The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider the obstacles we may have erected on our journey that reduce our ability to see and hear the prompting of the Spirit towards fullness of life.
In the reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, God pleads with Israel to repent.
* [2:1–3:5] These chapters may contain some of Jeremiah’s early preaching. He portrays Israel as the wife of the Lord, faithful only in the beginning, when she walked behind him (2:2–3, 5; 3:1). Consistent with the marriage metaphor, he describes her present unfaithfulness as adultery (2:20; 3:2–3); now she walks behind the Baals. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
Psalm 36 contrasts human wickedness and Divine Goodness.
* [Psalm 36] A Psalm with elements of wisdom (Ps 36:2–5), the hymn (Ps 36:6–10), and the lament (Ps 36:11–13). The rule of sin over the wicked (Ps 36:2–5) is contrasted with the rule of divine love and mercy over God’s friends (Ps 36:6–10). The Psalm ends with a prayer that God’s guidance never cease (Ps 36:11–12). (Psalms, PSALM 36, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains the purpose of the Parables.
* [13:11] Since a parable is figurative speech that demands reflection for understanding, only those who are prepared to explore its meaning can come to know it. To understand is a gift of God, granted to the disciples but not to the crowds. In Semitic fashion, both the disciples’ understanding and the crowd’s obtuseness are attributed to God. The question of human responsibility for the obtuseness is not dealt with, although it is asserted in Mt 13:13. The mysteries: as in Lk 8:10; Mk 4:11 has “the mystery.” The word is used in Dn 2:18, 19, 27 and in the Qumran literature (1QpHab 7:8; 1QS 3:23; 1QM 3:9) to designate a divine plan or decree affecting the course of history that can be known only when revealed. Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven means recognition that the kingdom has become present in the ministry of Jesus. (Matthew, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)
Tamora Whitney notes that Jesus tells the disciples that he speaks in parables because, like the example of the seeds and the sower, not everyone who hears will listen. Not everyone who hears will understand. Some are like the people from the first reading who hear the word, but they turn away and defile the land like the seeds choked by weeds.
We need to be aware and be like the disciples who listen carefully and critically and not like the people who turn away from the true source. Let these words fall on us like the seeds in the good rich soil that will bring forth good and plentiful fruit. (Whitney, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Ears that refuse to hear”, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).
"Faith perceives the mysteries of the kingdom. A person will make progress in those things he has been immersed in and will abound with an increase in that progress. But in those things he has not been immersed in, even that which he has shall be taken away from him. In other words, he suffers the loss of the law from the loss of his faith. Lacking faith, the people of the law lost even the efficacy of the law. Therefore, gospel faith receives a perfect gift, because it enriches with new fruit those things that have been undertaken. But once it is rejected, even the help of one's former means of support is taken away. (excerpt from a commentary ON MATTHEW 13.2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:10-17 comments that Jesus knew the struggles of the human heart; he knew that these stories would have the power to speak to us in the day-to-day circumstances of our lives. For example, the parable of the sower and the seed might show you that your heart needs to soften about a specific situation so that it doesn’t become like the rocky soil that doesn’t bear fruit (Matthew 13:5). The parable of the servant who refused to forgive a small debt when he had been forgiven an enormous one might help you to forgive someone who has hurt or angered you (18:23-35). Or you might be feeling guilty over a sin in your life but afraid that God won’t forgive you. Yet what better portrait of the Father could Jesus have painted than that of the compassionate, merciful father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)?
God has something to reveal to you through these stories—not only universal spiritual truths for all time, but something very personal for you today. So be expectant. When you sit with one of Jesus’ parables, no matter how familiar it is, let it slowly sink into your mind and heart. And remember Jesus’ words: “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear” (Matthew 13:16)!
“Jesus, open my ears and heart to your word today.” (Meditation on Matthew 13:10-17, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the transition of the Israelites from Covenant in the desert to self-sufficiency and a god they could control in the Promised Land. Jesus sought to present His teaching in the easiest way for people to understand, so that if they rejected Him, it would be their responsibility. Friar Jude reminds us that we find fullness when we allow God to work in our lives.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rosemarie Freeney Harding (1930–2004), a spiritual leader in the Black Freedom Movement of the 1960s. Her Mennonite faith shaped her commitment to radical hospitality, healing, and transformation. She describes the interracial community she and her husband Vincent formed at Mennonite House in Atlanta. As the Cape Breton novelist Alistair MacLeod [1936–2014] writes, “We are all better when we’re loved.” [1] . .Freeney Harding’s activism was inspired by her abiding and mystical experience of God’s love and justice. Rachel Harding recalls her mother’s vision.
There is no scarcity. There is no shortage. No lack of love,
of compassion, of joy in the world. There is enough.
There is more than enough.
Only fear and greed make us think otherwise.
No one need starve. There is enough land and enough food.
No one need die of thirst. There is enough water. No one
need live without mercy. There is no end to grace. And we
are all instruments of grace. The more we give it, the more
we share it, the more we use it, the more God makes. There
is no scarcity of love. There is plenty. And always more.
This is the universe my mother lived in. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are invited to surrender our pride, preferences, and privilege as the way to prepare ourselves to live fully in communion with all God’s Creation.
References
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/2?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13?10
Meditation on Matthew 13:10-17. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/07/21/446197/
Psalms, PSALM 36. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/36?6
Rohr, R. (n.d.). No Scarcity of Love. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/no-scarcity-of-love-2022-07-21/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jul21
Whitney, T. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072122.html
No comments:
Post a Comment