Anticipate the Kingdom

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our experiences that point to the fullness of the Kingdom of God that has root in our love and care for others.

The Kingdom Imagined

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans 8.18-25 Future Glory Destiny of Glory

* [8:18–27] The glory that believers are destined to share with Christ far exceeds the sufferings of the present life. Paul considers the destiny of the created world to be linked with the future that belongs to the believers. As it shares in the penalty of corruption brought about by sin, so also will it share in the benefits of redemption and future glory that comprise the ultimate liberation of God’s people (Rom 8:19–22). After patient endurance in steadfast expectation, the full harvest of the Spirit’s presence will be realized. On earth believers enjoy the firstfruits, i.e., the Spirit, as a guarantee of the total liberation of their bodies from the influence of the rebellious old self (Rom 8:23). (Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 126 praises the Harvest of Joy.

* [Psalm 126] A lament probably sung shortly after Israel’s return from exile. The people rejoice that they are in Zion (Ps 126:1–3) but mere presence in the holy city is not enough; they must pray for the prosperity and the fertility of the land (Ps 126:4). The last verses are probably an oracle of promise: the painful work of sowing will be crowned with life (Ps 126:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 126, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches the Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast.

* [13:18–21] Two parables are used to illustrate the future proportions of the kingdom of God that will result from its deceptively small beginning in the preaching and healing ministry of Jesus. They are paralleled in Mt 13:31–33 and Mk 4:30–32. (Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Larry Gillick, S.J. comments that Jesus was so new, so different, so attractive that He said and did these many things to keep his followers and new-comers interested enough not to be bored and wander off.

Do you enjoy word-puzzles? Can you be a puzzlement to yourself? Who is the most mysterious or puzzling person to whom you are attracted? Now you have an idea about Jesus’ use of seeds and leaven, or maybe not! Keep being attracted to the Great Puzzle Master and thereby avoid being spiritually bored. (Gillick, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “The Word of God operates in us like leaven,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"The leaven is small in quantity, yet it immediately seizes the whole mass and quickly communicates its own properties to it. The Word of God operates in us in a similar manner. When it is admitted within us, it makes us holy and without blame. By pervading our mind and heart, it makes us spiritual. Paul says, 'Our whole body and spirit and soul may be kept blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The God of all clearly shows that the divine Word is poured out even into the depth of our understanding... We receive the rational and divine leaven in our mind. We understand that by this precious, holy and pure leaven, we may be found spiritually unleavened and have none of the wickedness of the world, but rather be pure, holy partakers of Christ."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 96) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 8:18-25 comments that let’s pay closer attention to the eager longing the Holy Spirit has placed within us. Let’s try to heighten our expectation of the glory to come. We can see traces of this glory all around us. It’s there in each multicolored autumn leaf or chrysanthemum in full bloom. You get a glimpse of it when the varied voices at church join together in praise of God. Or when people love one another sacrificially. 

When the Lord opens our eyes to this glory, we can live with the joy and hope that it will one day be revealed in its fullness. Don’t let the sufferings of this present time distract you or discourage you. Keep looking for the ways that God is ceaselessly at work. He is making all things new!

“Jesus, strengthen my hope in the glory you have in store for me when you come into your kingdom.” (Meditation on Romans 8:18-25, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the teaching of Paul that we accept our Cross and realize that our suffering is nothing compared to the Glory of God that calls us to live apart from selfishness and sin. We are already living in the Spirit but there is more to come as our surrender to the Will of God is our greatest hope for more love. Friar Jude reminds us that the love in small acts is the seed to change the Universe for some.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Theologian and Cherokee descendant Randy Woodley who considers how the Bible offers insight into relationship with creation.

God loves everything in creation (John 3:16). In the stories we find God counting the clouds (Job 38:37), releasing the rain (Job 5:10), directing the snow (Job 37:6; 38:22), knowing when a sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29), knowing where a donkey is tied (Matthew 21:2), knowing where the fish will swim (John 21:6), adorning the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:29–30), and comparing the ostrich and the stork (Job 39:13). At the time of Jesus, there were lots of modern mechanisms, lots of inventions [including] chariots and wheels and waterwheels and little torches and all kinds of mechanistic things. But we find Jesus mostly talking about the things that grow out of the earth and the things that fly above the earth. (Rohr, 2023)

We discover the possibility of the growth of the Kingdom of God in our connection with Nature and the kindness and compassion of the people in our lives.

References

Gillick, L. (2023, October 31). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/103123.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/13?18 

Meditation on Romans 8:18-25. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/10/31/817477/ 

Psalms, PSALM 126. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/126?1 

Rohr, R. (2023, October 31). Community of Creation — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/community-of-creation/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8?18 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 31, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=oct31 

Adoption and Healing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to openness to the Spirit of Adoption that connects us with Christ as beloved children of “Abba”.

Spirit of Adoption

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans affirms our status as children of God through adoption.

* [8:14–17] Christians, by reason of the Spirit’s presence within them, enjoy not only new life but also a new relationship to God, that of adopted children and heirs through Christ, whose sufferings and glory they share.

* [8:15] Abba: see note on Mk 14:36. (Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 68 offers Praise and Thanksgiving to God.

* [68:2] The opening line alluding to Nm 10:35 makes clear that God’s assistance in the period of the exodus and conquest is the model and assurance of all future divine help.

