Evidence and Patience

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to implore our senses, reasoning and patience as we open our being to transformation by our association with Christ.

Heritage and Hope

The Reading from the Book of Numbers describes the change of heart of Balaam about cursing the Israelites.

* [24:4] In rapture: lit., “falling,” therefore possibly “in a trance.” However, this interpretation is uncertain.

* [24:7] Agag: during Saul’s reign, king of Amalek (1 Sm 15:8), fierce enemy of Israel during the wilderness period; see v. 20 (Ex 17:8–16).

* [24:10] Balak clapped his hands: a gesture suggesting contempt or derision, apparently made in anger (cf. Jb 27:23; Lam 2:15).

* [24:17] A star…a scepter: some early Christian writers, as well as rabbinic interpreters, understood this prophecy in messianic terms. So, for example, Rabbi Akiba designates Bar Kosiba the messiah in the early second century A.D. by calling him Bar Kokhba, i.e., son of the star, alluding to this passage. Although this text is not referred to anywhere in the New Testament, in a Christian messianic interpretation the star would refer to Jesus, as also the scepter from Israel; cf. Is 11:1. But it is doubtful whether this passage is to be connected with the “star of the Magi” in Mt 2:1–12. (“Numbers, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB,” n.d.)

Psalm 25 is a lament with ardent pleas and confidence in God.

* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides. (“Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB,” n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, the Authority of Jesus is questioned by religious authorities.

* [21:23–27] Cf. Mk 11:27–33. This is the first of five controversies between Jesus and the religious authorities of Judaism in Mt 21:23–22:46, presented in the form of questions and answers.

* [21:23] These things: probably his entry into the city, his cleansing of the temple, and his healings there.

* [21:24] To reply by counterquestion was common in rabbinical debate.

* [21:26] We fear…as a prophet: cf. Mt 14:5.

* [21:27] Since through embarrassment on the one hand and fear on the other the religious authorities claim ignorance of the origin of John’s baptism, they show themselves incapable of speaking with authority; hence Jesus refuses to discuss with them the grounds of his authority. (“Matthew, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB,” n.d.)

Michele Bogard recalls a friend who was discerning entering the Society of Jesus. He was the first person to introduce her to the prayer Patient Trust by Teilhard de Chardin. Today, it is her prayer for us all. For the students waiting to know what their next steps may be. For those who battle illness and are awaiting a cure. For those battling persecution and are waiting to be seen and their dignity upheld. For all of us waiting on Christ’s arrival. Let us all be reminded that we are Christ for one another in this time of waiting for His return.

Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. 

We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. 

We should like to skip the intermediate stages. 

We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

 

And yet it is the law of all progress

 that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—

 and that it may take a very long time.

 

And so I think it is with you; 

your ideas mature gradually—let them grow, 

let them shape themselves, without undue haste. 

Don’t try to force them on, 

as though you could be today what time 

(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) 

will make of you tomorrow.

 

Only God could say what this new spirit

 gradually forming within you will be. 

Give Our Lord the benefit of believing

 that his hand is leading you, 

and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself

 in suspense and incomplete. (Bogard, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “John the Baptist's authority came from heaven,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

"Prior to this, the Pharisees had seen many things more worthy to be called great miracles, but now they were deeply troubled and asked Jesus to identify the authority by which he performed these works. The great mystery of the future is included in the consequences of present deeds. They felt the urge for special questioning, then, because the prefiguration of every danger was made known in this event. The Lord replied that he would tell them by what authority he did these works if only they would also reply to his question about whether they considered John the Baptist to have come from heaven or from man. They hesitated while pondering the dangers of responding. If they confessed John to have come from heaven, they would be convicted by that very confession for not believing in the authority of a heavenly witness. They were afraid to say that he was merely from man, however, because of the large crowd of people who believed John to be a prophet. So they answered that they did not know (they did in fact know him to be from heaven) because they feared that they might be convinced by the truth of their own confession. But they told the truth about themselves, even though it was their intention to deceive; it was only through their infidelity that they did not know John the Baptist to be from heaven. And they could not have known that John the Baptist was from man, because he was not." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 21.10) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17 asks “What do you think God, the Almighty, sees when he looks at you?”

What’s more, God doesn’t focus only on your thoughts and actions, however good they may or may not be. He sees the unique, “very good” way you reflect his own goodness (Genesis 1:31). He sees the image of his beloved Son, Jesus. He sees you, the “wonderfully made” person he created out of love, redeemed from sin, and filled with his Spirit (Psalm 139:14).

Keep this vision close to your heart today. You are more than the good or bad things you say or do. You are a chosen and beloved child of God.

