The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our experience of being persecuted for actions that may have disturbed the “way things are''.
Working in Solidarity
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah describes his interior crisis resulting from persecution.
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”1
Psalm 18 is a Royal Thanksgiving for Victory.
* [Psalm 18] A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sm 22. Thanksgiving Psalms are in essence reports of divine rescue. The Psalm has two parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (Ps 18:5–20), and the second from an earthly perspective (Ps 18:36–46). The first report adapts old mythic language of a cosmic battle between sea and rainstorm in order to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (Ps 18:2–4, 32–36) and conclusion (Ps 18:21–31, 47–50).2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is accused of blasphemy during the Feast of the Dedication.
* [10:41] Performed no sign: this is to stress the inferior role of John the Baptist. The Transjordan topography recalls the great witness of John the Baptist to Jesus, as opposed to the hostility of the authorities in Jerusalem.3
Edward Morse comments that Jesus' own people could experience good from our Lord’s presence and his miraculous works performed among them, but they could not embrace the light he offered. Indeed, they seem not to want to know about the light. Instead of discourse, they chose a violent path, which our Lord somehow escaped this time. He retreated to a wilderness. But note that others still drew near to him, drawn by his witness of the light.
During this Lenten journey, we have been challenged to pursue metanoia – repentance and the change of heart that opens us to embrace the works of God in our lives. God is inviting us to choose His light. He shows his depth of commitment to us, as our Lord left a world in which friendship, loyalty, and faithfulness were perfect and undiminished in order to join us in our world in which he would experience the sting of treachery and abandonment. How much that must have cost our Lord to bring light to us! Can this understanding help us embrace metanoia more deeply? May these events be in our hearts as we approach Holy Week. Thanks be to God.4
Don Schwager quotes “The sacrifice of Christ,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Even though the man Christ Jesus, in the form of God together with the Father with whom He is one God, accepts our sacrifice, nonetheless He has chosen in the form of a servant to be the sacrifice rather than to accept it. Therefore, He is the priest Himself Who presents the offering, and He Himself is what is offered." (excerpt from City of God, 10,20)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Jeremiah 20:10-13 comments that just as he did for Jeremiah, God will rescue us and sustain us even through our most difficult circumstances. His “rescuing” gives us the strength to endure and the faith to trust him. Whether he provides a moment of peace when anxiety is overwhelming or the power to carry on when a family member is struggling with his health, God is there to lift us up.
This happens in small and big ways—and we may not see it except in hindsight. God may use a Scripture verse or a conversation with a friend to comfort us. A walk outside may refresh our spirit, or a moment of clarity may give us wisdom. God is present in all these ways. Whatever you are facing today, you can call on the Lord. Bring your concerns to him, and ask him to intervene. Whether his answer comes in obvious or subtle ways, whether it comes immediately or later, you can be sure that the Lord has heard you and that he is with you. “Lord, hear my prayer today. Rescue me in your love.”6
Friar Jude Winkler explores the dialogue between Jeremiah and God known as the Confessions of Jeremiah. The self emptying of Jeremiah, even when it cost him, makes him a Christ like prophet. In John’s Gospel, faith makes us one with Jesus in the Spirit.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us that while we are invited to be in solidarity with the pain of others, God carries all pain. Many people rightly question how there can be a good God or a just God in the presence of so much evil and suffering in the world—about which God appears to do nothing. Exactly how is God loving and sustaining what God created? That is our dilemma. Episcopal priest Stephanie Spellers helps us understand how our one “entwined” suffering spurs us to take action in solidarity.
Solidarity is love crossing the borders drawn by self-centrism, in order to enter into the situation of the other, for the purpose of mutual relationship and struggle that heals us all and enacts God’s beloved community. Solidarity is the voice that finally comprehends: “You are not the same as me, but part of you lives in me. Your freedom and mine were always inextricably entwined. Now I see it, and because of what I see, I choose to live differently. I will go there, with you, for your sake and for my own.”. . .7
Latina theologian Ada María Isasi-Díaz [1943–2012] sums up solidarity as “the union of kindred persons” who work together toward “the unfolding of the ‘kin-dom’ of God.” [1].
The bottom line is not who wins or loses the struggle, or even who secures enough allies to flip the power dynamic. Isasi-Díaz wants us to see that the loving, sacrificial friendship at the heart of solidarity is itself the antidote to sin and oppression.7
We find solidarity in the Body of Christ as we act to reveal the Light of Christ.
References
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