Victory and Doers

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today reassure us that the triumph of good over evil lies in our openness to the message of Jesus as the foundation for our victory.

Build on the Rock

The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah declares Judah’s Song of Victory.

* [26:1–19] This text is a mixture of praise for the salvation that will take place, a confession of Judah’s inability to achieve deliverance on its own, and earnest prayer that God may quickly bring about the longed-for salvation.

* [26:1] Strong city: Jerusalem, the antithesis of the “city of chaos” (24:10); see note on 24:1–27:13. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 26, n.d.)

Psalm 118 is a A Song of Victory.

* [Psalm 118] A thanksgiving liturgy accompanying a procession of the king and the people into the Temple precincts. After an invocation in the form of a litany (Ps 118:1–4), the psalmist (very likely speaking in the name of the community) describes how the people confidently implored God’s help (Ps 118:5–9) when hostile peoples threatened its life (Ps 118:10–14); vividly God’s rescue is recounted (Ps 118:15–18). Then follows a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist as the latter enters to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 118:19–25). Finally, the priests impart their blessing (Ps 118:26–27), and the psalmist sings in gratitude (Ps 118:28–29). (Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches concerning self-deception and hearers and doers.

* [7:21–23] The attack on the false prophets is continued, but is broadened to include those disciples who perform works of healing and exorcism in the name of Jesus (Lord) but live evil lives. Entrance into the kingdom is only for those who do the will of the Father. On the day of judgment (on that day) the morally corrupt prophets and miracle workers will be rejected by Jesus.

* [7:23] I never knew you: cf. Mt 10:33. Depart from me, you evildoers: cf. Ps 6:9.

* [7:24–27] The conclusion of the discourse (cf. Lk 6:47–49). Here the relation is not between saying and doing as in Mt 7:15–23 but between hearing and doing, and the words of Jesus are applied to every Christian (everyone who listens). (Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Mary Lee Brock comments that in the gospel from Matthew Jesus shares a metaphor of the wise man who built his house on rock is like the person who listens to the will of God and acts on those words. Let us be inspired to engage in that level of planning and careful action as we strive to live a life grounded in justice, peace and trust in God.

During this Advent season I pray for the grace to see ways I can build my house on rock.  I ask God to help me hear the cries of the poor. I ask to be shown how I can share my gifts without getting distracted or overscheduled. And I ask God to help me answer the question: What Am I Waiting For? (Brock, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Turn your vision to the Savior,” by Verecundus (died 552 AD).

"When Hezekiah, the king of Judah and son of Ahaz, was gravely ill and had learned of his coming death by the prophecy of Isaiah, he turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly (2 Kings 20:1-3). Immediately the Lord in his mercy not only averted the destruction of imminent death but also added fifteen years to the man's life. Then, at last, Hezekiah sang this song (Isaiah 38:10-20). Hezekiah, a holy man who reigned at that time over all of Israel, displayed the Lord's form: clearly he had every movement of body, soul and mind in subjection to himself, and he accepted the consequences of his infirmity and weakness. He knew without doubt through the prophetic message that the end of his life was approaching. For the longer we seem to live, the more indubitably is our future death foreknown to us. And if we turn our face to the wall when struck by the fear of death, that is, if we direct the vision of our hearts to the Savior, who is here represented by the wall because he is elsewhere called 'a wall,' we will be saved, inasmuch as he saves the faithful who dwell within him from a great many attacks. 'In the city of our strength,' says Isaiah, 'is the Savior established as a wall and a fortress' (Isaiah 26:1). Behold, the Savior is said to be a wall." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE CANTICLE OF EZEKIEL 5.1-2) 

[Verecundus was an African Christian writer and bishop in the 6th century AD.] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 7:21, 24-27 comments that one of the best ways to put Jesus’ advice into practice when we are experiencing trials is to spend more time in prayer. No doubt, it’s harder to pray when we are anxious and discouraged. But as we sit with the Lord and persevere, he may point us to a word in Scripture that we can hold onto. He may gently show us areas in our lives that need to change. He may also shift our perspective on a particular issue, increasing our ability to handle it more peacefully. In all these ways, we are listening to the Lord’s words and then acting on them.