“Lord, thank you for seeing into my heart—and for loving what you see! Help me to live out your vision for my life today.” (“Meditation on Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17,” 2025)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that, in Numbers, Balaam was hired by Balak to curse the Israelites but he turns it to a blessing based on what he sees. Balaam, a pagan, cannot curse Israel but turns his curse to Balak. The Pharisees question by what authority Jesus preaches. Jesus responds by cleverness by questioning their understanding of the status of John the Baptist. In Jesus' time, high esteem was placed on cleverness to get out of a sticky situation. Friar Jude notes that  Jesus is shown to be filled with God’s wisdom by His response.

Fr. Mike Schmitz reflects on our deep conviction to be the Church by serving all in the world, furthering St. Paul’s legacy of ordinary service, a willingness to share the gospel, and a dedication to following God’s will. Today’s readings are Acts 28, Philippians 1-2, and Proverbs 29:25-27.

Brian McLaren reflects on the spontaneous joy and awe of true worship and asks “Could it be that the conceptualized and formalized worship of the “developed world” is actually designed to inhibit and control rather than foment joy?”…

The scandalous truth, known by mystics throughout history and affirmed in the pages of our sacred texts, is that when we connect with God, it is as if we are plugging our souls into a pure current of high-voltage joy. The joy that surprised me under the stars [in my mystical experience] in my teens was exactly what the ancient psalmist knew (Psalm 16:11), that God is a joyful being and to enter or awaken to God’s presence is to enjoy a bracing jolt of invigorating delight…. Yes, there is indeed a place for quiet reverence, the dignity of robes, and the noble tranquility of marble columns and pipe organs. But … God is joyful, and God’s joy is contagious. When we tap into the joy of the Lord, when we step into the pure joy that burns like a billion galaxies in the heart of God, we’ll soon find ourselves shouting, dancing, singing, leaping, clapping, swaying, laughing, and otherwise jubilating and celebrating. [2] (McLaren, n.d.)

We ponder the evidence of our senses that detect the joy and inclusion of Jesus Way, even as we implore the Spirit to assist in applying wisdom and patience to our mission.

References

Bogard, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-december-15-2025 

Matthew, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?23 

McLaren, B. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/joyful-worship/ 

Meditation on Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17. (2025, December 15). Word Among Us. https://wau.org/meditations/2025/12/15/1446052/ 

Numbers, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/24?2 

Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/25?4 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). All Hold That John Was a Prophet. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 15, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Justice and Community

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to consider the role of “two or more” gathering to address administration of justice in our Christian community.

Compassion and Justice

The Reading from Deuteronomy declares the Israelites wept for Moses.

a. [34:1] Dt 3:27; 32:49.

b. [34:2] Dt 11:24.

c. [34:4] Dt 1:8; 3:27; 32:52; Gn 12:7; 15:18–21.

d. [34:5] Dt 32:50; Ex 14:31; Nm 12:7–8; Jos 1:1–2, 7, 13, 15; 1 Kgs 8:53, 56; Mal 3:22.

e. [34:6] Dt 3:29.

f. [34:7] Dt 31:2.

g. [34:9] Nm 27:18–23; Jos 1:17.

h. [34:10] Dt 5:4; 18:15; Ex 33:11; Nm 12:8; Sir 45:5.

i. [34:11–12] Dt 4:34; Ex 4:21; 7:1, 8–12. (Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 34 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 66 praises God for powerful acts for Israel.

* [Psalm 66] In the first part (Ps 66:1–12), the community praises God for powerful acts for Israel, both in the past (the exodus from Egypt and the entry into the land [Ps 66:6]) and in the present (deliverance from a recent but unspecified calamity [Ps 66:8–12]). In the second part (Ps 66:13–20), an individual from the rescued community fulfills a vow to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. As often in thanksgivings, the rescued person steps forward to teach the community what God has done (Ps 66:16–20). (Psalms, PSALM 66 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew addresses the response to a brother who sins.

* [18:15–20] Passing from the duty of Christian disciples toward those who have strayed from their number, the discourse now turns to how they are to deal with one who sins and yet remains within the community. First there is to be private correction (Mt 18:15); if this is unsuccessful, further correction before two or three witnesses (Mt 18:16); if this fails, the matter is to be brought before the assembled community (the church), and if the sinner refuses to attend to the correction of the church, he is to be expelled (Mt 18:17). The church’s judgment will be ratified in heaven, i.e., by God (Mt 18:18). This three-step process of correction corresponds, though not exactly, to the procedure of the Qumran community; see 1QS 5:25–6:1; 6:24–7:25; CD 9:2–8. The section ends with a saying about the favorable response of God to prayer, even to that of a very small number, for Jesus is in the midst of any gathering of his disciples, however small (Mt 18:19–20). Whether this prayer has anything to do with the preceding judgment is uncertain.

* [18:15] Your brother: a fellow disciple; see Mt 23:8. The bracketed words, against you, are widely attested but they are not in the important codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus or in some other textual witnesses. Their omission broadens the type of sin in question. Won over: literally, “gained.”

* [18:16] Cf. Dt 19:15.

