Restoring the Family

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate how our relationships with family are the source of our journey to extend Jesus' love, mercy and compassion to all people.

Starting with Family

The reading from the Prophet Micah celebrates God’s compassion and steadfast Love.

* [7:8–20] The book concludes with a collection of confident prayers for deliverance, affirmations of faith, and announcements of salvation. Most of these verses bear the marks of use in worship, and probably arose in the exilic or postexilic periods. (Micah, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Psalm 85 is a prayer for the restoration of God’s Favour.

* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, we learn of the true kindred of Jesus.

* [12:46–50] See Mk 3:31–35. Matthew has omitted Mk 3:20–21 which is taken up in Mk 3:31 (see note on Mt 12:22–32), yet the point of the story is the same in both gospels: natural kinship with Jesus counts for nothing; only one who does the will of his heavenly Father belongs to his true family. (Matthew, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)

Ann Mausbach comments that we know from our own lived experiences that being in a family can be messy. As much as we can love our siblings and parents, they can be nosey, frustrating, unsympathetic. This complexity comes from deep love and intimacy. 

These people have known you for your entire life and have been witness to all the good and not so good phases of your life. And therein lies the beauty of family. In today’s gospel we are being called to delve into this same love and intimacy with God. We are being reminded that we are a part of a larger family that has unconditional love flowing from the center. And even though life is messy, and complicated, and difficult to grasp at times there is a place you can go and be seen and loved in all your imperfections. 

The challenge for us is to accept this membership and our other family members for their warts and flaws. Let us pray today to embrace the love and grace that comes with being a member of God’s family. Let’s practice acceptance and understanding as we work to love ourselves and others. (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “My mother through faith,” by by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD)

"If someone can become the brother of the Lord by coming to faith, we must ask how one can become also his mother. We must realize that the one who is Christ's brother and sister by believing becomes his mother by preaching. It is as though one brings forth the Lord and infuses him in the hearts of one's listeners. And that person becomes his mother if through one's voice the love of the Lord is generated in the mind of his neighbor. (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 3.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 12:46-50 comments that Jesus' entire life was centered around doing the will of his Father. He taught his disciples to pray that the will of his heavenly Father be done (Matthew 6:10). Jesus had come to do the will of his Father, and he urged us to do the same.

So how do you become Jesus’ “brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50)? You follow in Jesus’ footsteps. You center your life on doing the will of the Father by listening to him each day in prayer and then acting on whatever he tells you. You carve out extra time to spend with him when you are facing a big decision. And like Jesus, you obey God even when it means that you might not be understood by the people closest to you.

This is by no means easy, but the reward is great. When you do your Father’s will, you are as close to Jesus as any of his blood relations ever were. These are family bonds that will endure into eternity. God is truly your Father and Jesus is truly your brother, now and forever.

“Jesus, I want to do the will of your Father today.” (Meditation on Matthew 12:46-50, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Micah found that the kings and priests were not shepherding the people as he sought the action of God to bring them to conversion. The qualities of God expressed in the Hebrew “Emet and Chesed” are connected to Micah and Psalm 85. Friar Jude reminds us that Mary, especially in Luke, shows how to live the will of God.

Rabbi Shefa Gold discusses the Hebrew names of God “Emet and Chesed”.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Sister Thea Bowman (1937–1990), a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. When she addressed the United States Catholic bishops in 1989, she sang several lines of the African-American spiritual “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child / A long way from home” Embracing her Black, Catholic, female identity, she said: What does it mean to be Black and Catholic?

A spirituality that in the middle of your Mass or in the middle of your sermon just might have to shout out and say, “Amen, hallelujah, thank you Jesus.” A faith that attempts to be Spirit-filled. The old ladies say if you love the Lord your God with your whole heart, [with] your whole soul and your whole mind and all your strength, then you praise the Lord with your whole heart and soul and mind and strength and you don’t bring [God] any feeble service. . . .  