Jesus assures us that we will not collapse amid storms if we have set ourselves solidly on the rock of his love and mercy. So when these storms of life threaten to overtake you, try to regain your footing. Allow the Lord to remind you that you have built your foundation on him, your rock and safety. He is full of mercy and compassion; he knows full well your situation. So turn to him, and feel the stable ground of his love beneath your feet.

“Lord Jesus, you are the rock of my salvation! Help me to cling to you in every storm.” (Meditation on Matthew 7:21, 24-27, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Isaiah 26, probably written later than First Isaiah, declares God will rescue Judah and bring down the enemies of Israel. The Gospel of Matthew warns that lip service is not enough; we have to live our faith. Friar Jude reminds us to build our life on trust in God so we will be less affected by the storms on our journey.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces writer and liturgist Cole Arthur Riley who describes awe as a spiritual practice. She describes how wonder increases our capacity to love ourselves, our neighbor, and the stranger.

Wonder includes the capacity to be in awe of humanity, even your own. It allows us to jettison the dangerous belief that things worthy of wonder can only be located on nature hikes and scenic overlooks. This can distract us from the beauty flowing through us daily. For every second that our organs and bones sustain us is a miracle. When those bones heal, when our wounds scab over, this is our call to marvel at our bodies—their regeneration, their stability or frailty. This grows our sense of dignity. To be able to marvel at the face of our neighbor with the same awe we have for the mountaintop, the sunlight refracting—this manner of vision is what will keep us from destroying each other….

Wonder requires a person not to forget themselves but to feel themselves so acutely that their connectedness to every created thing comes into focus. In sacred awe, we are a part of the story. [2] (Rohr, 2019)

Our attention to the prompting of the Spirit builds our faith and enhances the likelihood that we will do what we hear in Jesus' messages.

References

Brock, M. L. (2023, December 7). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistr y/120723.html 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 26. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/26?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?21 

Meditation on Matthew 7:21, 24-27. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/12/07/843767/ 

Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?1 

Rohr, R. (2019, June 24). The Spiritual Practice of Awe. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-spiritual-practice-of-awe/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Who Shall Enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec7 

Open to Hearing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to seek increased understanding of areas in which we have not heard the cry of earth and the cry of the poor and to accept our mission to share our faith with others.

Hearing the need

 

In the reading from the First Book of Kings, Ahijah announces Jeroboam’s Kingship.

* [11:26–43] The last major unit of the Solomon story tells how the prophet Ahijah announces the divine intention to take the larger part of Solomon’s kingdom from his control and give it to Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant. This counterbalances the first unit of the story, 1:1–2:12a, where another prophet, Nathan, managed to influence the royal succession and obtain the throne for Solomon. The unit is also the first part of the story of Jeroboam (11:26–14:20). It thus acts as a literary hinge connecting the two stories. Chronicles contains a death notice for Solomon in 2 Chr 9:29–31.1

 

Psalm 81 praises God’s appeal to stubborn Israel.

* [Psalm 81] At a pilgrimage feast, probably harvest in the fall, the people assemble in the Temple in accord with the Sinai ordinances (Ps 81:2–6). They hear a divine word (mediated by a Temple speaker) telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9), gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13). But if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility (Ps 81:14–16).2

 

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus cures a deaf man.

* [7:36] The more they proclaimed it: the same verb proclaim attributed here to the crowd in relation to the miracles of Jesus is elsewhere used in Mark for the preaching of the gospel on the part of Jesus, of his disciples, and of the Christian community (Mk 1:14; 13:10; 14:9). Implied in the action of the crowd is a recognition of the salvific mission of Jesus; see note on Mt 11:5–6.3

 

George Butterfield refers to the motif in Mark’s Gospel known as the Messianic Secret and asks if it could be that Jesus simply wants to minister to people and has no interest in making a name for himself?