* [68:5] Exalt the rider of the clouds: God’s intervention is in the imagery of Canaanite myth in which the storm-god mounted the storm clouds to ride to battle. Such theophanies occur throughout the Psalm: Ps 68:2–3, 8–10, 12–15, 18–19, 22–24, 29–32, 34–35. See Dt 33:26; Ps 18:8–16; Is 19:1.

* [68:7] While rebels live in the desert: rebels must live in the arid desert, whereas God’s people will live in the well-watered land (Ps 68:8–11). (Psalms, PSALM 68 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus heals a crippled woman on the Sabbath.

* [13:10–17] The cure of the crippled woman on the sabbath and the controversy that results furnishes a parallel to an incident that will be reported by Luke in 14:1–6, the cure of the man with dropsy on the sabbath. A characteristic of Luke’s style is the juxtaposition of an incident that reveals Jesus’ concern for a man with an incident that reveals his concern for a woman; cf., e.g., Lk 7:11–17 and Lk 8:49–56.

* [13:15–16] If the law as interpreted by Jewish tradition allowed for the untying of bound animals on the sabbath, how much more should this woman who has been bound by Satan’s power be freed on the sabbath from her affliction.

* [13:16] Whom Satan has bound: affliction and infirmity are taken as evidence of Satan’s hold on humanity. The healing ministry of Jesus reveals the gradual wresting from Satan of control over humanity and the establishment of God’s kingdom. (Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Eileen Burke-Sullivan comments that the religious leaders are afraid of freedom and chide Jesus for breaking a rule by which they are willfully enslaved. They reject God’s message to the Jews (and to us their descendants) that the Sabbath is ultimately a celebration of freedom to be made whole and to help others become whole.  If we are all whole then religious leaders don’t control us with the law, they serve us by helping us understand that the law is all about being genuinely free to love and thrive.

The month of November each year is a time when the Church challenges us to face the reality of death as passage into the fullness of life.  On these last couple of October days we are invited to stop and consider deeply what fear of death or of life does to us.  By the waters of Baptism, we have the power of God to live fully as God intends us to.  By your baptism you were freed from the slavery induced by fear.  Ask God to stir up the Spirit of Adoption so that you too can cry “Abba” to our beloved Creator God. (Burke, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus overcomes death and destruction,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"The incarnation of the Word and his assumption of human nature took place for the overthrow of death, destruction and the envy harbored against us by the wicked Serpent, who was the first cause of evil. This plainly is proved to us by facts themselves. He set free the daughter of Abraham from her protracted sickness, calling out and saying, 'Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.' A speech most worthy of God, and full of supernatural power! With the royal inclination of his will, he drives away the disease. He also lays his hands upon her. It says that she immediately was made straight. It is now also possible to see that his holy flesh bore in it the power and activity of God. It was his own flesh, and not that of some other Son beside him, distinct and separate from him, as some most impiously imagine."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 96) (Schwager, 2019)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 8:12-17 comments that we have been adopted into God’s family! We no longer have to be led by the flesh, governed by our inclinations to sin or haunted by our past failures. We can be directed by the Spirit and live more virtuous lives now. We can go beyond what is possible on our own because holiness isn’t something we achieve on our own.

In so many situations, the Spirit wants to help you be holy and live as a child of God. So be sure to call on him, even before you start your day. Ask him to fill you. Ask him to guide you and give you his peace, joy, and strength. You are a child of God, and his Spirit will always help you to live like one!

“Thank you, heavenly Father, for giving me your Spirit to guide me into holiness!” (Meditation on Romans 8:12-17, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler echoes the teaching of Paul that we should not belong to the flesh, our worldliness, but belong to the Spirit for Life now and at the end time. As coheirs with Christ we are prepared to take up our Cross and be glorified with Him. Friar Jude reminds us that the emphasis of the Pharisees on following the rules is not our Way as we should live for Christ and others through our self sacrifice.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, recalls his first experiences with the prayer of the Pueblo people in New Mexico. As in every religion, there are times, places, and people who “get it”—the mystery of divine/human union—more than others. There are different stages and states of consciousness, and all are part of the journey. Western models of development usually focus on the rational mind, which offers one way of knowing reality, but in fact, there are many other ways of perceiving and expressing human experience. [3]

Choctaw elder and retired Episcopal bishop Steven Charleston offers a meditation honoring different ways of knowing that have fed his soul: 

For all the great thoughts I have read
For all the deep books I have studied
None has brought me nearer to Spirit
Than a walk beneath shimmering leaves

Golden red with the fire of autumn
When the air is crisp
And the sun a pale eye, watching.

I am a scholar of the senses
A theologian of the tangible.

Spirit touches me and I touch Spirit
Each time I lift a leaf from my path
A thin flake of fire golden red
Still warm from the breath that made it. [4] (Rohr, 2023)

We may invite the Spirit to revive our experience of our relationship with Christ through which we address the Father as “Abba” who desires to heal our fears.

References

Burke, E. (2023, October 30). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/103023.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/13?10 

Meditation on Romans 8:12-17. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/10/30/816908/ 

Psalms, PSALM 68 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/68?2 

Rohr, R. (2023, October 30). Praying with Nature — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/praying-with-nature/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8?12 

Schwager, D. (2019, March 9). Freedom from Bondage for Eighteen Years. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=oct30