Today we’re called to walk together in a new way toward that land of promise and to celebrate who we are and whose we are. If we as church walk together, don’t let nobody separate you. That’s one thing Black folk can teach you. Don’t let folk divide you or put the lay folk over here and the clergy over here, [or] put the bishops in one room and the clergy in the other room, put the women over here and the men over here.

The church teaches us that the church is a family. It’s a family of families and the family got to stay together. We know that if we do stay together, if we walk and talk and work and play and stand together in Jesus’ name, we’ll be who we say we are, truly Catholic; and we shall overcome—overcome the poverty, overcome the loneliness, overcome the alienation, and build together a holy city, a new Jerusalem, a city set apart where they’ll know we are his because we love one another. (Rohr, 2022)

We experience the diversity and messiness of the human family and call on the Spirit to guide our mission as Jesus' disciples in this family.

References

Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/071922.html 

Matthew, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/12?46 

Meditation on Matthew 12:46-50. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/07/19/444870/ 

Micah, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/micah/7?14 

Psalms, PSALM 85. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?2 

Rohr, R. (2022, July 19). I Bring Myself — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/i-bring-myself-2022-07-19/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jul19 

Concerning Covenant and Providence

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to examine the distractions and concerns in our lives that draw us away from simply living in gratitude and affirmation of the beauty and goodness revealed to us by the Spirit in the people we encounter on our journey.

Seeking a Simple Life

The reading from the Second Book of Chronicles describes Joash’s apostasy and eventual death.

Though the Aramean force was small, the LORD handed over a very large force into their power,h because Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors. So judgment was meted out to Joash. (2 Chronicles, CHAPTER 24, n.d.)

Psalm 89 praises God’s Covenant with David.

* [89:28] Most High: a divine title, which is here extended to David as God’s own king, cf. Ps 2:7–9; Is 9:5. As God rules over the members of the heavenly council (Ps 89:6–9), so David, God’s surrogate, rules over earthly kings. (Psalms, PSALM 89, n.d.)

In the Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns about serving two Masters offering dependence on God so that we do not worry.

* [6:25–34] Jesus does not deny the reality of human needs (Mt 6:32), but forbids making them the object of anxious care and, in effect, becoming their slave. (Matthew, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)

Nancy Shirley remembers a quote from Dorothy Day, “to live simply, that others may simply live.” It is not the money that is evil or pulls us away from our true Master, rather the greed of wanting it more and more.  Needless to say, there are so many ways that we can use money to help others.

The gospel goes on to ask us:  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? . . . . . Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?  There is no room for both worry and pray.  If we say we really trust in the Lord, can we be worrying at the same time?  God will take care of us, if we can trust Him.  As I listened in church this week, I was struck by the thought: am I saved, because I believe, or it is because I am saved that I can believe.  It is a gift – how do I take that gift and serve my Master?  Perhaps, it is just my age, my stage in life but I always seem to have more questions than answers.  How, at this point in my life, can I listen for those answers and hear them, not in a burning bush, rather in those around me?  What can I learn from the homeless, from the sparrows? (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The value of life, “by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

"Note the acceleration of images: just when the lilies are decked out, he no longer calls them lilies but 'grass of the field' (Matthew 6:30 ). He then points further to their vulnerable condition by saying 'which are here today.' Then he does not merely say 'and not tomorrow' but rather more callously 'cast into the oven.' These creatures are not merely 'clothed but 'so clothed' in this way as to be later brought to nothing. Do you see how Jesus everywhere abounds in amplifications and intensifications? And he does so in order to press his points home. So then he adds, 'Will he not much more clothe you?' The force of the emphasis is on 'you' to indicate covertly how great is the value set upon your personal existence and the concern God shows for you in particular. It is as though he were saying, 'You, to whom he gave a soul, for whom he fashioned a body, for whose sake he made everything in creation, for whose sake he sent prophets, and gave the law, and wrought those innumerable good works, and for whose sake he gave up his only begotten Son.'" (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 22.1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 6:24-34 comments that we might think that he had said all that he wanted to say about his Father. But Jesus came back to that theme when he addressed the topic of worries. God the Father takes care of the birds and adorns the flowers, he told them. How much more will he take care of us!

