The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to live fully in our relationships with God and others today, in appreciation of God in the Present.
Nature nearby
The reading from the Book of Wisdom presents the foolishness of Nature Worship.
* [13:1–9] The author holds a relatively benign view of the efforts of the philosophers to come to know God from various natural phenomena. This is not a question of proving the existence of God in scholastic style. The author thinks that the beauty and might of the world should have pointed by analogy (v. 5) to the Maker. Instead, those “in ignorance of God” remained fixed on the elements (v. 2, three named, along with the stars). His Greek counterparts are not totally blameless; they should have gone further and acknowledged the creator of nature’s wonders1 (vv. 4–5). Cf. Rom 1:18–23; Acts 17:27–28.
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [19:4] No speech, no words: the regular functioning of the heavens and the alternation of day and night inform human beings without words of the creator’s power and wisdom.2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus describes the days of the Son of Man.
* [17:20–37] To the question of the Pharisees about the time of the coming of God’s kingdom, Jesus replies that the kingdom is among you (Lk 17:20–21). The emphasis has thus been shifted from an imminent observable coming of the kingdom to something that is already present in Jesus’ preaching and healing ministry. Luke has also appended further traditional sayings of Jesus about the unpredictable suddenness of the day of the Son of Man, and assures his readers that in spite of the delay of that day (Lk 12:45), it will bring judgment unexpectedly on those who do not continue to be vigilant.3
Joan Blandin Howard comments that this cautionary talk is apparently about human relationships. Of course, the fundamental and primary of all relationships is our relationship with God. This is what this reading is about – our relationship with God.
In my relationships with my family and my dearest friends there are always unexpected wonderful surprises. As well, there are sometimes very difficult unexpected tragedies and sorrows. For me the good news is in the total package. I will only be prepared for all degree of “surprises” if I walk with my eyes and my heart fully open to the gifts, the presence and unconditional love of God. It is in the developing personal relationship with Jesus that I will recognize the wonderful surprises and be rooted in his love. “…The real hope, then, is not in something we think we can do, but in God who is making something good out of it in some way we can not see.” - (Thomas Merton)4
Don Schwager quotes “Those working in the field are sowing the Word of God,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"'He that will be on the housetop, do not let him go down. He that will be in the field, do not let him turn back.' How may I understand what is the field unless Jesus himself teaches me? He says, 'No one putting his hand to the plough (plow) and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God' (Luke 9:62). The lazy person sits in the farmhouse, but the industrious person plants in the field. The weak are at the fireplace, but the strong are at the plough. The smell of a field is good, because the smell of Jacob is the smell of a full field (Genesis 27:27). A field is full of flowers. It is full of different fruits. Plough your field if you want to be sent to the kingdom of God. Let your field flower, fruitful with good rewards. Let there be a fruitful vine on the sides of your house and young olive plants around your table (Psalm 127:3). Already aware of its fertility, let your soul, sown with the Word of God and tilled by spiritual farming, say to Christ, 'Come, my brother, let us go out into the field' (Song of Solomon 7:11). Let him reply, 'I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my vintage of myrrh' (Song of Solomon 5:1). What is better than the vintage of faith, by which the fruit of the resurrection is stored and the spring of eternal rejoicing is watered?" (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 8.43.27)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 17:26-37 comments that ultimately, the Earthly City and its inhabitants will fade, while God’s city and his people will live forever. This doesn’t mean that Jesus is against everyday activities like working, cooking meals, and owning possessions. These things are usually good and necessary. But Jesus is warning us not to become too entangled and immersed in the things of this Earthly City.
So today, let’s try to keep our spiritual eyes and ears open to the kingdom of God in our midst. Let’s hold on to our earthly possessions with an open, generous hand—not a clenched fist! These things are destined to fade, rust, and decay, but we are destined to live forever. Let’s keep clinging to Jesus, the source of life and the ruler of the City of God, our eternal home! “Lord, open my eyes to your kingdom coming upon me.”6
Friar Jude Winkler suggests the pagan worship of Nature cited in the Book of Wisdom may have been the best they could do based on the gifts they received. The Greek verb for “taken”, in the Gospel, has been mistranslated as “rapture”. Friar Jude reminds us of the anti-Roman polemic that may be present in Luke’s writing.
In the yearbook for my graduation from the Nova Scotia Technical College is a quote that shares my observation about the engineering devices I was studying. “Systems that breath and inevitably rust”.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, speaks of the holiness of our present time and place, no matter where we are.
The presence of God is infinite, everywhere, always, and forever. You cannot not be in the presence of God. There’s no other place to be. The only change is always on our side—God is present, but we’re not present to Presence. We’ll make any excuse to be somewhere other than right here. Right here, right now never seem enough. But here’s the problem—we’re almost always somewhere else. We are either reprocessing the past or worrying about the future. If we watch our mind, it doesn’t think many original thoughts. We just keep thinking in the same problematic ways that our minds love to operate.7
We breathe in the moment and receive the invitation to accept the gift of faith in God and Creation.
Addendum: Loosening the knots in the cry of the earth https://tinyurl.com/vu6cr7dc
References
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