Revelation Dignity and Blasphemy

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to affirm our hope for the fruit of the Spirit to gather all in peace and love.

The Spirit of Hope

The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians presents Paul’s Prayer for the Church as Christ’s Body.

* [1:23] His body: the church (Eph 1:22); cf. note on Col 1:18. Only in Ephesians and Colossians is Christ the head of the body, in contrast to the view in 1 Cor 12 and Rom 12:4–8 where Christ is equated with the entire body or community. Fullness: see note on Col 1:19. Some take the one who fills as God, others as Christ (cf. Eph 4:10). If in Christ “dwells the fullness of the deity bodily” (Col 2:9), then, as God “fills” Christ, Christ in turn fills the church and the believer (Eph 3:19; 5:18). But the difficult phrases here may also allow the church to be viewed as the “complement” of Christ who is “being filled” as God’s plan for the universe is carried out through the church (cf. Eph 3:9–10). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)

Psalm 8 praises Divine Majesty and Human Dignity

* [Psalm 8] While marvelling at the limitless grandeur of God (Ps 8:2–3), the psalmist is struck first by the smallness of human beings in creation (Ps 8:4–5), and then by the royal dignity and power that God has graciously bestowed upon them (Ps 8:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 8, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke presents sayings about the Holy Spirit.

* [12:10–12] The sayings about the holy Spirit are set in the context of fearlessness in the face of persecution (Lk 12:2–9; cf. Mt 12:31–32). The holy Spirit will be presented in Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, as the power responsible for the guidance of the Christian mission and the source of courage in the face of persecution. (Luke, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)

Steve Scholer asks are we like the Pharisees, who deny the presence of the Holy Spirit?

As we go about our daily lives, we, too, need to pause and take the time to realize the power of the Holy Spirit and the miracles we benefit from, albeit by giving, receiving, or witnessing. Are the seemingly meaningless random acts of kindness we perform, in reality, a miracle to the person we help? Do we recognize the Holy Spirit at work when we are the beneficiary of these acts? Or are we too reluctant to attribute miracles in our lives, both big and small, to the Holy Spirit? 

Let’s not turn a blind eye to the workings of the Holy Spirit, but rather, see its work as urging us to continue to trust in Jesus and to practice our faith in thought, word, and deed, for there is no coming back from the Road to Perdition. (Scholer, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Holy Spirit will inspire martyrs and teach believers,” by Cyril of Jerusalem, 430-543 A.D.

"You must also know that the Holy Spirit empowers the martyrs to bear witness... A person cannot testify as a martyr for Christ's sake except through the Holy Spirit. If 'no man can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:3), will any man give his life for Jesus' sake except through the Holy Spirit?" (excerpt from CATECHETICAL LECTURES 16.21) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 1:15-23 comments that for Christians, hope is based not on our circumstances but on a Person. Jesus is our hope. No matter what happens to us or around us, no matter what changes, Jesus doesn’t change. He is our merciful Savior who is with us now in this life, and he will be the same merciful Savior with us for all eternity.

On one level, we already know that. Yet we live in a fallen world filled with confusion, turmoil, disease, and strife. Thinking about our problems, our sins, or just the state of the world can cause us to feel overwhelmed. So how do we live in hope?

This, brothers and sisters, is the source of our hope. So in those times when you are feeling discouraged, look to Jesus. Recall what he has done for you. Recall the future he has for you. He will never abandon you, not even in your darkest hour. This is the hope that belongs to your call!

“Jesus, when my hope begins to fail, give me the grace to look to you.” (Meditation on Ephesians 1:15-23, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the vertical and horizontal aspects of our faith in the letter to the Ephesians. The position of the Incarnate Jesus as head over the spiritual angels was difficult for Greek philosophy. Friar Jude identifies our possible rejection of the Holy Spirit when we choose to not receive the mercy and love of Christ.

The Franciscan Media article on Saint Teresa of Jesus comments that she was a woman “for God,” a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion. Her heart belonged to God. Her ongoing conversion was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and suffering. She was misunderstood, misjudged, and opposed in her efforts at reform. Yet she struggled on, courageous and faithful; she struggled with her own mediocrity, her illness, her opposition. And in the midst of all this she clung to God in life and in prayer. Her writings on prayer and contemplation are drawn from her experience: powerful, practical, and graceful. She was a woman of prayer; a woman for God. Her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers.

Ours is a time of turmoil, a time of reform, and a time of liberation. Modern women have in Teresa a challenging example. Promoters of renewal, promoters of prayer, all have in Teresa a woman to reckon with, one whom they can admire and imitate. (Image: The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of Avila, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains the Eighth Core Principle of the CAC. We do not think ourselves into a new way of living; we live ourselves into a new way of thinking. This final principle is a fruit of Fr. Richard’s decades of companioning with others on the spiritual journey.

Here at the CAC we will continue to say: Try this, go here, change sides, move outside your comfort zone, make new friendships with people of a different race or class, let go of your usual role and attractive self-image, walk, pedal, or roll instead of drive, skip the tourist visits and spend time in local neighborhoods, go to the jail or to the border, help at a food pantry or literacy center, attend another church for a while, and so on. Then we can live ourselves into new ways of thinking, and we will wonder how we could have ever thought in any other way! Before new experience, new thinking is difficult and dangerous. Afterward, new thinking is natural and even necessary. (Rohr, 2022)

We reflect on the Presence of the Spirit in our lives as our support in difficulties and our joy in relationships with others.

