The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Feast of Deacon Saint Lawrence, resonate with the prompting of the Spirit to live as generous servants addressing the needs of others. I am grateful for the deacons among my friends who have lived as generous servants.
The reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians describes God’s indescribable gift.
* [9:8–10] The behavior to which he exhorts them is grounded in God’s own pattern of behavior. God is capable of overwhelming generosity, as scripture itself attests (2 Cor 9:9), so that they need not fear being short. He will provide in abundance, both supplying their natural needs and increasing their righteousness. Paul challenges them to godlike generosity and reminds them of the fundamental motive for encouragement: God himself cannot be outdone. (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Psalm 112 praises the blessings of the righteous.
* [Psalm 112] An acrostic poem detailing the blessings received by those who remain close to God by obedience to the commandments. Among their blessings are children (Ps 112:2), wealth that enables them to be magnanimous (Ps 112:3, 5, 9), and virtue by which they encourage others (Ps 112:4). The just person is an affront to the wicked, whose hopes remain unfulfilled (Ps 112:10). The logic resembles Ps 1; 111. (Psalms, PSALM 112, n.d.)
The Gospel of John shares the coming of Jesus’ Hour.
* [12:24] This verse implies that through his death Jesus will be accessible to all. It remains just a grain of wheat: this saying is found in the synoptic triple and double traditions (Mk 8:35; Mt 16:25; Lk 9:24; Mt 10:39; Lk 17:33). John adds the phrases (Jn 12:25) in this world and for eternal life. (John, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)
George Butterfield comments that the psalmist speaks of the person, like Lawrence, who is gracious and lends to those in need. “His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth.” Who is celebrating the Roman Empire today? Lawrence’s posterity is singing his praises. “The just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.”
Lawrence’s life was described by Jesus as a grain of wheat. That grain fell to the ground and died. Almost eighteen hundred years later it is still producing fruit. Lawrence lost his life; thus, he preserved it. He served and followed Jesus. Jesus said “where I am, there also will my servant be.” Could anything be better for Lawrence than to simply be with Jesus? We honor Lawrence today and rightly so. However, I quite imagine that this means little to Lawrence. Better than that is what Jesus said about honor: “The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
St. Lawrence – honored by Almighty God. Could it get any better than that? (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The seed must die before being resurrected,” by Irenaeus, 135-202 A.D.
"A cutting from the vine planted in the ground bears fruit in its season, or a kernel of wheat falling into the earth and becoming decomposed rises and is multiplied by the Spirit of God, who contains all things. And then, through the wisdom of God, it serves for our use when, after receiving the Word of God, it becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. In the same way our bodies, being nourished by it, and deposited in the earth and suffering decomposition there, shall rise at their appointed time. The Word of God grants them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father who freely gives to this mortal immortality, and to this corruptible incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:53). This is so because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness (1 Corinthians 15:43; 2 Corinthians 13:4) in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, or become exalted against God with ungrateful minds."(excerpt from AGAINST HERESIES 5.2.3) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 12:24-26 comments that we may not be facing arrest or martyrdom, but each of us has many opportunities to “die” for our faith in the course of our day. Saying no to a particularly strong temptation, being patient or generous with a difficult person, maintaining honesty in a dishonest climate, or just facing a dreary day with hope in the Lord—these are just a few of the ways we can lay down our lives and choose God above our immediate desires.
Jesus promises that every time we “die” in this way, we bear fruit. Our witness might inspire a person facing a battle we know nothing about. Our humility might defuse a tense situation. Our faithfulness might move someone to seek the Lord for themselves. And over all of this, we will bear the sweet fruit of a deeper relationship with God.
“Lord, I offer you my day. I trust you to make it fruitful.” (Meditation on John 12:24-26, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the exhortation in 2 Corinthians to share generously. Saint Lawrence is credited with a sense of humour as he was martyred after a life of service to the poor in Rome in the third century. Friar Jude reminds us that dying to self is the Way of the Gospel to bear fruit daily in our lives.
The Franciscan Media article on Saint Lawrence comments that the esteem in which the Church holds for Lawrence is seen in the fact that today’s celebration ranks as a feast. We know very little about his life. He is one of those whose martyrdom made a deep and lasting impression on the early Church. Celebration of his feast day spread rapidly. He was a Roman deacon under Pope Saint Sixtus II. Four days after this pope was put to death, Lawrence and four clerics suffered martyrdom, probably during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian.
Once again we have a saint about whom almost nothing is known, yet one who has received extraordinary honor in the Church since the fourth century. Almost nothing—yet the greatest fact of his life is certain: He died for Christ. We who are hungry for details about the lives of the saints are again reminded that their holiness was after all, a total response to Christ, expressed perfectly by a death like this. (Saint Lawrence, n.d.)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that we need to understand kinesthetic, bodily knowing. We must learn to recognize our physical responses—be they fear, arousal, pleasure, or pain—because they reveal additional and important information. It may take a few minutes of intentional focus to become aware of tension in our shoulders, churning in our gut, a pounding heart, or goosebumps. The Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue (1956–2008) says this well.
Your mind can deceive you and put all kinds of barriers between you and your nature; but your body does not lie. Your body tells you, if you attend to it, how your life is and whether you are living from your soul or from the labyrinths of your negativity. . . . The human body is the most complex, refined, and harmonious totality. . . .
Your body is, in essence, a crowd of different members who work in harmony to make your belonging in the world possible. . . . The soul is not simply within the body, hidden somewhere within its recesses. The truth is rather the converse. Your body is in the soul, and the soul suffuses you completely. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are prompted by the Spirit to die to self and thereby release the action that makes generous response to the needs of others possible.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/081022.html
John, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/12?24
Meditation on John 12:24-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/10/465646/
Psalms, PSALM 112. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/112?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-source-of-vital-information-2022-08-10/
Saint Lawrence. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-lawrence
Schwager, D. (n.d.). If It Dies, It Bears Much Fruit. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug10a
2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/9?6
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