Always remember those pink elephants. Rather than trying to suppress your worried or anxious thoughts, bring them to your heavenly Father, who knows you and cares for you. “Father, I am so grateful you know me. I will look at you, my strength and my hope.” (Meditation on Matthew 6:24-34, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler outlines the events in the reign of Joash that involved pagan worship and the execution of the son of the man who had saved him as a child and the conquest of Judah by the Syrians. The master in the world around us calls us to serve possessiveness, material goods, and comfort. Friar Jude advises prudence to save for good purposes and avoid that which we possess becoming our master.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Thea Bowman (1937–1990), a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. Sister Thea offers images of God from the Scriptures and her people to deepen our prayer.

God is bread when you’re hungry, water when you’re thirsty, a harbor from the storm. God’s a father to the fatherless, a mother to the motherless. God’s my sister, my brother, my leader, my guide, my teacher, my comforter, my friend. God’s the way-maker and burden-bearer, a heart-fixer and a mind-regulator. God’s my doctor who never lost a patient, my lawyer who never lost a case, my chaplain who never lost a battle. God’s my all in all, my everything. God’s my rock, my sword, my shield, my lily of the valley, my pearl of great price. . .  Counselor, Emmanuel, redeemer, savior, Prince of Peace, Son of God, Mary’s little baby, wonderful Word of God. These images come from Scripture and from the meditations of Christians. Some people see them as contradictory, but Christians see them as inadequate—all of them. But all these images are available to me. . . . Each one corresponds to a particular need. All these images help me as I call upon God’s name. (Rohr, n.d.)

As we examine the motives for our desire to possess, the Spirit points to action that will free us to trust Providence for our needs.

References

Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/061822.html 

Matthew, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/6?24 

Meditation on Matthew 6:24-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/06/18/413453/ 

Psalms, PSALM 89. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/89?4 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Franciscan Contemplation and Action: Weekly Summary. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/franciscan-contemplation-and-action-weekly-summary-2022-06-18/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Why Are You Anxious - Seek First His Kingdom. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jun18 

2 Chronicles, CHAPTER 24. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2chronicles/24?17 

Creating and Restoring

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the creative and restorative events of our lives that generate gratitude to God.

Restored in Creation

 

The reading from the Book of Genesis describes God’s action in Creation.

Until modern times the first line was always translated, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Several comparable ancient cosmogonies, discovered in recent times, have a “when…then” construction, confirming the translation “when…then” here as well. “When” introduces the pre-creation state and “then” introduces the creative act affecting that state. The traditional translation, “In the beginning,” does not reflect the Hebrew syntax of the clause.1 

Psalm 104 praises God the Creator and Provider.

* [Psalm 104] A hymn praising God who easily and skillfully made rampaging waters and primordial night into a world vibrant with life. The psalmist describes God’s splendor in the heavens (Ps 104:1–4), how the chaotic waters were tamed to fertilize and feed the world (Ps 104:5–18), and how primordial night was made into a gentle time of refreshment (Ps 104:19–23). The picture is like Gn 1:1–2: a dark and watery chaos is made dry and lighted so that creatures might live. The psalmist reacts to the beauty of creation with awe (Ps 104:24–34). May sin not deface God’s work (Ps 104:35)!2 

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is healing the sick in Gennesaret.

They came to him in their numbers because they wanted something from him, a cure for themselves or their sick. We come to prayer often with our needs. We can come to prayer also to know what we might do for Jesus, or what he might do through us. Discipleship brings us into both friendship and partnership. We are grateful for both these callings, knowing that every time we meet the Lord, we are healed and strengthened.3 

Carol Zuegner notes that the Gospel shows us God on earth in Jesus. What faith the people had to bring their sick and hope that they could just touch the tassel on Jesus’ cloak and be made well.

