The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate our attitude toward the use of our talents and riches to build respect and care especially in our relationships with those with whom we disagree.
Riches and Respect
The reading from the First Letter to Timothy warns about false teaching and the nature of true riches in the good fight of faith.
* [6:2b–10] Timothy is exhorted to maintain steadfastly the position outlined in this letter, not allowing himself to be pressured into any other course. He must realize that false teachers can be discerned by their pride, envy, quarrelsomeness, and greed for material gain. 1 Tm 6:6 is rather obscure and is interpreted, and therefore translated, variously. The suggestion seems to be that the important gain that religion brings is spiritual, but that there is material gain, too, up to the point of what is needed for physical sustenance (cf. 1 Tm 6:17–19).1
Psalm 49 declares the folly of trust in riches.
* [Psalm 49] The Psalm affirms confidence in God (cf. Ps 23; 27:1–6; 62) in the face of the apparent good fortune of the unjust rich, cf. Ps 37; 73. Reliance on wealth is misplaced (Ps 49:8–10) for it is of no avail in the face of death (Ps 49:18–20). After inviting all to listen to this axiom of faith (Ps 49:2–5), the psalmist depicts the self-delusion of the ungodly (Ps 49:6–13), whose destiny is to die like ignorant beasts (Ps 49:13, 18; cf. Prv 7:21–23). Their wealth should occasion no alarm, for they will come to nought, whereas God will save the just (Ps 49:14–20).2
The Gospel of Luke names some women who accompany Jesus.
* [8:1–3] Luke presents Jesus as an itinerant preacher traveling in the company of the Twelve and of the Galilean women who are sustaining them out of their means. These Galilean women will later accompany Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem and become witnesses to his death (Lk 23:49) and resurrection (Lk 24:9–11, where Mary Magdalene and Joanna are specifically mentioned; cf. also Acts 1:14). The association of women with the ministry of Jesus is most unusual in the light of the attitude of first-century Palestinian Judaism toward women. The more common attitude is expressed in Jn 4:27, and early rabbinic documents caution against speaking with women in public.3
Barbara Dilly reflecting mainly on yesterday’s texts (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091621.cfm) takes us back to those teachers we know. The best thing we can do is encourage them with words of God’s love and awesome kindness. If we can help teachers feel that love and kindness, they will all the better be able to pass that along to their students who will in turn pass it along to everyone they meet.
We all know teachers who did that for us. We can repay them by encouraging other teachers, especially young ones. I pray for a safe, healthy, and productive new school year of truth and wisdom everywhere!4
Don Schwager quotes “Everyone has something to give,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Frankly, even the poor have something they can share with others. Let one lend feet to the lame, another become the eyes of the blind, another visit the sick, and another bury the dead. These are the things that everyone can do. Lastly, bear one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ." (excerpt from Sermon 41,9)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Timothy 6:2-12 comments that verbal disputes arise that lead to rivalry and insults. That could describe a lot of what you see in the news or on social media. Even closer to home, we can see friction that comes from suspicion or envy in our neighborhoods and families. It seems that everywhere we go, there are situations that can drag us into negativity.
With your eyes fixed on Christ, you can find the grace to be positive and encouraging, even when you’re talking to people you disagree with. You can show them the loving and merciful heart of God and bring Jesus’ light into a distrustful or emotionally charged situation. It’s not always easy, and it takes some practice, but you might be surprised to see how you can diffuse some of the negative things that St. Paul describes today. You are a child of God, and he rejoices in helping you pursue righteousness. He loves it when you bring the light of his presence wherever you go. “Lord, help me put aside useless argumentation. I want to bring your presence with me wherever I go today.”6
Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out the situation of the struggle of Timothy against heretics, some of whom, like the Sophists, earned money from their teaching. The mistaken notion that Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, was a prostitute dates to the time of Gregory the Great. Friar Jude reminds us of the special attention of Luke to the woman in salvation history.
The Franciscan Media web site notes that St. Robert Bellarmine most famous work is his three-volume Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on the temporal power of the pope and the role of the laity. Bellarmine incurred the anger of monarchists in England and France by showing the divine-right-of-kings theory untenable.
The renewal in the Church sought by Vatican II was difficult for many Catholics. In the course of change, many felt a lack of firm guidance from those in authority. They yearned for the stone columns of orthodoxy and an iron command with clearly defined lines of authority. Vatican II assures us in The Church in the Modern World, “There are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday and today, yes, and forever” (#10, quoting Hebrews 13:8). Robert Bellarmine devoted his life to the study of Scripture and Catholic doctrine. His writings help us understand that the real source of our faith is not merely a set of doctrines, but rather the person of Jesus still living in the Church today.7
Brian McLaren has long explored what it might mean to be a “new kind of Christian.” Brian once wrote a fictionalized story about a pastor asking questions at the edges of his faith.
Imagine that you have just died and passed through the doorway of death. And you enter heaven. And it is a place of intense brightness, a place fragrant with goodness, a place alive with love. The presence of God seems to pervade everyone and every thing. . . . In this place, people are humble and genuinely interested in others. . . . It is a place of true freedom, trust, and intimacy. And even though it is a place of great diversity, with people of all cultures and languages and times retaining all their uniqueness, it is a place where no one argues, no one fights, no one hates, and no one complains… Now I want you to imagine that someone has walked beside you through that doorway of death. And that person has lived his life cramped in hatred and fear, tight in guilt and greed, ingrown in lust and selfishness. He has spent every day of his life complaining and being bitter and blaming others and being ungrateful. He has been suspicious of those different from himself, and he has become an expert at lying and cheating and using others. He is proud, arrogant, unwilling to admit he is wrong. . . . Now, how would that person feel?8
Our growth in faith opens our understanding of conflicts and disagreements. It challenges us to patience, compassion, and love for those with whom we disagree.
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