The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our relationship with God through praise especially in times when we are perplexed.
Ponder in the Cloister
The reading from the Prophet Haggai is a command to rebuild the Temple.
* [1:5] Reflect on your experience: the prophet exhorts the people to consider the futility of their efforts as a result of their neglecting work on the Temple. The following verses call attention to harsh conditions in Judah after the return from exile and the preoccupation of the people with their personal concerns.1
Psalm 149 is praise for God’s Goodness to Israel.
* [Psalm 149] A hymn inviting the people of Israel to celebrate their God in song and festive dance (Ps 149:1–3, 5) because God has chosen them and given them victory (Ps 149:4). The exodus and conquest are the defining acts of Israel; the people must be ready to do again those acts in the future at the divine command (Ps 149:6–9).2
In the Gospel of Luke, Herod’s perplexity shapes his opinion of Jesus.
* [9:9] And he kept trying to see him: this indication of Herod’s interest in Jesus prepares for Lk 13:31–33 and for Lk 23:8–12 where Herod’s curiosity about Jesus’ power to perform miracles remains unsatisfied.3
Steve Scholer comments that the pandemic kept many of us “sheltering in place” and spending more time at home. And the more time we spent at home, the more we noticed little projects or even major renovations that needed to be done. But what attention did we give to our spiritual home? The home that is the most important for us to be continually updating and renovating. Are we looking deep inside to see what improvements are needed in our faith life, or are we focused only on the tangible?
For some of us there has been no updating or remodeling of our spiritual home since possibly our eight-grade confirmation. For others, daily prayer and reflection have made clear the changes that are needed in our spiritual homes, how we live our lives and how we interact with those around us. As we go about our life today we need to remind ourselves of the words of the prophet Haggai and focus our attention not on our material needs, or as so aptly stated, our “own paneled houses,” but rather to work to build up the house of the Lord through our thoughts, words and deeds. And to remember that Jesus is constantly at our side, a guest at our house who, fortunately, will never leave us -- one who is always there to help and guide us to do what is right and just.4
Don Schwager quotes “Integrity is a hardship for the morally corrupt,” by Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD).
"John aroused Herod by his moral admonitions, not by any formal accusation. He wanted to correct, not to suppress. Herod, however, preferred to suppress rather than be reconciled. To those who are held captive, the freedom of the one innocent of wrongdoing becomes hateful. Virtue is undesirable to those who are immoral; holiness is abhorrent to those who are impious; chastity is an enemy to those who are impure; integrity is a hardship for those who are corrupt; frugality runs counter to those who are self-indulgent; mercy is intolerable to those who are cruel, as is loving-kindness to those who are pitiless and justice to those who are unjust. The Evangelist indicates this when he says, "John said to him, 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of your brother Philip.'" This is where John runs into trouble. He who admonishes those who are evil gives offense. He who repudiates wrongdoers runs into trouble. John was saying what was proper of the law, what was proper of justice, what was proper of salvation and what was proper certainly not of hatred but of love. And look at the reward he received from the ungodly for his loving concern!" (excerpt from SERMONS 127.6-7)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 9:7-9 comments that we all experience some degree of perplexity about the Lord. Perhaps guilt or shame causes us to doubt that he would welcome us. Maybe we are disappointed that a loved one for whom we had prayed earnestly has slipped away into eternity. Or perhaps we are worried about your spouse or a child who has turned away from the faith. Thought and emotion become tangled, and perplexity gains the upper hand.
Herod let perplexity keep him from seeing the truth. You have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to guide you to all truth and to help you choose it (John 16:13). He will lead you in the way forward. He will help you find peace, even in the midst of perplexity. “Holy Spirit, help me to choose truth today, and lead me in your peace.”6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the dedication of Haggai to rebuild the Temple after the Exile. The perplexity of Herod is a foreshadowing, common in Luke’s Gospel, of a meeting with Jesus in His Passion. Friar Jude reminds us that sometimes our confusion over events is part of God’s preparation for us for future encounters.
The Franciscan Media web article about Saint Pius of Pietrelcina comments that Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul’s pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved the blistering heat as they filled St. Peter’s Square and nearby streets. They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity. “This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio’s teaching,” said the pope. He also stressed Padre Pio’s witness to the power of suffering. If accepted with love, the Holy Father stressed, such suffering can lead to “a privileged path of sanctity.”
Referring to that day's Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) at Padre Pio’s canonization Mass in 2002, Saint John Paul II said: “The Gospel image of ‘yoke’ evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo endured. Today we contemplate in him how sweet is the ‘yoke’ of Christ and indeed how light the burdens are whenever someone carries these with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.”7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explores the economy of grace in which Jesus, and therefore God, desires us to live. The counter culture expressed by Jesus in the Gospel can be perplexing.
Let’s contrast this “meritocracy,” the punishment/reward economy of basic capitalism, with what Jesus presents. I’m going to call it a gift economy. [1] In a gift economy, there is no equivalence between what we give and how much we get. We don’t really like this model, because we feel we’ve worked hard to get to our rightful social positions. We feel we have earned our rights...We don’t “deserve” anything, anything! It’s all a gift. Until we have begun to live in the kingdom of God, instead of the kingdoms of this world, we will think exactly like the world. To understand the Gospel in its radical, transformative power, we have to stop counting, measuring, and weighing. We have to stop saying “I deserve” and deciding who does not deserve. None of us deserves! This daily conversion is hard to do unless we’ve experienced infinite mercy and realized that it’s all a gift—all the time.8
Our need for clarity is addressed in the promptings of the Spirit about the choices we make on our journey.
References
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