References

Ephesians, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/1 

Image: The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of Avila. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-teresa-of-avila 

Luke, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?8 

Meditation on Ephesians 1:15-23. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/10/15/512623/ 

Psalms, PSALM 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8?2 

Rohr, R. (2022, October 15). CAC's Eight Core Principles: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-cacs-eight-core-principles-weekly-summary-2022-10-15/ 

Scholer, S. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/101522.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Holy Spirit Will Teach You What to Say. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=oct15 

Light in the Works

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our experience of being persecuted for actions that may have disturbed the “way things are''.

Working in Solidarity

 

The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah describes his interior crisis resulting from persecution.

“Terror on every side!

Denounce! let us denounce him!”1

 

Psalm 18 is a Royal Thanksgiving for Victory.

* [Psalm 18] A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sm 22. Thanksgiving Psalms are in essence reports of divine rescue. The Psalm has two parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (Ps 18:5–20), and the second from an earthly perspective (Ps 18:36–46). The first report adapts old mythic language of a cosmic battle between sea and rainstorm in order to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (Ps 18:2–4, 32–36) and conclusion (Ps 18:21–31, 47–50).2

 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is accused of blasphemy during the Feast of the Dedication.

* [10:41] Performed no sign: this is to stress the inferior role of John the Baptist. The Transjordan topography recalls the great witness of John the Baptist to Jesus, as opposed to the hostility of the authorities in Jerusalem.3

 

  Edward Morse comments that Jesus' own people could experience good from our Lord’s presence and his miraculous works performed among them, but they could not embrace the light he offered.  Indeed, they seem not to want to know about the light.  Instead of discourse, they chose a violent path, which our Lord somehow escaped this time.  He retreated to a wilderness.  But note that others still drew near to him, drawn by his witness of the light.

During this Lenten journey, we have been challenged to pursue metanoia – repentance and the change of heart that opens us to embrace the works of God in our lives.  God is inviting us to choose His light.  He shows his depth of commitment to us, as our Lord left a world in which friendship, loyalty, and faithfulness were perfect and undiminished in order to join us in our world in which he would experience the sting of treachery and abandonment.  How much that must have cost our Lord to bring light to us!  Can this understanding help us embrace metanoia more deeply?  May these events be in our hearts as we approach Holy Week.  Thanks be to God.4

 

Don Schwager quotes “The sacrifice of Christ,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Even though the man Christ Jesus, in the form of God together with the Father with whom He is one God, accepts our sacrifice, nonetheless He has chosen in the form of a servant to be the sacrifice rather than to accept it. Therefore, He is the priest Himself Who presents the offering, and He Himself is what is offered." (excerpt from City of God, 10,20)5

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Jeremiah 20:10-13 comments that just as he did for Jeremiah, God will rescue us and sustain us even through our most difficult circumstances. His “rescuing” gives us the strength to endure and the faith to trust him. Whether he provides a moment of peace when anxiety is overwhelming or the power to carry on when a family member is struggling with his health, God is there to lift us up.

This happens in small and big ways—and we may not see it except in hindsight. God may use a Scripture verse or a conversation with a friend to comfort us. A walk outside may refresh our spirit, or a moment of clarity may give us wisdom. God is present in all these ways. Whatever you are facing today, you can call on the Lord. Bring your concerns to him, and ask him to intervene. Whether his answer comes in obvious or subtle ways, whether it comes immediately or later, you can be sure that the Lord has heard you and that he is with you. “Lord, hear my prayer today. Rescue me in your love.”6

 

Friar Jude Winkler explores the dialogue between Jeremiah and God known as the Confessions of Jeremiah. The self emptying of Jeremiah, even when it cost him, makes him a Christ like prophet. In John’s Gospel, faith makes us one with Jesus in the Spirit.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us that while we are invited to be in solidarity with the pain of others, God carries all pain. Many people rightly question how there can be a good God or a just God in the presence of so much evil and suffering in the world—about which God appears to do nothing. Exactly how is God loving and sustaining what God created? That is our dilemma. Episcopal priest Stephanie Spellers helps us understand how our one “entwined” suffering spurs us to take action in solidarity.

Solidarity is love crossing the borders drawn by self-centrism, in order to enter into the situation of the other, for the purpose of mutual relationship and struggle that heals us all and enacts God’s beloved community. Solidarity is the voice that finally comprehends: “You are not the same as me, but part of you lives in me. Your freedom and mine were always inextricably entwined. Now I see it, and because of what I see, I choose to live differently. I will go there, with you, for your sake and for my own.”. . .7

 

Latina theologian Ada María Isasi-Díaz [1943–2012] sums up solidarity as “the union of kindred persons” who work together toward “the unfolding of the ‘kin-dom’ of God.” [1].

The bottom line is not who wins or loses the struggle, or even who secures enough allies to flip the power dynamic. Isasi-Díaz wants us to see that the loving, sacrificial friendship at the heart of solidarity is itself the antidote to sin and oppression.7

 

We find solidarity in the Body of Christ as we act to reveal the Light of Christ.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Jeremiah, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/20
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 18 | USCCB - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/18
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/10
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040822.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=apr8
6	(2020, August 6). Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations for April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/04/08/346510/
7	(n.d.). 2022 Daily Meditations: Nothing Stands Alone - Center for Action .... Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://cac.org/christ-suffers-with-us-2022-04-08/