What I have to remember is that I, too, am loved by Jesus. When I get discouraged or feel the world is overwhelming, my faith may waver. That’s the time when I need to remember that tassel on Jesus’ cloak. I can remember that God is with me and cares for me. I can ask for grace for patience and peace. And I can find both, at least for a time, if I reach for that tassel and open my heart to God’s grace. I can pray, along with today’s psalm, “May the Lord be glad in his works” and know that those works include me.4 

Don Schwager quotes “Christ's wounds bring healing and life,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"The Lord of hosts was not signaling weakness as he gave sight to the blind, made the crooked to stand upright, raised the dead to life (Matthew 11:5), anticipated the effects of medicine at our prayers, and cured those who sought after him. Those who merely touched the fringe of his robe were healed (Mark 6:56). Surely you did not think it was some divine weakness, you speculators, when you saw him wounded. Indeed there were wounds that pierced his body (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33; John 19:18, 31-37), but they did not demonstrate weakness but strength. For from these wounds flowed life to all, from the One who was the life of all." (excerpt from ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 4.5.54-55.16)5

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 1:1-19 comments that we are surrounded by words. There are our own words; the conversations going on around us; and the words spoken on television, radio talk shows, commercials, and podcasts. But God’s words are different. They have divine power, and they make things happen.

How does God speak? Look at the Scriptures for some examples. He called childless Abraham and promised him countless descendants (Genesis 17), and it happened. He called Elijah to be a prophet and bring King Ahab back to God (1 Kings 18), and it happened. Jesus spoke over the loaves and fish to feed the multitude (Mark 6:41-44), and it happened. Jesus spoke healing and forgiveness to people in need, and it happened. And don’t forget that God spoke your name, and you happened. In every sacrament, God speaks words that bring you grace for the journey. Count on it: regardless of how you might feel, what you might perceive, or even what you want, God’s word is still making things happen. In Confession, when you hear I absolve you of your sins, your guilt is actually removed, and you receive freedom and grace. At Mass, when the priest says, This is my body, given for you, the bread actually becomes the Body of Christ. When you go to receive Communion and hear The Body of Christ, you are hearing the divine, powerful truth that Jesus is right there before you in the Host, waiting to fill your heart with his presence.6 

Friar Jude Winkler connects the text of the Priestly version of Creation to the environment of the exiles in Babylon. The tassels on traditional Jewish clothes were a least significant garment touched on Jesus for healing. Friar Jude notes the Priestly story of creation has a different style and theological message from the earlier Yahwistic story.7 

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Thea Bowman (1937–1990), a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration She was a powerful communicator, deeply passionate about Jesus, the Catholic Church, and her African American heritage. Fr. Richard shares her words on the history and significance of what she celebrates as Black sacred song.

Black sacred song is soulful song—

1. holistic: challenging the full engagement of mind, imagination, memory, feeling, emotion, voice, and body;

2. participatory: inviting the worshipping community to join in contemplation, in celebration and in prayer;

3. real: celebrating the immediate concrete reality of the worshipping community—grief or separation, struggle or oppression, determination or joy—bringing that reality to prayer within the community of believers;

4. spirit-filled: energetic, engrossing, intense;

5. life-giving: refreshing, encouraging, consoling, invigorating, sustaining. . . .

Black sacred song celebrates our God, [God’s] goodness, [God’s] promise, our faith and hope, our journey toward the promise. Black sacred song carries melodies and tonalities, rhythms and harmonies; metaphors, symbols and stories of faith that speak to our hearts; words, phrases and images that touch and move us.8

 

The transcendent God of the Priestly account of Genesis stimulates meditation on Divine Authority as we recall spiritual songs that lift us up in praise of God.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Genesis, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/1
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 104 | USCCB. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/104
3	(n.d.). Mark 6:53-56 | Sacred Space. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.sacredspace.ie/scripture/mark-653-56
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online .... Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/020821.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=feb8
6	(n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/02/08/180747/
7	(n.d.). Two Creation Stories in Genesis - Eco-Justice Ministries. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from http://www.eco-justice.org/Gen1a.asp
8	(2021, February 8). Black Song Is Sacred Song — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://cac.org/black-song-is-sacred-song-2021-02-08/