The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to act on the certainty of our relationship with God to bring peace to situations that threaten to become contentious.
Seeking peaceful resolution
The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy outlines the essence of the Law for the Israelites emphasizing the Lord’s Majesty and Compassion.
* [10:16] Circumcise therefore the foreskins of your hearts: cf. 30:6; Jer 4:4; Rom 2:29. The “uncircumcised heart” (Lv 26:41; Jer 9:25; Ez 44:7, 9) is closed and unreceptive to God, just as “uncircumcised ears” (Jer 6:10) are closed to the word of the Lord, and “uncircumcised lips” (Ex 6:12, 30) are a hindrance to speaking on behalf of the Lord.1
Psalm 147 is praise for God’s Care for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 147] The hymn is divided into three sections by the calls to praise in Ps 147:1, 7, 12. The first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah (Ps 147:1–6); the second section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus again foretells His death and Resurrection. Jesus attends to the Temple Tax.
* [17:24–27] Like Mt 14:28–31 and Mt 16:16b–19, this episode comes from Matthew’s special material on Peter. Although the question of the collectors concerns Jesus’ payment of the temple tax, it is put to Peter. It is he who receives instruction from Jesus about freedom from the obligation of payment and yet why it should be made. The means of doing so is provided miraculously. The pericope deals with a problem of Matthew’s church, whether its members should pay the temple tax, and the answer is given through a word of Jesus conveyed to Peter. Some scholars see here an example of the teaching authority of Peter exercised in the name of Jesus (see Mt 16:19). The specific problem was a Jewish Christian one and may have arisen when the Matthean church was composed largely of that group.3
Angela Maynard, in 2019, spent some wonderful time with Jesus asking for guidance and direction. A difficult time has turned into a blessing of sorts…most days.
I’ve come to two conclusions during this summer of reflection. Here they are:
We were put on this earth to care for each other—no matter what!
We will be where we are supposed to be—God is the one in control.
My focus now is to ‘trust the process.” Jesus knew what was ahead, as did his disciples. I don’t know what is ahead. Most of us don’t. But should that really matter?
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:114
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"I think we have an obligation to examine this, too: that Jesus was delivered into the hands of men, not by men into the hands of men but by powers to whom the Father delivered his Son on behalf of us all. In the very act of being delivered and coming under the power of those to whom he was delivered, he "destroyed him who had the power of death." For "through death he destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.8)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Deuteronomy 10:12-22 comments that God took special care of Israel in order that they might fulfill a vital mission: to be a light to the other nations. They needed to preserve their special relationship with God, but they also needed to remember their call to welcome the “outsiders” and treat them with compassion. This is how their light would shine—by showing the nations that God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity” (Exodus 34:6).
Always remember who you are and where you came from. You have received the blessings that flow from the faithfulness of your spiritual ancestors. At the same time, you have received the same Spirit that filled the apostles. That means you have the same calling as they did: to show kindness, patience, and compassion to the “strangers” in your midst. It also means you have the same promise: that every time you do, the light of God’s love shines through you. So embrace your inheritance—and your calling! “Jesus, teach me to love everyone with the same humility that your apostles had.”6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the great gift to the Israelites of knowing what God expected. Other people at that time lived in fear of offending the gods. Friar Jude reminds us that Matthew shows Jesus to be a good Jew who observes the Law in a miraculous way.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that enduring structures of “power over,” like patriarchy, white supremacy, and rigid capitalism, have limited most individuals’ power for so long that it is difficult to imagine another way. Only very gradually does human consciousness come to a selfless use of power, the sharing of power, or even a benevolent use of power—in church, politics, or families.
Good power is revealed in what Ken Wilber calls “growth hierarchies,” [1] which are needed to protect children, the poor, the entire natural world, and all those without power. Bad power consists of “domination hierarchies” in which power is used merely to protect, maintain, and promote oneself and one’s group at the expense of others. Hierarchies in and of themselves are not inherently bad, but they are very dangerous for ourselves and others if we have not done our spiritual work. Martin Luther King Jr. defined power simply as “the ability to achieve purpose” and insisted that it be used towards the growth of love and justice. He wrote, “It is the strength required to bring about social, political or economic changes. In this sense power is not only desirable but necessary in order to implement the demands of love and justice.” [2]7
Our approach to situations of potential conflict, guided by the Spirit, needs to balance peace, power, and perception.
Addendum
Joe Egerton, the Robert Schuman Silver Medal for European Unity award winner in 1985, writes about Edith Stein sharing truth at the service of humanity.
In Fides et Ratio, Pope St John Paul II gave us a reason to pay attention to Edith Stein’s writings: One thing is certain: attention to the spiritual journey of [Edith Stein] can only give greater momentum to both the search for truth and the effort to apply the results of that search to the service of humanity[17].8
References
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