* [18:17] The church: the second of the only two instances of this word in the gospels; see note on Mt 16:18. Here it refers not to the entire church of Jesus, as in Mt 16:18, but to the local congregation. Treat him…a Gentile or a tax collector: just as the observant Jew avoided the company of Gentiles and tax collectors, so must the congregation of Christian disciples separate itself from the arrogantly sinful member who refuses to repent even when convicted of his sin by the whole church. Such a one is to be set outside the fellowship of the community. The harsh language about Gentile and tax collector probably reflects a stage of the Matthean church when it was principally composed of Jewish Christians. That time had long since passed, but the principle of exclusion for such a sinner remained. Paul makes a similar demand for excommunication in 1 Cor 5:1–13.

* [18:18] Except for the plural of the verbs bind and loose, this verse is practically identical with Mt 16:19b and many scholars understand it as granting to all the disciples what was previously given to Peter alone. For a different view, based on the different contexts of the two verses, see note on Mt 16:19.

* [18:19–20] Some take these verses as applying to prayer on the occasion of the church’s gathering to deal with the sinner of Mt 18:17. Unless an a fortiori argument is supposed, this seems unlikely. God’s answer to the prayer of two or three envisages a different situation from one that involves the entire congregation. In addition, the object of this prayer is expressed in most general terms as anything for which they are to pray.

* [18:20] For where two or three…midst of them: the presence of Jesus guarantees the efficacy of the prayer. This saying is similar to one attributed to a rabbi executed in A.D. 135 at the time of the second Jewish revolt: “…When two sit and there are between them the words of the Torah, the divine presence (Shekinah) rests upon them” (Pirqê ’Abôt 3, 3). (Matthew, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB, n.d.)

Eileen Wirth wonders where people turn if they don’t believe and lack a faith community.

We gain so much spiritually whenever we gather with other believers whether it’s in small faith groups like Christian Living Communities (CLC) or by participating in the endless committees that most congregations sponsor. 

This week, some of my fellow parishioners are organizing our annual parish picnic. They’re ordering the burgers and brats, signing up volunteers to set up and clean up, promoting attendance etc. – all the mundane tasks required to organize ANY event. But in the process, they’re also gathering people together to build our Christian community.  The Jesuits call it finding God in all things. And Jesus will be in our midst at both the picnic and the mass that precedes it. Both will reinforce the reasons we belong to THIS parish and to the universal church. (Wirth, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “If someone has done you injury,” by Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD).

"If someone has done you injury and you have suffered, what should be done? You have heard the answer already in today's scripture: 'If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.' If you fail to do so, you are worse than he is. He has done someone harm, and by doing harm he has stricken himself with a grievous wound. Will you then completely disregard your brother's wound? Will you simply watch him stumble and fall down? Will you disregard his predicament? If so, you are worse in your silence than he in his abuse. Therefore, when any one sins against us, let us take great care, but not merely for ourselves. For it is a glorious thing to forget injuries. Just set aside your own injury, but do not neglect your brother's wound. Therefore 'go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone,' intent upon his amendment but sparing his sense of shame. For it might happen that through defensiveness he will begin to justify his sin, and so you will have inadvertently nudged him still closer toward the very behavior you desire to amend. Therefore 'tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother,' because he might have been lost, had you not spoken with him. " (excerpt from Sermon 82.7) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. In Deuteronomy, after the commendation of Moses yesterday, he dies after seeing the Holy Land from a distance. This situation is often connected to Moses' action at Meribah. The “Church”, in Matthew, is mentioned in two instances. Today it is in the context of Church people getting along. After unsuccessfully meeting in several settings with the errant member, maybe excommunication is best for him and the community. Friar Jude reminds us that prayer has power when two or three are gathered. The love among the two or three ascends to the Lord, expressed as a community petition.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Anglican mystic and author Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) who is convinced that the apostle Paul’s writings are often misunderstood because we weren’t taught that he is a mystic.

We misunderstand St. Paul’s mysticism if we confuse it with its more sensational expressions. As his spiritual life matured his conviction of union with the Spirit of Christ became deeper and more stable. It disclosed itself … as a source of more than natural power. Its keynote is struck in the great saying of his last authentic letter: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). This statement has long ago been diluted to the pious level, and we have ceased to realize how startling it was and is. But St. Paul used it in the most practical sense, in a letter written from prison after twelve years of superhuman toil, privation, and ill-usage, accompanied by chronic ill-health; years which had included scourgings, stonings, shipwreck, imprisonments, “on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, … in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked” (2 Corinthians 11:26–27). [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the wisdom of the Spirit when we need to address disturbance caused by the errant behavior of members of our community.

References

Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/34?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/18?15 

Psalms, PSALM 66 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/66?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Enabled to Do All Things. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/enabled-to-do-all-things/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). If Your Brother Sins against You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug13 

Wirth, E. (2025, August 13). Daily Reflection August 13, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-13-2025