The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the opportunities we have to celebrate and sustain life in our relationships with others.
Guardians of Life
In the reading from the First Book of Samuel, David Spares Saul.
* [24:1] The first of two accounts (see chap. 26) in which David spares Saul’s life. The two accounts, which do not make reference to each other, are probably alternative versions of the same story.1
Psalm 57 offers praise and assurance under persecution.
* [Psalm 57] Each of the two equal strophes contains a prayer for rescue from enemies, accompanied by joyful trust in God (Ps 57:2–5, 7–11). The refrain prays that God be manifested as saving (Ps 57:6, 12). Ps 108 is nearly identical to part of this Psalm (cf. Ps 57:8–11, Ps 108:2–6).2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus appoints the Twelve Apostles.
* [3:14–15] He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him: literally “he made,” i.e., instituted them as apostles to extend his messianic mission through them (Mk 6:7–13). See notes on Mt 10:1 and 10:2–4.3
Carol Zuegner comments that in a world that often seems consumed by division and polarization, we need a message of reconciliation. We can change and become new, thanks to God’s love.
How can I live my life with God’s message of reconciliation? I can start with the “Our Father,” where we ask for forgiveness for our own sins “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We have to forgive – to take the generous stance as David did – if we are to be trusted with the message of reconciliation. For today, I’ll pray the “Our Father” and reflect on the reconciliation that’s necessary in my own life for me to live a life in the light.4
Don Schwager quotes “The renaming of Matthew by Jesus,” by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"We must not pass over the fact that Matthew had two names, for he was also called Levi, and that name too bears witness to the grace granted to him. Levi means 'added' (or 'a joining') or 'taken up,' signifying that he was 'taken up' through being chosen by the Lord, and 'added' to the number of the apostolic band. Mark and Luke generously chose to use this name alone, so as to not make glaringly conspicuous his former way of life, for he was now their companion in the work of the Gospel (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27). In setting down the list of the twelve apostles, they simply called him Matthew, not mentioning Levi (Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15). Matthew himself, on the other hand (in accord with what is written, 'The just man is the first accuser of himself; his friend came and searched him out' - Proverbs 18:17), calls himself by his ordinary name when telling of being called from his tax-collector's place, but adds pointedly 'the publican' (Matthew 10:3) - 'Thomas,' he says, 'and Matthew the publican.' In this way he offers to publicans and sinners greater confidence in securing their salvation." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.21)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Samuel 24:3-21 comments that David’s actions mirror the forbearance of God, who is patient and slow to anger, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Instead of punishing us swiftly, God gives us room to experience the consequences of our choices and feel remorse for our sins. He scans the road, eagerly awaiting our return. Perhaps he muses about the ways we will grow from these difficult experiences.
Next time you are wronged, take a deep breath. Call on God’s mercy for you and for the one who has hurt you. Remember, forbearance is a virtue that opens up the opportunity for you and the people around you to grow. “Father, give me a heart full of forbearance toward those who wrong me.”6
Friar Jude Winkler places the reprieve of Saul in the context of his lengthy jealousy of David. The Twelve were called to fulfill God’s Plan for Jesus. Friar Jude comments on the reasons to call Judas as one of the apostles.
Franciscan Media comments that the legend of Saint of the Day, St Agnes, tells that a man who looked lustfully upon her lost his sight and had it restored by her prayer.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cites work by Sallie McFague, Saint Augustine, and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee to present Creation as the Body of God and connect to this time of Prayer for Christian Unity.
In the late fourth century, St. Augustine, recognized by both East and West as a Doctor of the Church, said that “the church consists in the state of communion of the whole world.” [2] When we are in right relationship—we might say “in love”—there is the Christ, the Body of God, and there is the church. But Christians sadly whittled that Great Mystery down into something small, exclusive, and manageable. The church became a Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant private club, one not necessarily formed by people who were “in communion” with anything else, and only rarely with the natural world, with non-Christians, or even with other Christians outside their own denomination.7
At times on our journey we have the opportunity to be grateful for the gift of forbearance that opens the door to reconciliation with those who challenge us.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment