The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine our judgemental attitudes in the light of the mercy we have experienced through the action of the Spirit in our lives.
The reading from the Book of Daniel recognizes the mercy of God through the seventy weeks of years.
* [9:2] Seventy years: Jeremiah was understood to prophesy a Babylonian captivity of seventy years, a round number signifying the complete passing away of the existing generation (Jer 25:11; 29:10). On this view Jeremiah’s prophecy was seen to be fulfilled in the capture of Babylon by Cyrus and the subsequent return of the Jews to Palestine. However, the author of Daniel, living during the persecution of Antiochus, extends Jeremiah’s number to seventy weeks of years (Dn 9:24), i.e., seven times seventy years, to encompass the period of Seleucid persecution.1
Psalm 79 is a plea for mercy for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 79] A communal lament complaining that the nations have defiled the Temple and murdered the holy people, leaving their corpses unburied (Ps 79:1–4). The occasion is probably the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 587 B.C. The people ask how long the withdrawal of divine favor will last (Ps 79:5), pray for action now (Ps 79:6–7), and admit that their own sins have brought about the catastrophe (Ps 79:8–9). They seek to persuade God to act for reasons of honor: the nations who do not call upon the Name are running amok (Ps 79:6); the divine honor is compromised (Ps 79:1, 10, 12); God’s own servants suffer (Ps 79:2–4, 11).2
In the Sermon on the Plain from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches about judging others.
* [6:20–49] Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” is the counterpart to Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5:1–7:27). It is addressed to the disciples of Jesus, and, like the sermon in Matthew, it begins with beatitudes (Lk 6:20–22) and ends with the parable of the two houses (Lk 6:46–49). Almost all the words of Jesus reported by Luke are found in Matthew’s version, but because Matthew includes sayings that were related to specifically Jewish Christian problems (e.g., Mt 5:17–20; 6:1–8, 16–18) that Luke did not find appropriate for his predominantly Gentile Christian audience, the “Sermon on the Mount” is considerably longer. Luke’s sermon may be outlined as follows: an introduction consisting of blessings and woes (Lk 6:20–26); the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36); the demands of loving one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42); good deeds as proof of one’s goodness (Lk 6:43–45); a parable illustrating the result of listening to and acting on the words of Jesus (Lk 6:46–49). At the core of the sermon is Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36) that has as its source of motivation God’s graciousness and compassion for all humanity (Lk 6:35–36) and Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42) that is characterized by forgiveness and generosity.3
Carol Zuegner reflects on questions raised by the texts today.
I can extend mercy, and in today’s world, mercy is needed more than ever. I can step out of my righteousness and consider what others are going through before even thinking about making a judgement. I can pray for those I would condemn. I can ask for understanding and compassion as I offer those gifts to those around me. I know it will be a struggle sometimes as I fold those judgements and condemnations around me like a cloak. But as I let go of that cloak, I can feel the weight of all that judgement, condemnation and perceived slights fall away. I can be open to giving and know that God will be merciful to me. Let me work on extending mercy and being open to feeling God’s mercy as a gift “packed together, shaken down, and overflowing.”4
Don Schwager quotes “The Practice of Mercy,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The practice of mercy is twofold: when vengeance is sacrificed and when compassion is shown. The Lord included both of these in his brief sentence: 'Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given to you.' This work has the effect of purifying the heart, so that, even under the limitations of this life, we are enabled with pure mind to see the immutable reality of God. There is something holding us back, which has to be loosed so that our sight may break through to the light. In connection with this the Lord said, 'Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.' Therefore the next and sixth step is that cleansing of the heart." (excerpt from Letter 171A.2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Daniel 9:4-10 comments that in these seven short verses, Daniel mentions shame, abandonment, and rebellion six times. But even in the face of so much sin, Daniel doesn’t get stuck in shame or guilt. Instead, he recalls God’s steadfast love and mercy. And he doesn’t just recall it; he clings to it. He holds onto it so tightly that it gives him the strength to keep serving the Lord despite all the sin.
Remember this whenever you feel ashamed for having fallen into a pothole. Yes, your initial plan may have been derailed. Yes, it may feel as if you’ll never get out of that hole. But God is still with you. He hasn’t forgotten you, and he certainly hasn’t given up on you. He is waiting for you to take hold of his mercy. He’s offering you the grace not just to be forgiven but to change as well. You don’t ever have to resign yourself to guilt. You don’t ever have to feel helpless in the fight against sin. Embrace God’s infinite mercy. Ask him for forgiveness—and then forgive yourself. Let him pull you out of that hole and set you back on the road. “Lord, I believe that you are a God of compassion and forgiveness!”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Daniel shows that we choose to be outside God’s love. Receiving mercy requires an open heart that condemns evil but not persons. Friar Jude reminds us that vulnerability is required to receive mercy.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rabbi Rami Shapiro, a Jewish contemplative and interfaith teacher, well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures. He describes how the Divine Feminine has been present all along as Wisdom, God’s essential partner in the creation of the cosmos.
This is how Mother Wisdom works. She doesn’t change anything; She illumines everything. She is right seeing. Chochma “pervades and penetrates” all things (Wisdom of Solomon 7:24). She is the ordering principle of the universe. What you see when you see Her is analogous to seeing the grain in wood, the current of wind and oceans, and the laws of nature, both the macrocosmic and the microcosmic. . . . She is the Way things are. . . .She is the Way God is manifest in the world. To know Her is to know God as well. [1]7
Biblical scholar Virginia Mollenkott explores the frequent imagery of God as Mother in the Bible, including in surprising places in the New Testament.
[A] serene, transcendent image of God the Mother occurs in Acts 17:26 and 28, during Paul’s speech to the Athenian Council of the Areopagus. Paul declares that God is not dependent on anything, since God is the one who has given life and breath to everyone. Furthermore, this God is not far from any of us, for it is in God that we live, and move, and exist. Although the apostle does not specifically name the womb, at no other time in human experience do we exist within another person. Thus, Paul pictures the entire human race—people of all colors, all religions, all political and economic systems—as living, moving, and existing within the cosmic womb of the One God. [2]7
We are grateful for the experience of mercy and vulnerability in those who have cared for us on our journey.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment