The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today alert us to the distractions in our social environment that may deter our work to harvest truth, goodness, and love for the benefit of all people.
The reading from the Prophet Hosea condemns the corruption of Cult, Domestic and Foreign Politics in the Northern Kingdom.
* [8:4] Hosea is not against the monarchy, but against the conspiracies at the royal court (see note on 7:3–7). The king should be chosen by God (1 Kgs 19:15–16).
* [8:5] Calf: a cultic object introduced by Jeroboam I after the separation of the Northern Kingdom from the Southern Kingdom (1 Kgs 12:26–30; cf. Ex 32). (Hosea, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 115 praises the Impotence of Idols and the Greatness of God.
* [Psalm 115] A response to the enemy taunt, “Where is your God?” This hymn to the glory of Israel’s God (Ps 115:1–3) ridicules the lifeless idols of the nations (Ps 115:4–8), expresses in a litany the trust of the various classes of the people in God (Ps 115:9–11), invokes God’s blessing on them as they invoke the divine name (Ps 115:12–15), and concludes as it began with praise of God. Ps 135:15–18 similarly mocks the Gentile gods and has a similar litany and hymn (Ps 135:19–21). (Psalms, PSALM 115 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus heals one who was mute and He declares the harvest is Great, but the labourers are few.
* [9:32–34] The source of this story seems to be Q (see Lk 11:14–15). As in the preceding healing of the blind, Matthew has two versions of this healing, the later in Mt 12:22–24 and the earlier here.
* [9:34] This spiteful accusation foreshadows the growing opposition to Jesus in Mt 11 and 12.
* [9:35] See notes on Mt 4:23–25; Mt 8:1–9:38.
* [9:36] See Mk 6:34; Nm 27:17; 1 Kgs 22:17.
* [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 | USCCB, n.d.)
Sherri Brown comments that in today’s reading, God speaks through Hosea to ask us to beware of those who pursue power for power’s sake. Such leaders tend to construct idols as red herrings; i.e., what we might today call false flags, to divert attention such that we do not grapple with the real issues at stake. Hosea challenges us to think critically and discern true motives and aspirations before we make our decisions. God calls us to break through the rabble and find God’s true voice—and sometimes there is a lot of rabble!. The reading from Matthew’s Gospel tells us just what God’s true voice is. In Matt 9:32–39, Jesus heals a man who has been ravaged by “a demon.” Many are amazed, but others, the Pharisees, the leading teachers of the time, are suspicious. They wonder if all this is a plant to advance the work of evil. Matthew tells us that Jesus continues his ministry, unencumbered by what we might call “the Haters.”
Jesus laments the scarcity of laborers for the harvest. That’s our call to step up. What might we do? Vote? Serve? Pray? Volunteer? Unlike our biblical forebears, we have so many options. As some would say, “You do you!” Listen for God’s voice, explore your calling(s), find what that is, and do you! God’s plan includes every one of us contributing in all the myriad ways our gifts provide. (Brown, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “Freedom and healing in Christ,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).
"In the deaf and dumb and demoniac appear the need of the Gentiles for a complete healing. Beleaguered on all sides by misfortune, they were associated with all types of the body's infirmities. And in this regard a proper order of things is observed. For the devil is first cast out; then the other bodily benefits follow suit. With the folly of all superstitions put to flight by the knowledge of God, sight and hearing and words of healing are introduced. The declaration of the onlookers followed their admiration over what took place: 'Never has the like been seen in Israel.' Indeed, he whom the law could not help was made well by the power of the Word, and the deaf and dumb man spoke the praises of God. Deliverance has been given to the Gentiles. All the towns and all the villages are enlightened by the power and presence of Christ, and the people are freed from every impairment of the timeless malady. (excerpt from ON MATTHEW 9.10) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 9:32-38 comments that we don’t have to be full-time laborers to bring in some of the harvest. If everyone does their part, think of how many people could come to know the Lord! So be open to inviting a neighbor, friend, or coworker to a parish Bible study. Ask them if they want you to pray for a specific need. So many people are “troubled and abandoned” and need you to share God’s love with them!
Finally, we can encourage young people, both in our families and in our parishes, to consider a vocation. Sometimes all it takes is asking the question, “Might God be calling you?”
The harvest is more than ready. Let’s help to bring it in!
“Jesus, I am praying for more laborers. Help me to be one, too!” (Meditation on Matthew 9:32-38, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Hosea proclaims that God’s message that the kings were not made by His authority in the “banana republic” of the Northern Kingdom. The confusion of the people who worshipped many idols of the bull of “Baal” may have been with the shines representing the Mercy Seat and the Lamb. Friar Jude echoes the lack of workers in the harvest by seeking more people to exercise authority in the name of God to explain Who God is and what He wants of us.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, draws on the work of American thinker Ken Wilber, who describes three stages of transformation: Growing Up, Waking Up, and Cleaning Up.
Waking up should be the goal of all spiritual work, sacraments, and Bible study, but, at least in the West, this has not been the case. Because we were not practice-based for the most part, and had a bias against inner experience, it seemed very presumptuous to actually believe—or believe possible—the conclusion of every significant mystic: Jesus’ “I and the Father are one” (see John 10:30), Augustine’s “God is closer to me than I am to myself,” [1] or Catherine of Genoa’s “My deepest me is God.” [2] Organized Christianity largely described waking up in terms of growing up, and that growing up was almost entirely interpreted in highly moralistic terms—and even that morality was largely culturally defined! (Rohr, n.d.)
As we contemplate the impact of our culture and environment on our experience of God, we are grateful for the nudges of the Spirit that involve increasing our compassion and action as workers in the harvest.
References
Brown, S. (2024, July 9). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/070924.html
Hosea, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/8?4
Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9?
Meditation on Matthew 9:32-38. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/07/09/1019468/
Psalms, PSALM 115 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/115?3
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Growing Up, Waking Up, and Cleaning Up. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/growing-up-waking-up-and-cleaning-up/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Never Seen Anything like This. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jul9
No comments:
Post a Comment