The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the path of our life as our opportunity to be in relationship with the source and summit of our existence.
The reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes declares everything has its Time in the God-Given Task
* [3:1–8] The fourteen pairs of opposites describe various human activities. The poem affirms that God has determined the appropriate moment or “time” for each. Human beings cannot know that moment; further, the wider course of events and purposes fixed by God are beyond them as well.
* [3:11] The timeless: others translate “eternity,” “the world,” or “darkness.” The author credits God with keeping human beings ignorant about God’s “work”—present and future. (Ecclesiastes, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 144 is a prayer for National Deliverance and Security.
* [Psalm 144] The Psalm may reflect a ceremony in which the king, as leader of the army, asked God’s help (Ps 144:1–8). In Ps 144:9 the poem shifts abruptly from pleading to thanksgiving, and (except for Ps 144:11) shifts again to prayer for the people. The first section (Ps 144:1–2) is a prayer of thanks for victory; the second (Ps 144:3–7a), a humble acknowledgment of human nothingness and a supplication that God show forth saving power; the third (Ps 144:9–11), a promise of future thanksgiving; the fourth (Ps 144:12–15), a wish for prosperity and peace. A prayer for deliverance from treacherous foes serves as a refrain after the second and third sections (Ps 144:7b–8, 11). Except for its final section, the Psalm is made up almost entirely of verses from other Psalms.
* [144:1–2] Composed of phrases from Ps 18:3, 35, 47–48.
* [144:4] Composed of phrases from Ps 39:6; 102:12. (Psalms, PSALM 144 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke presents Peter’s Declaration about Jesus as He foretells His Death and Resurrection.
* [9:18–22] This incident is based on Mk 8:27–33, but Luke has eliminated Peter’s refusal to accept Jesus as suffering Son of Man (Mk 8:32) and the rebuke of Peter by Jesus (Mk 8:33). Elsewhere in the gospel, Luke softens the harsh portrait of Peter and the other apostles found in his Marcan source (cf. Lk 22:39–46, which similarly lacks a rebuke of Peter that occurs in the source, Mk 14:37–38).
* [9:18] When Jesus was praying in solitude: see note on Lk 3:21.
* [9:20] The Messiah of God: on the meaning of this title in first-century Palestinian Judaism, see notes on Lk 2:11 and on Mt 16:13–20 and Mk 8:27–30. (Luke, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)
Larry Hopp declares “It is God who is in complete control.” We can never fathom how this all works simply because our God is beyond anything that we could ever grasp.
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to find eternal peace with the fact that we will never be able to fully grasp the magnitude of who You are. Help us to remain forever grateful that You are fully engaged in every moment of our lives. Help us to keep our eyes constantly upon You so that Your love may effectively flow through us, enabling our lives to point to You and You alone. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen (Hopp, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Peter confesses that Jesus is God's Anointed Son and Savior of all,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"You see the skillfulness of the question. He [Jesus] did not at once say, 'Who do you say that I am?' He refers to the rumor of those that were outside their company. Then, having rejected it and shown it unsound, he might bring them back to the true opinion. It happened that way. When the disciples had said, 'Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, that some prophet of those in old time has risen up,' he said to them, 'But you, who do you say that I am?' Oh! how full of meaning is that word you! He separates them from all others, that they may also avoid the opinions of others. In this way, they will not conceive an unworthy idea about him or entertain confused and wavering thoughts. Then they will not also imagine that John had risen again, or one of the prophets. 'You,' he says, 'who have been chosen,' who by my decree have been called to the apostleship, who are the witnesses of my miracles. Who do you say that I am?'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 49) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 comments that Qoheleth, the author of Ecclesiastes, wrote that there is a “time” for all things; God gives us tasks to “be busied about” (3:1, 10). But even though God put the timeless into our hearts, we don’t really discover “from beginning to end, the work which God has done” (3:11). In other words, even though we are meant for eternity, we don’t fully understand how God uses the tasks he places before us to prepare us for eternity. We are somehow in the dark about the meaning of it all. And so Qoheleth becomes despondent.
It matters how we spend our time here on earth because the choices we make can help carry out God’s plan in the world. But the ways we spend our time can also increase our longing for heaven and make us more ready to spend eternity with God. May we learn the wisdom of living with our feet on earth and our hearts in heaven!
“Eternal loving God, help me to use the time you’ve given me with an eye toward eternity.” (Meditation on Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the hymn of Qoheleth that declares we must follow the plan of God to have peace. This is an idea similar to Stoic philosophy. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus represents Himself as the Son of Man, connecting to Daniel 7, and the suffering servant of Isaiah who will be different from the Messianic ideas of the people of Israel.
The reflection from Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, was not available at publication time.
We ponder the resonance of the hymn of Qoheleth, the author of Ecclesiastes, to our life journey even as we accept the promptings of the Spirit to reveal the path to fullness of life.
References
Ecclesiastes, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ecclesiastes/3?1
Hopp, L. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/092724.html
Luke, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?
Meditation on Ecclesiastes 3:1-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/09/27/1084867/
Psalms, PSALM 144 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/144?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Who Do You Say That Jesus Is? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 27, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=sep27
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