, inserted by a later reader who thought the account incomplete.1
In the Gospel of Matthew, the religious authorities condemn Jesus' disciples for plucking grain on the Sabbath.
* [12:5–6] This and the following argument (Mt 12:7) are peculiar to Matthew. The temple service seems to be the changing of the showbread on the sabbath (Lv 24:8) and the doubling on the sabbath of the usual daily holocausts (Nm 28:9–10). The argument is that the law itself requires work that breaks the sabbath rest, because of the higher duty of temple service. If temple duties outweigh the sabbath law, how much more does the presence of Jesus, with his proclamation of the kingdom (something greater than the temple), justify the conduct of his disciples.2
Tom Quinn comments that many (all) of us are now enduring the effects of the pandemic. Some of us may become ill, have been ill, may even die from the viral infection. If we feel that God is telling us, “put your house in order, you will not recover,” we may pray, as Hezekiah did, to remind God of our goodness and faithfulness. We rather need to dwell in our prayers on the fact that we have a merciful and understanding God. He heard Hezekiah’s tearful plea, and even heeded his need for a sign.
Most of us will not require an elaborate or miraculous sign that God hears our prayers. Since the time of King Hezekiah, we have learned from Jesus’ toleration of suffering, humility, and obedience that surely help us to pray. Jesus tells us that the Our Father is the way to pray to the Father. The Hail Mary is a comforting prayer anytime, but may be especially so, if we find ourselves “at the hour of our death.” Even Jesus had the solace of his mother as he hung suffering on the cross.3
Don Schwager quotes “The Seventh Day,” from the early Greek fathers, attributed to Eusebius of Alexandria (5th century AD).
"Now every week has seven days. Six of these God has given to us for work, and one for prayer, rest, and making reparation for our sins, so that on the Lord's Day we may atone to God for any sins we have committed on the other six days. Therefore, arrive early at the church of God; draw near to the Lord and confess your sins to him, repenting in prayer and with a contrite heart. Attend the holy and divine liturgy; finish your prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. Contemplate your master as he is broken and distributed, yet not consumed. If you have a clear conscience, go forward and partake of the body and blood of the Lord." (excerpt from SERMON 6, 1-2)4
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 notes that God is still sending us signs today. He can be very creative in these signs as he tries to get our attention.
Maybe you feel a strong tugging in your heart urging you to call an old friend. You may have a dream that stays with you long after you have woken up. Perhaps you are in the middle of a project at work and suddenly feel prompted to pray for someone. Even rays of sunshine breaking through clouds can be his way of reminding you that he is with you.
So stay alert. God will be trying to get in touch with you as the day unfolds. Know that he will be sending you signs today. Some may be obvious, and others may be subtle. He may offer you guidance, or he may simply encourage you. All you need are open eyes, open ears, and an open heart. God will take care of the rest.5
Friar Jude Winkler contrasts the attitude of Hezekiah to a sign from God with that of his father Ahaz. Our attitude may reveal our lack of trust in God. Friar Jude reminds us that the Law is a guideline for greater service in God’s name.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, declares contemplation is no fantasy, make-believe, or daydream, but the flowering of patience and steady perseverance. When we look at the world today, we may well ask whether it can be transformed on the global level; but he believes that there is a deep relationship between the inner revolution of prayer and the transformation of social structures and social consciousness.
Because contemplation feels like dying and is, in fact, the experience of the death of our small self, we can only do this if Someone Else is holding us in in the process, taking away our fear. If we trust that Someone Else to do the knowing for us, we can go back to our lives of action with new vitality, but it will now be much smoother. It will be “no longer we” who act or contemplate, but the Life of the One who lives in us (Galatians 2:20), now acting for and with and as us!
Henceforth it does not even matter whether we act or contemplate, contemplate or act, because both articulations of our faith will be inside the One Flow, which is still and forever loving and healing the world. Christians would call it the very flow of life that is the Trinity. “We live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) inside of this one eternal life and love that never stops giving and receiving. This is how we “die by brightness and the Holy Spirit,” according to Thomas Merton. [1]6
Contemplation really can change us, and guide our actions for compassion and justice in the world.
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