The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge us to contemplate the gifts we have received to build up the Body of Christ and bear fruit during our lifetime.
Building the Body
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians outlines the type of gifts we receive from God for building up the body of Christ.
* [4:12] The ministerial leaders in Eph 4:11 are to equip the whole people of God for their work of ministry.1
Psalm 122 is a song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)!2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus suggests that the unpredictability of life creates a need to be concerned about repentance.
* [13:6–9] Following on the call to repentance in Lk 13:1–5, the parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Lk 3:8). The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of the age because the delay will not be permanent (Lk 13:8–9).3
The mercy of God is presented in The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. Molly Mattingly reflects on evil behaviour among some people. God desires their conversion. God desires all of us to bear good fruit.
Perhaps this is another step in my “coming of age in faith,” a phrase I like to use and which Paul outlines in the first reading. One of my liturgical theology professors used the image of a graph. At the bottom-left corner, point 0-0, humankind started off on an upward trajectory towards divination. Almost immediately, the Fall occurred and the upward trajectory became a tangled knot. Then, Jesus showed us how to untangle the knot, and the upward trajectory continued (but it’s not done yet). This referred to humankind’s growing maturity in faith – we come of age as a people of faith, over generations and generations of knowing God in the eras of our human history. I think we are each individually on that graph, too, encountering periods when we get tied in knots, run in circles, plateau, or even dip. Hopefully we are each also growing in our capacity to “live the truth in love” and mature into “the full stature of Christ.” We need our community of faith to help us in that growth.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Lord's three visits through the Patriarchs, Prophets, and the Gospel,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The Lord also has something very fitting to say about a fruitless tree, 'Look, it is now three years that I have been coming to it. Finding no fruit on it, I will cut it down, to stop it blocking up my field.' The gardener intercedes... This tree is the human race. The Lord visited this tree in the time of the patriarchs, as if for the first year. He visited it in the time of the law and the prophets, as if for the second year. Here we are now; with the gospel the third year has dawned. Now it is as though it should have been cut down, but the merciful one intercedes with the merciful one. He wanted to show how merciful he was, and so he stood up to himself with a plea for mercy. 'Let us leave it,' he says, 'this year too. Let us dig a ditch around it.' Manure is a sign of humility. 'Let us apply a load of manure; perhaps it may bear fruit.' Since it does bear fruit in one part, and in another part does not bear fruit, its Lord will come and divide it. What does that mean, 'divide it'? There are good people and bad people now in one company, as though constituting one body." (excerpt from Sermon 254.3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 4:7-16 comments that sharing our expertise by walking alongside him as he performs the tasks himself will give him the long-term skills he needs. That’s what a good teacher does. And that’s what equipping the body of Christ looks like.
Your aptitudes or experiences are necessary to build up the Church. So recognize your gifts. Maybe you have children and have learned from experience how to run a household. Maybe you are handy around the house. Or perhaps you have studied Scripture and can share your insights. Even if your skills don’t seem all that impressive to you, you can be a wonderful teacher of love. Don’t disparage the value of what you can teach. Remember, it takes all of us working together to come to the “full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). You are an integral part of the body of Christ. You have been blessed by God, and he wants you to share those blessings with your brothers and sisters. “Lord, I offer you my gifts. Help me build up your people today.”6
Friar Jude Winkler underlines that the gifts we receive are not for us but are to be used to build up the Body of Christ. Our understanding may not be complete as we strive to believe and serve. Friar Jude expands the meaning of the Parable to show that God’s mercy is available to us for the fullness of time.
Centering Prayer is simply sitting in silence, open to God’s love and our love for God. Cynthia Bourgeault provides a brief overview of the Centering Prayer practice.
Aiming to stay relaxed but attentive, close your eyes, and start your practice period rooting in your basic intention of open availability to God.
Each time you notice yourself becoming absorbed in a thought, and without making a problem of your distraction, gently release your attention from the thought and inwardly say your sacred word. Your sacred word is not constantly repeated like a mantra, but only used as much as required to bring yourself back into alignment with your original intention.
In the context of this practice, a thought is defined as anything that brings your attention to a focal point. This could be an idea, vision, memory, emotion, or dwelling upon a physical sensation. If it captures your attention, it’s considered a thought, and by letting go you are renewing your intention and consent for “God’s presence and action within.”As you continue in the prayer period and thoughts inevitably arise, use your sacred word to gently and quickly clear your mental debris, and to return to open awareness and availability.7
Our connection to God in prayer assures us of Love that always seeks the best for us.
References
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