The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, the Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, invite us to be open to the prompting of the Spirit and the teaching of members of our community concerning our mission as followers of Christ.
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah declares that your Teacher will not hide himself any more.
* [30:20] Teacher: God, who in the past made the people blind and deaf through the prophetic message (6:9–10) and who in his anger hid his face from the house of Jacob (8:17), shall in the future help them to understand his teaching clearly (cf. Jer 31:34). (Isaiah, CHAPTER 30, n.d.)
Psalm 147 offers praise for God’s Care for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 147] The hymn is divided into three sections by the calls to praise in Ps 147:1, 7, 12. The first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah (Ps 147:1–6); the second section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water. (Psalms, PSALM 147, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, we learn the harvest Is great but the labourers are few as Jesus initiates the Mission of the Twelve Apostles.
* [9:37–38] This Q saying (see Lk 10:2) is only imperfectly related to this context. It presupposes that only God (the master of the harvest) can take the initiative in sending out preachers of the gospel, whereas in Matthew’s setting it leads into Mt 10 where Jesus does so. (Matthew, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Mike Cherney comments that the Gospel has Jesus showing his compassion and missioning his disciples to go out and carry on His work. While these are the normal Lectionary texts for Advent, the Gospel seems particularly appropriate to today’s feast of Saint Francis Xavier.
When I read today’s Gospel, I was reminded of John F Kennedy’s inaugural address which concludes "here on earth God’s work must truly be our own." (Rereading its full text, I was reminded how many of the issues of 1961 remain issues today.) I can imagine that 500 years ago, St. Ignatius and his initial followers had many of the same responses to this Gospel of compassion and missioning. Francis Xavier, whom we commemorate today, was among these founding members of the Society of Jesus. He spent the last 11 years of his life (dying at only 46 years of age) on a mission initially to India and then repeatedly to the Far East. His was a mission in line with Jesus’ charge in today’s Gospel. While many of the existing clergy in India saw their role as being in service to the Portuguese (Francis Xavier was also given a royal charge of restoring Christianity to Portuguese fortune seekers.), he often chose to build his community from the grassroots based on service to the indigenous population including a willingness to recognize the language and ways of other cultures. His concern for the poor and sick, along with the development of local leaders showed the same aspects of compassion which I read in today’s description of Jesus.
Dear Lord,
Grant me trust in Your promises.
Strengthen my patience recognizing that which is “worth waiting for”.
Forgive me for the moments when I capitulate out of weakness.
Help me to identify my mission of service that is based on compassion. (Cherney, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “In remembrance of heavenly life,” by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"Why should the lunar reckoning be calculated from the noontide hours, seeing that the moon had not yet been placed in the heavens or gone forth over the earth? On the contrary, none of the feast days of the law began and ended at noon or in the afternoon, but all did so in the evening. Or else perchance it is because sinful Adam was reproached by the Lord 'in the cool of the afternoon' (Genesis 3:8) and thrust out from the joys of Paradise. In remembrance of that heavenly life which we changed for the tribulation of this world, the change of the moon, which imitates our toil by its everlasting waxing and waning, ought specifically to be observed at the hour in which we began our exile. In this way every day we may be reminded by the hour of the moon's changing of that verse, 'a fool changes as the moon' (Sirach 27:11) while the wise man 'shall live as long as the sun' (Psalm 72:5), and that we may sigh more ardently for that life, supremely blessed in eternal peace, when 'the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.' Indeed, because (as it is written) 'from the moon is the sign of the feast day' (Sirach 43:7), and just as the first light of the moon was shed upon the world at eventide, so in the law it is compulsory that every feast day begin in the evening and end in the evening (see Exodus 12:18). (excerpt from THE RECKONING OF TIME 3.43) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26 comments that there are times when God seems like he isn’t answering our prayers, when, in fact, he is working on them. We may not be able to see his ultimate plan right away, but Isaiah wants us to know that God is not ignoring us. He is cultivating our faith and bringing us to greater holiness.
For example, we may equate an immediate answer from God with an immediate solution to our problem. Maybe we are praying for our spouse to finally seek help in dealing with an addiction. But even as we pray and wait, God can use this situation to build up the virtue of patience in us even as we endure the struggle. Or we may want God to do something for us—like put the right job in our path. But God may be inviting us to be like the persistent widow in Jesus’ parable and keep on looking ourselves (Luke 18:1-8).
God is always “gracious” to us, even when we can’t see it (Isaiah 30:19). May we always place our faith in him.
“Lord, help me to trust that you are always caring for me.” (Meditation on Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the description of Isaiah of the restoration of Israel in physical richness and in teaching of the Way of the Lord to the people. On our journey, God will make it better by walking with us through the difficulties. Friar Jude notes the reluctance of a Pharisee editor of the Gospel of Matthew to use the title of God. We are involved in the ministry of sharting the Good News by our actions, forgiveness, and prayer.
Brian McLaren extends an invitation to contemplate the deep issues in the Christian faith in a spirit of openness.
God, Lord of all creation, lover of life and of everything, please help us to love in our very small way what You love infinitely and everywhere. We thank You that we can offer just this one prayer and that will be more than enough, because in reality every thing and every one is connected, and nothing stands alone. To pray for one part is really to pray for the whole, and so we do. Help us each day to stand for love, for healing, for the good, for the diverse unity of the Body of Christ and all creation, because we know this is what You desire: as Jesus prayed, that all may be one. We offer our prayer together with all the holy names of God, we offer our prayer together with Christ, our Lord, Amen. (McLaren, 2022)
We are called to be part of sharing the transformation of our society in the Way of Jesus as we contemplate the teaching that we have received on our journey.
References
Cherney, M. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/120322.html
Isaiah, CHAPTER 30. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/30?9
Matthew, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9?35
McLaren, B. (2022, December 3). The Future of Christianity: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-future-of-christianity-2022-12-03/
Meditation on Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/03/547643/
Psalms, PSALM 147. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/147?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec3
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