The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to respond to the prompting of the Spirit to let go of our comfort in conventions to live in a deeper connection to the Way of Jesus.
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians presents an allegory on Christian freedom.
* [4:21–31] Paul supports his appeal for the gospel (Gal 4:9; 1:6–9; 2:16; 3:2) by a further argument from scripture (cf. Gal 3:6–18). It involves the relationship of Abraham (Gal 3:6–16) to his wife, Sarah, the freeborn woman, and to Hagar, the slave woman, and the contrast between the sons born to each, Isaac, child of promise, and Ishmael, son of Hagar (Gn 16; 21). Only through Isaac is the promise of God preserved. This allegory (Gal 4:24), with its equation of the Sinai covenant and Mosaic law with slavery and of the promise of God with freedom, Paul uses only in light of previous arguments. His quotation of Gn 21:10 at Gal 4:30 suggests on a scriptural basis that the Galatians should expel those who are troubling them (Gal 1:7). (Galatians, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)
Psalm 113 praises God, the Helper of the needy.
* [Psalm 113] A hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name, i.e., the way in which God is present in the world; the name is mentioned three times in Ps 113:1–3. The divine name is especially honored in the Temple (Ps 113:1) but its recognition is not limited by time (Ps 113:2) and space (Ps 113:3), for God is everywhere active (Ps 113:4–5) especially in rescuing the lowly faithful (Ps 113:7–9). (Psalms, PSALM 113, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus refers to the Sign of Jonah.
* [11:29–32] The “sign of Jonah” in Luke is the preaching of the need for repentance by a prophet who comes from afar. Cf. Mt 12:38–42 (and see notes there) where the “sign of Jonah” is interpreted by Jesus as his death and resurrection. (Luke, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
Eileen Burke-Sullivan comments that in today’s Gospel we hear Jesus telling us that it is an evil generation who demands the security of signs and structures of certainty. Faith is a relationship that must be lived in freedom and commitment even when it is unbelievably difficult – and seemingly against all odds.
If we are not willing to enter prayer seriously, if we are not prepared to live in faith not human security, if we won’t come out of our gated communities of “our people” rather than the tremendous uncertainty of “all people,” if we will not be faithful to the Church that bears the teachings of Jesus into history, then faith will die out in in hearts and lives – and it will not be available for that generation of beautiful children being born right now. We have nothing to hand on to them if we do not live it now.
Today, and every day we are invited to pray for the ability to pray. We are called to believe the humanly unbelievable because with God ALL THINGS are possible. We are invited to live in the freedom of discerned decisions of God’s grace supported by the promise of God’s mercy instead of the surety of laws and institutions. We have been given the Grace of Baptism and are continuously invited to the Eucharist to affirm that Baptism and grow into its Divine characteristics within us.
As this year of our Lord passes into history, I pray that I will be more authentic in living the Christian Faith and I invite you to pray with me in asking this for yourself and each person you love. (Burke, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The sign of Jonah,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"'What is the sign of Jonah? The stumbling block of the cross. So it is not the disputers of knowledge who will be saved but those who believe true teaching. For the cross of Christ is indeed a stumbling block to those who dispute knowledge but salvation to those who believe. Paul testifies to this: 'But we, for our part, preach the crucified Christ - to the Jews indeed a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God' (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Why do the Jews seek signs and the Greeks seek wisdom? God pointed to the sign of the stumbling block of the cross to both the Jews and the Greeks. Thus those who wish to find Christ not through faith but through wisdom will perish on the stumbling block of foolishness. Those who wish to know the Son of God not through faith but through a demonstration of signs will remain trapped in their disbelief, falling on the stumbling block of his death. It is no small wonder that the Jews, considering the death of Christ, thought he was merely a man, when even Christians - as they purport to be but really are not - because of his death are reluctant to declare the only begotten, the crucified, as incomparable majesty." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 30, the Greek fathers). (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 11:29-32 comments that we have all had times when we asked for some dramatic sign in order to confirm our faith in the Lord.
Whenever you feel the desire to demand that God give you a dramatic sign, look back and recall the many ways you’ve already witnessed the Spirit at work in your life or in the life of a loved one. Recall the miracle of his very presence in you and his faithfulness to you. Let these truths convince you that no matter what your current need is, he sees it. He knows it. He embraces it. And he is working out his plan to help you with it.
“Holy Spirit, you are the greatest sign of God’s presence and power and love in my life. Help me trust in you even more.” (Meditation on Luke 11:29-32, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler identifies the “midrash” technique used by Paul as he compares two stories, positive and negative, from salvation history. The sign of Jonah is connected to the three days he spent in the whale and/or his preaching that preceded the conversion of Nineveh. Friar Jude reminds us of the message in Luke that the Gentiles were more willing to convert and that Jesus is connected to Wisdom Incarnate in the Hebrew Testament.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares how contemplation has transformed his view of reality through a “second gaze”.
By my late 50s I had plenty of opportunities to see my own failures, shadow, and sin. The first gaze at myself was critical, negative, and demanding, not at all helpful to me or to others. I am convinced that such guilt and shame are never from God. They are merely protestations of the false self when shocked by its own poverty. God leads by compassion, never by condemnation. God offers us the grace to weep over our sins more than to perfectly overcome them, to humbly recognize our littleness rather than to become big. This kind of weeping and wandering keeps us both askew and awake at the same time.
My later life call is to “wander in the land of Nod,” enjoying God’s so-often-proven love and protection. I look back at my life, and everybody’s life, the One-and-Only-Life, marked happily and gratefully with the sign of Cain. Contemplation and compassion are finally coming together. This is my second gaze. It is well worth waiting for, because only the second gaze sees fully and truthfully. It sees itself, the other, and even God with God’s own compassionate eyes. True action must spring from this place. Otherwise, most of our action is merely reaction, and cannot bear “fruit that will last” (John 15:16). (Rohr, 2022)
We pray for guidance from the Spirit as we traverse the paradox of Wisdom Incarnate that is considered foolish and a stumbling block for so many.
References
Burke, E. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/101022.html
Galatians, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/4?22
Luke, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?29
Meditation on Luke 11:29-32. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/10/10/508984/
Psalms, PSALM 113. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/113?1
Rohr, R. (2022, October 10). A Second Gaze — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-second-gaze-2022-10-10/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). This Is an Evil Generation; It Seeks a Sign. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=oct10
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