The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the nature of Christian leadership that is our baptismal anointing.
Two by Two
The reading from the First Book of Kings is David’s Instruction to Solomon.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, and wherever you turn,1
The response from the First Book of Chronicles is David’s Praise to God.
“Blessed are you, LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus provides instructions for the Mission of the Twelve.
* [6:7–13] The preparation for the mission of the Twelve is seen in the call (1) of the first disciples to be fishers of men (Mk 1:16–20), (2) then of the Twelve set apart to be with Jesus and to receive authority to preach and expel demons (Mk 3:13–19). Now they are given the specific mission to exercise that authority in word and power as representatives of Jesus during the time of their formation.3
Nicky Santos, S.J. shares his experience of abandoning himself to God’s care during his Jesuit novitiate.
The family I was staying with did not have much. They had a small plot of land and a small house. I slept with the menfolk under the tree at night while the women, children, and animals slept inside the little mud house. There was no attached bath or toilet. We bathed in the nearby river and went to the fields for our toilet needs. For those two weeks, I abandoned myself totally to the care of my hosts and in doing so, I experienced the love and care of God for me through them. Those two weeks, though an experiment in the novitiate, continue to shape who I am today, and to reinforce my total trust in God’s care for me.4
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus gives them power to heal and cast out evil spirits,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"The grace bestowed upon the holy apostles is worthy of all admiration. But the bountifulness of the Giver surpasses all praise and admiration. He gives them, as I said, his own glory. They receive authority over the evil spirits. They reduce to nothing the pride of the devil that was so highly exalted and arrogant. They render ineffectual the demon's wickedness. By the might and efficacy of the Holy Spirit, burning them as if they were on fire, they make the devil come forth with groans and weeping from those whom he had possessed... "He glorified his disciples, therefore, by giving them authority and power over the evil spirits and over sicknesses. Did he honor them without reason and make them famous without any logical cause? How can this be true? It was necessary, most necessary, that they should be able to work miracles, having been publicly appointed ministers of sacred proclamations. By means of their works, they then could convince men that they were the ministers of God and mediators of all beneath the heaven. The apostles then could invite them all to reconciliation and justification by faith and point out the way of salvation and of life that is this justification." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 47)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 comments that Solomon was probably already well aware of the sins in his father’s life. And yet he learned important lessons about following the Lord from David’s transgressions as well as from his successes.
So how has God revealed his love and mercy to you through your successes and failures? Or how is he demonstrating his love to you even now, in your everyday life? Take some time to reflect and pray about this. Wherever you’re at, whether it’s a high point or a low point, you can testify to the presence and power and goodness of God. Like David, we are all “earthen vessels,” but God’s power is often more evident in our weaknesses than in our strengths (2 Corinthians 4:7; 12:9). Your testimony can stir up the faith of those around you and help them to realize that they too are qualified to witness to the goodness of the Lord. “Lord, be glorified in my weaknesses as well as in my strengths.”6
Friar Jude Winkler explores the instructions of David to Solomon that direct him to follow the Law and to behave like a mafia don. The Twelve go out two by two as a work of the Church and Providence. Friar Jude reminds us to avoid hitting our head against a wall when sometimes we should just move on.
The Franciscan Media article on St. Blaise comments that his feast is observed as a holy day in some Eastern Churches. In 1222, the Council of Oxford prohibited servile labor in England on Blaise’s feast day. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor, and for decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual Saint Blaise blessing for their throats.
Four centuries give ample opportunity for fiction to creep in with fact. Who can be sure how accurate Blaise’s biographer was? But biographical details are not essential. Blaise is seen as one more example of the power those have who give themselves entirely to Jesus. As Jesus told his apostles at the Last Supper, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). With faith we can follow the lead of the Church in asking for Blaise’s protection.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, points out how the Bible is filled with stories of people encountering God—regardless of whether they got everything right or everything wrong!
But it is also why we have to go through the seemingly laborious, boring, or even disturbing books of the Bible, such as Joshua, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, Leviticus, Numbers, and Revelation. We hear in these books about sin and war, adulteries and affairs, kings and killings, intrigues and deceits—the tragic and sad events of human life along with the ordinary and wonderful. Those books, documenting the life of real communities, of concrete and regular people, are telling us that “God comes to us disguised as our life” (a wonderful line I learned from my dear friend and colleague, Paula D’Arcy). But for most “religious” people this is actually a disappointment! 8
Our action as Christian leaders requires openness to respond to the prompting of the Spirit as God acts through the events of our life.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment