The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to act on eliminating the obstacles that keep us from fully living as disciples of Christ.
Distracted from Full Life
The reading from the Book of Judges describes Israel’s unfaithfulness.
* [2:10–19] This long thematic passage establishes the cyclical pattern for the stories found in the rest of the book. When the Israelites are secure, they forsake the Lord and worship other gods. In punishment the Lord places them in the power of a foreign oppressor. But when they cry out in distress, the Lord takes pity on them and raises up a judge, who delivers them from the oppressor. The Israelites remain faithful to the Lord during the lifetime of the judge, but when the judge dies they again abandon the Lord, and the cycle begins anew.1
Psalm 106 is a confession of Israel’s sins.
* [Psalm 106] Israel is invited to praise the God whose mercy has always tempered judgment of Israel (Ps 106:1–3). The speaker, on behalf of all, seeks solidarity with the people, who can always count on God’s fidelity despite their sin (Ps 106:4–5). Confident of God’s mercy, the speaker invites national repentance (Ps 106:6) by reciting from Israel’s history eight instances of sin, judgment, and forgiveness. The sins are the rebellion at the Red Sea (Ps 106:6–12; see Ex 14–15), the craving for meat in the desert (Ps 106:13–15; see Nm 11), the challenge to Moses’ authority (Ps 106:16–18; see Nm 16), the golden calf episode (Ps 106:19–23; see Ex 32–34), the refusal to take Canaan by the southern route (Ps 106:24–27; see Nm 13–14 and Dt 1–2), the rebellion at Baal-Peor (Ps 106:28–31; see Nm 25:1–10), the anger of Moses (Ps 106:32–33; see Nm 20:1–13), and mingling with the nations (Ps 106:34–47). The last, as suggested by its length and generalized language, may be the sin that invites the repentance of the present generation. The text gives the site of each sin: Egypt (Ps 106:7), the desert (Ps 106:14), the camp (Ps 106:16), Horeb (Ps 106:19), in their tents (Ps 106:25), Baal-Peor (Ps 106:28), the waters of Meribah (Ps 106:32), Canaan (Ps 106:38).2
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Rich Young Man declines Jesus' invitation to a full life.
* [19:21] If you wish to be perfect: to be perfect is demanded of all Christians; see Mt 5:48. In the case of this man, it involves selling his possessions and giving to the poor; only so can he follow Jesus.3
Beth Samson comments that the commandments Jesus listed out for the young man are all about relationships with the people around us, and in expanding upon them at the end, Jesus reminds us that ultimately we are created to love and care for others. He calls the young man to give up what gets in his way of loving and caring for his neighbors which, by the looks of it for this young man, is attachment to his possessions.
What gets in the way of my caring for and loving my neighbor?
What grace might I ask of God to let go of those attachments?
How might I give more to the relationships in my life?4
Don Schwager quotes “Seek the life that endures,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The Lord said to a certain young man, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments.' He did not say 'If you would have life' but 'If you would enter life,' defining that life as eternal life. Let us first consider then the love of this life. For this life is loved, whatever its quality - and however troubled it is, however wretched, people are afraid to end it. Hence we should see, we should consider, how much eternal life is to be loved, when this miserable life that must at some time be ended is so loved. Consider, brothers, how much that life is to be loved when it is a life you never end. You love this life, where you work so much, run, are busy, pant. In this busy life the obligations can scarcely be counted: sowing, plowing, working new land, sailing, grinding, cooking, weaving. And after all this hard work your life comes to an end. Look at what you suffer in this wretched life that you so love. And do you think that you will always live and never die? Temples, rocks, marbles, all reinforced by iron and lead, still fall. And a person thinks that he will never die? Learn therefore, brothers, to seek eternal life, when you will not endure these things but will reign with God forever." (excerpt from Sermon 84,1)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Judges 2:11-19 notes that the Israelites often rejected this bond of love and disobeyed the Lord. Like us, they suffered the consequences of their deeds and lost their closeness with God. But look what happened every time they turned back: God “had regard for their affliction when he heard their cry” (Psalm 106:44). He welcomed them back and blessed them. This should impress upon us how serious human sin is and how complete God’s justice is. But it can also fill us with gratitude: God loves us too much to abandon us to our sin. He even sent his Son, so that everyone who believes in him might experience the connection of hearts that God has always wanted for us.
So how do we experience that connection? By honoring the Lord and giving him first place in our lives. In our prayer and worship. In our relationships. And in the hard times we inevitably face. Israel wavered in that commission, and sometimes we do too. But God is ever faithful. He is always ready to rekindle your relationship with him. If you need to repent for resisting a connection of your heart to his, do so now. Tell him you want to deepen your relationship with him. “Almighty God, help me to grow in my bond of love with you.”6
Friar Jude Winkler describes the situation of the Israelites in their relationship with the Baals. Judges, charismatically chosen leaders for the people of Israel, were able to gather the people toward God. Friar Jude reminds us of the connection of the life of the rich young man to the Great Commandment.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that many of the apparitions in the Bible begin with “behold”—usually uttered as a command, an invitation, or perhaps a call to a different style of attention. In a sense, it is a giveaway that, in fact, we can and need to “switch gears” once in a while to be ready to perceive what is about to come at us.
Once we decide to behold, we are available for awe and wonder, to be present to what is, without the filter of our preferences or the false ledger of judging things as important or not important. A much broader, much deeper, and much wider field of perception opens up, becoming an alternative way of knowing and enjoying. The soul sees soul everywhere else too: “deep calls unto deep,” as the psalmist says (42:8). Center knows center, and this is called “love.”7
The steps in our transformation as we journey with Jesus become clarified through our openness to the prompting of the Spirit.
References
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