In the very first chapter of Mark, I believe we get a hint as to why Jesus does this. Jesus ministers in Capernaum. It says that the whole town was gathered at the door. He cured the sick and cast out demons. Early in the morning he went outside of town to pray. Simon and the others went looking for him and, on finding him, said, “Everyone is looking for you” (Mk. 1:37). You have this city in the palm of your hands. You can make a name for yourself. Jesus’ response? Let’s get out of here. My purpose, my desire, is to reach out to the people, not to hit it big. “For this purpose have I come” (v. 38).4

 

  Don Schwager quotes “The touch of the Lord,” by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD).

"That power which may not be handled came down and clothed itself in members that may be touched, that the desperate may draw near to him, that in touching his humanity they may discern his divinity. For that speechless man the Lord healed with the fingers of his body. He put his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue. At that moment with fingers that may be touched, he touched the Godhead that may not be touched. Immediately this loosed the string of his tongue (Mark 7:32-37), and opened the clogged doors of his ears. For the very architect of the body itself and artificer of all flesh had come personally to him, and with his gentle voice tenderly opened up his obstructed ears. Then his mouth, which had been so closed up that it could not give birth to a word, gave birth to praise him who made its barrenness fruitful. The One who immediately had given to Adam speech without teaching, gave speech to him so that he could speak easily a language that is learned only with difficulty (Genesis 1:27-28). (excerpt from HOMILY ON OUR LORD 10.3)5

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 7:31-37 comments that our heavenly Father loves it when we trust him. He wants to give his children good things—and not only good things. Sometimes he wants to give us miracles. So take him at his word! Ask him for the healing of a loved one. Ask him for our own healing. Ask him to intervene in a situation that seems hopeless. And leave the results to him, trusting that he will do what is best.

Most importantly, don’t think that your faith is too weak for God to care about you. Exercise the faith you have and believe that God can work. Keep asking him for what you need. It’s not that he requires your extra prayers to act—but you need them, to stretch your faith and to grow closer to him. “Lord, I believe you can do the impossible. Please give me the faith to ask for it!”6

 

On the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, Bishop Robert Barron recalls a portion of the video series, Catholicism (https://youtu.be/dwx8g8z7FUo).

 

Friar Jude Winkler explains the division of the tribes of Israel between Jeroboam and the descendants of David. The role of spit in healing is noted. Friar Jude reminds us that pagans, in Mark’s Gospel, recognize the authority of God in the person of Jesus.

 

CAC teacher Barbara Holmes recounts her visit to Fellowship Church, a visionary, multi-racial church co-founded in 1944 by Howard Thurman and his wife Sue Bailey Thurman. Howard Thurman (1900­–1981) writes about the conviction that shared worship and encounter with divine presence could unite diverse people.

Sue and I knew that all our accumulated experiences of the past had given us two crucial gifts for this undertaking: a profound conviction that meaningful and creative experiences between peoples can be more compelling than all the ideas, concepts, faiths, fears, ideologies, and prejudices that divide them; and absolute faith that if such experiences can be multiplied and sustained over a time interval of sufficient duration any barrier that separates one person from another can be undermined and eliminated. We were sure that the ground of such meaningful experiences could be provided by the widest possible associations around common interest and common concerns. . . . One basic discovery was constantly surfacing—meaningful experiences of unity among peoples were more compelling than all that divided and separated. The sense of Presence was being manifest which in time would bring one to his or her own altar stairs leading each in his [or her] own way like Jacob’s ladder from earth to heaven. [2]7

 

The Spirit guides us to experience that opens us to hear others and to speak about our relationship with God.

 

References

1	(n.d.). 1 Kings, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/11
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 81 | USCCB. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/81
3	(n.d.). Mark, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/7
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/021122.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=feb11
6	(n.d.). Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations for February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/02/11/311130/
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://cac.org/the-experience-of-god-unites-us-2022-02-11/