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”.
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 leavesGolden 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
No comments:
Post a Comment