The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the evidence we have encountered on our journey that supports the role of the Holy Spirit and Faith in building our relationship with God and Creation.
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The reading from the First Letter of John asserts that Faith conquers the world.
* [5:1–5] Children of God are identified not only by their love for others (1 Jn 4:7–9) and for God (1 Jn 5:1–2) but by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. Faith, the acceptance of Jesus in his true character and the obedience in love to God’s commands (1 Jn 5:3), is the source of the Christian’s power in the world and conquers the world of evil (1 Jn 5:4–5), even as Christ overcame the world (Jn 16:33).1
Psalm 72 is a prayer for guidance and support for the King.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
The Gospel of Luke tells of the beginning of the Galilean Ministry and the coming rejection of Jesus at Nazareth.
* [4:21] Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing: this sermon inaugurates the time of fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Luke presents the ministry of Jesus as fulfilling Old Testament hopes and expectations (Lk 7:22); for Luke, even Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection are done in fulfillment of the scriptures (Lk 24:25–27, 44–46; Acts 3:18).3
Today is the Memorial of St. André Bessette in Canada. Carol Zuegner asks how to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
What changes do I need to make? What small changes can I make that will build on love and faith and justice? How can I live my life according to the commandment in the first reading: “Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” I can make my revisions to my resolutions small: I can start by praying for those I disagree with along with my prayers for those who are struggling. That can help me remember that my brothers and sisters everywhere are loved by God. I pray today for God’s grace to help me make and carry out my revisions to my resolutions in proclaiming my goal of a year acceptable to the Lord.4
Don Schwager quotes “Christ brings hope of release from spiritual bondage,” by Eusebius of Caesarea, 260/263-340 AD.
"'The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me' (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1). Clearly this happened to those who thought that the Christ of God was neither a mere man nor an unfleshed and unembodied Word who did not take on a mortal nature. Instead they say he is both God and human, God in that he is the only-begotten God who was in the bosom of the Father, and man... from the seed of David according to the flesh (Luke 1:32). Thus, God the Word, who through the prophecy has been called Lord, speaks out this prophecy that is preeminent among other promises: 'I am the Lord, and in the right time I will draw them together'... "Taking the chrism in the Holy Spirit, he, chosen from among all, appears as the only-begotten Christ of God. And the verse 'he has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor' (Luke 4:18), he fulfilled in that time when he 'was preaching the kingdom of heaven' and explaining the beatitudes to the disciples by saying, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God' (Matthew 5:3)... And for those nations then imprisoned in their souls by the invisible and spiritual powers he preached release to his newly encouraged disciples... Therefore, he preached release to the prisoners and to those suffering from blindness who were those enslaved by the error of polytheism, and he creates a year that is acceptable, through which he made all time his own year. And from the passing years of humanity he provides days of created light for those close to him. He never kept hidden the age that is to come after the perfecting of the present. For that age will be a time much on the Lord's mind, being an age and day of requiting. For he will grant a change of fortune or a year of favor to those struggling in the present life." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2.51.5)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 4:19–5:4 comments that the love John is talking about is more than an emotion. It’s a decision.
But don’t lose heart! John gives us an essential key to loving: “We love God because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). All love originates from God himself. Remember times when your heart was lifted by going to Mass or seeing a beautiful sunrise. Or when a dear friend called out of the blue and boosted your spirits. These are all signs of God’s love reaching out to you. As you make his love the foundation of your life, your ability to extend that love to the people around you grows—especially when you recall that God loves each of them in the very same way that he loves you.6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the role of the commandments as guidelines to stay in love. As He reads Isaiah 61, we see the emphasis of Luke on Jesus reaching out to the anawim. Friar Jude reminds us that the people of Nazareth were filled with awe as Jesus began to speak.
Franciscan Media quotes Saint of the Day, St Andre Bessette, who was given the humble job of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained 40 years.” In his little room near the door, he spent much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph, to whom he had been devoted since childhood. When asked about it he said, “Some day, Saint Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!”
He is buried at the Oratory. He was beatified in 1982 and canonized in 2010. At his canonization in October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI said that Saint Andre “lived the beatitude of the pure of heart.” Rubbing ailing limbs with oil or a medal? Planting a medal to buy land? Isn’t this superstition? Aren’t we long past that? Superstitious people rely only on the “magic” of a word or action. Brother André’s oil and medals were authentic sacramentals of a simple, total faith in the Father who lets his saints help him bless his children.7
Brian McLaren suggests how we might find truth revealed in the patterns of the universe.
Brian McLaren suggests how we might find truth revealed in the patterns of the universe.Of course, we often struggle to know how to interpret those patterns. For example, if a tornado destroys our house, an enemy army drops bombs on our village, a disease takes away someone we love, we lose our job, someone we love breaks our heart, or our best friends betray us, what does that mean? Is the logic of the universe chaos or cruelty? Does might make right? Do violence and chaos rule? Is the Creator capricious, heartless, and evil? If we had only our worst experiences in life to guide us, that might be our conclusion. Genesis and the Gospel of John dare us to believe that the universe runs by the logic of creativity, goodness, and love. The universe is God’s creative project, filled with beauty, opportunity, challenge, and meaning. It runs on the meaning or pattern we see embodied in the life of Jesus. In this story, pregnancy abounds. Newness multiplies. Freedom grows. Meaning expands. Wisdom flows. Healing happens. Goodness runs wild.8
We may have been stuck by the story of Brother Andre on a visit to Mount Royal or we may have encountered truth in pondering the patterns of the universe through which the Spirit has developed our faith.
References
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