The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be agents of life and love as we reaffirm our relationship with God and the vertical and horizontal aspects of the Love he calls us to embrace.
The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel is the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones.
* [37:1–14] This account is a figurative description of God’s creation of a new Israel. Even though that creation begins with the remains of the old Israel, the exiles under the image of dry bones, depicting a totally hopeless situation, the new Israel is radically different: it is an ideal people, shaped by God’s spirit to live the covenant faithfully, something the old Israel, exiles included, were unable to do. While this passage in its present context is not about the doctrine of individual or communal resurrection, many Jewish and Christian commentators suggest that the doctrine is foreshadowed here.
* [37:9] The Hebrew word rûah has multiple related meanings expressed by different English words: wind, spirit, breath. In this translation, rûah is rendered “spirit,” a powerful force that creates vision and insight (v. 1); “breath,” physical energy that quickens and enlivens (vv. 5–6); “wind,” invisible physical energy, sometimes destructive, sometimes invigorating (e.g., the rain-bearing winter winds), also a metaphor for restoration and new life (vv. 9–10); “my spirit,” a share in God’s power so the people observe the law that assures them life in the land (v. 14). (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 107 is a thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles.
* [Psalm 107] A hymn inviting those who have been rescued by God to give praise (Ps 107:1–3). Four archetypal divine rescues are described, each ending in thanksgiving: from the sterile desert (Ps 107:4–9), from imprisonment in gloom (Ps 107:10–16), from mortal illness (Ps 107:17–22), and from the angry sea (Ps 107:23–32). The number four connotes totality, all the possible varieties of rescue. The same saving activity of God is shown in Israel’s history (Ps 107:33–41); whenever the people were endangered God rescued them. The last verses invite people to ponder the persistent saving acts of God (Ps 107:42–43). (Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus proclaims the Greatest Commandment.
* [22:34–40] The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking.
* [22:35] [A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3.
* [22:36] For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus.
* [22:37–38] Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind).
* [22:39] Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism.
* [22:40] The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived. (Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB, n.d.)
Angela Maynard asks what could be so difficult about loving God? She shares the journey of a friend through love and loss.
Have there been days that it has been hard to love the Lord—I would say yes, my friend would say “No way, we must trust in His plan.” She is such a notable example for me and so many others.
Now what about the second commandment, loving our neighbor as ourselves? To me this is the tough one. Even though God sent his son to show us how this is done, our humanity gets in the way. (Maynard, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Loving God with heart, mind, and soul,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"Worthy is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14 comments that God has brought us to new life. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, and the Spirit can renew and restore us. We just have to keep asking him for living water! In fact, we can ask for an outpouring of the Spirit every morning in prayer, even before we face the possibility that something or someone will drain us. Then, when we face challenges, we can draw on the reservoir of his grace and receive renewed hope and determination.
You have been filled with God’s life. That means that you can be a source of life and hope to those around you—especially to those who don’t know Christ. That has been God’s plan all along—that as we come alive in Christ, we reveal him to others and invite them into his kingdom. God infused the “dry bones” of the Israelites with new life and brought them home. So, too, God wants to infuse his life into his people and lead them out of exile and into a kingdom that has no end!
“Come, Spirit of God, and bring me to life!” (Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the continuity of the message of Ezekiel expressed today in a symbolic way perhaps by experience of Zoroastrianism burial by laying corpse in a plain. There is a rise in hints of resurrection in the spiritual texts of this time. Friar Jude reminds us of Jesus' emphasis on the vertical and the horizontal dimensions of our love of God and His children.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Choctaw elder and retired Episcopal bishop Steven Charleston who explains how Indigenous elders carry the wisdom of the past in service of the present and future.
Our eternal grandparents. They are watching over us, all those who have gone before. They are our ancestors, and they have seen enough in their own lives to know what we are going through. They have survived economic collapse, social unrest, political struggle, and great wars that raged for years. Now, from their place of peace, they seek to send their wisdom into our hearts, to guide us to reconciliation, to show us our mistakes before we make them. Their love for us is strong. Their faith in us is certain. When times get hard, sit quietly and open your spirit to the eternal grandparents, who are still a part of your spiritual world. Receive their blessing, for their light will lead you home. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the heritage which is entrusted to us from those who have brought us to our material and spiritual present and we seek from God the faith, hope and love to offer life to those we encounter on our journey.
References
Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/37?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?34
Maynard, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082324.html
Meditation on Ezekiel 37:1-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/23/1056940/
Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/107?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/ancestors-and-wisdom/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug23
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