The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the restoration we experience in our relationships with God and the people we encounter.
Healing Encounters
The reading from the First Letter of John advises testing the Spirits.
* [3:19–24] Living a life of faith in Jesus and of Christian love assures us of abiding in God no matter what our feelings may at times tell us. Our obedience gives us confidence in prayer and trust in God’s judgment. This obedience includes our belief in Christ and love for one another.1 * [4:1–6] Deception is possible in spiritual phenomena and may be tested by its relation to Christian doctrine (cf. 1 Cor 12:3): those who fail to acknowledge Jesus Christ in the flesh are false prophets and belong to the antichrist. Even though these false prophets are well received in the world, the Christian who belongs to God has a greater power in the truth.2
Psalm 2 proclaims God’s Promise to His Anointed.
* [Psalm 2] A royal Psalm. To rebellious kings (Ps 2:1–3) God responds vigorously (Ps 2:4–6). A speaker proclaims the divine decree (in the legal adoption language of the day), making the Israelite king the earthly representative of God (Ps 2:7–9) and warning kings to obey (Ps 2:10–11). The Psalm has a messianic meaning for the Church; the New Testament understands it of Christ (Acts 4:25–27; 13:33; Heb 1:5).3
The Gospel of Matthew shares that Jesus begins His Ministry in Galilee to crowds of people.
* [4:23–25] This summary of Jesus’ ministry concludes the narrative part of the first book of Matthew’s gospel (Mt 3–4). The activities of his ministry are teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing; cf. Mt 9:35.4
Gladyce Janky imagines conversations between Andrew and Simon about Jesus. Here we are, some 2000 plus years since the birth of Christ, and there continue to be many people struggling day-to-day. How many Simons find themselves dealing with racial and/or social injustice worldwide? How many Andrews long for respect of their fundamental human rights, including the right to live peacefully, earn a living wage, have access to clean water, nutritious food, and health care, and the right to practice their religious beliefs?
Unlike the Simons, Simones, Andrews, and Andreas of Jesus' time, we know the teacher proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and curing every disease and illness is more than just another prophet. He is the Promised One that reconciles us to God. Although we still live in an imperfect world, we have the voice of John reassuring us we can receive from Him whatever we ask if we keep his commandments and do what pleases him (1 Jn.3:22). John explains we are to trust God and turn away from the false spirits of the world that want to draw us into hopelessness. Our call is to turn toward the Simons and Simones, the Andrews and Andreas in solidarity with their struggles. Our call is to offer them compassion, acceptance, love, and hope through our actions.5
Don Schwager quotes “The true light of revelation to the Gentiles,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).
"The Evangelist commemorated in this passage the prophet's words: 'Beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light' (Matthew 4:15-16) In what darkness? Certainly in the profound error of ignorance. What great light did they see? The light concerning which it is written: 'He was the true light that illumines everyone who comes into this world' (John 1:9) This was the light about which the just man Simeon in the Gospel declared, 'A light of revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel' (Luke 2:32). That light had arisen according to what David had announced, saying, 'A light has arisen in the darkness to the upright of heart' (Psalm 112:4). "Also, Isaiah demonstrated that light about to come for the enlightenment of the church when he said, 'Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you' (Isaiah 60:1). Concerning that light also Daniel noted, 'It reveals the profound and hidden things, knowing those things which are in darkness and the light is with it' (Daniel 2:22), that is, the Son with the Father, for even as the Father is light, so too is the Son light. And David also speaks in the psalm: 'In your light shall we see light' (Psalm 36:9), for the Father is seen in the Son, as the Lord tells us in the Gospel: 'Who sees me, sees the Father' (John 14:9) From the true light, indeed, the true light proceeded, and from the invisible the visible. "He is the image of the invisible God," as the apostle notes (Colossians 1:15)." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 15.1)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 comments that Jesus healed and preached repentance in Capernaum, but he didn’t stop there. He went wherever people needed him, bringing the light of his presence “around all . . . Galilee” and beyond (Matthew 4:23).
Now Jesus is sending you out to be a light in the darkness around you. As he did so long ago, he is asking you to do: go where there is need. Make your home your “hub” as Jesus did, and move out from there. Let your light shine through your words and your actions, and you’ll be able to push back the darkness. What kind of darkness? It might be simply that people haven’t heard the good news about Jesus. Or they might be suffering the darkness of loneliness or isolation. Or the darkness might come from difficult circumstances, like a job loss or sickness. God’s life in you is like a light that you can take wherever you go. It’s not as complicated as you might think. Your faithfulness to your daily prayer time or Mass attendance can inspire the people that you live with. When you take the time to visit someone who is infirm or elderly, you can ease their loneliness. Even sending a note or email to a friend in tough circumstances can help lift their spirits. So start with the needs you see close to home. And like Jesus, work your way outward. “Jesus, thank you that you bring your light wherever it’s needed. Help me to do the same.”7
Fr Tim Byron SJ of Manchester’s Holy Name Jesuit Community, explains the history of the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and invites us to embrace it this year. One of the things that he has often admired in Islam is the respect for prophets’ names.
Friar Jude Winkler connects the concerns in 1 John to the Doecetists who separated humanity and divinity and held that the totally spiritual were not sinners anymore. Jesus may have lived with Simon and Andrew in Capernaum in the Galilee region that was home to many pagans. Friar Jude reminds us that the converted Pharisee who made some edits to the Gospel of Matthew recognized the Kingdom of God was offered by Jesus to Jews and Gentiles.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes the intimate relationship we experience when we allow ourselves to be loved, seen, and “gazed upon” by God.
Standing humbly before God’s gaze not only unites the psyche but it does the very thing that I know when I teach contemplative prayer. It unifies desire. It frees us from what Henri de Lubac (1896–1991) called the “vertigo of the imagination.” [2] It’s the whirlpool of imagination, looking here, there, and everywhere. Standing before one, accepting God literally allows us to be composed and gathered in one place. We can be in one place; we can be here, now. We can stop always looking over there for tomorrow’s happiness. As the apostle Paul wrote, “now is the favorable time, today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). We see that Paul understands this in a most beautiful paragraph from his Second Letter to the Corinthians. He says, “We with our unveiled faces will gradually reflect like mirrors the brightness of the Lord. All will grow brighter and brighter as we are gradually turned into the image that we reflect” (3:18). That’s it! It doesn’t have to do with being perfect. It has to do with being in relationship, holding onto union as tightly as God holds onto us, staying in there. The one who knows all and receives all, as a mirror does, has no trouble forgiving all. It’s not a matter of being correct, but of being connected.9
Accepting the prompts of the Spirit to build relationships and spiritual devotions restores our desire for fullness in our lives.
References
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