Road to Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider our actions to preserve the peace in our relationships and to deal with the tension that may result when what we hold dear needs to be protected.

The road to...

The reading from the Book of Genesis describes how Abram and Lot part company.

* [13:2–18] In this story of Abraham and Lot going their separate ways, Abraham resolves a family dispute by an act that shows both trust in God and generosity toward his nephew. The story suggests Lot rather than Abraham is the natural choice to be the ancestor of a great family; he is young and he takes the most fertile land (outside the land of Canaan). In contrast to Lot, who lifts his eyes to choose for himself (vv. 10–11), Abraham waits for God to tell him to lift his eyes and see the land he will receive (v. 14). Chaps. 18–19 continue the story of Abraham and Lot. Abraham’s visionary possession of the land foreshadows that of Moses (Dt 3:27; 34:4). (Genesis, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)

Psalm 15 asks Who Shall Abide in God’s Sanctuary?

* [Psalm 15] The Psalm records a liturgical scrutiny at the entrance to the Temple court (cf. Ps 24:3–6; Is 33:14b–16). The Israelite wishing to be admitted had to ask the Temple official what conduct was appropriate to God’s precincts. Note the emphasis on virtues relating to one’s neighbor.

* [15:1] Your tent: the Temple could be referred to as “tent” (Ps 61:5; Is 33:20), a reference to the tent of the wilderness period and the tent of David (2 Sm 6:17; 7:2), predecessors of the Temple. Holy mountain: a venerable designation of the divine abode (Ps 2:6; 3:5; 43:3; 48:2, etc.).

* [15:5] Lends no money at interest: lending money in the Old Testament was often seen as assistance to the poor in their distress, not as an investment; making money off the poor by charging interest was thus forbidden (Ex 22:24; Lv 25:36–37; Dt 23:20). (Psalms, PSALM 15, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses profaning the Holy, the Golden Rule and choosing the Narrow Gate.

* [7:6] Dogs and swine were Jewish terms of contempt for Gentiles. This saying may originally have derived from a Jewish Christian community opposed to preaching the gospel (what is holy, pearls) to Gentiles. In the light of Mt 28:19 that can hardly be Matthew’s meaning. He may have taken the saying as applying to a Christian dealing with an obstinately impenitent fellow Christian (Mt 18:17).

* [7:12] See Lk 6:31. This saying, known since the eighteenth century as the “Golden Rule,” is found in both positive and negative form in pagan and Jewish sources, both earlier and later than the gospel. This is the law and the prophets is an addition probably due to the evangelist.

* [7:13–28] The final section of the discourse is composed of a series of antitheses, contrasting two kinds of life within the Christian community, that of those who obey the words of Jesus and that of those who do not. Most of the sayings are from Q and are found also in Luke.

* [7:13–14] The metaphor of the “two ways” was common in pagan philosophy and in the Old Testament. In Christian literature it is found also in the Didache (1–6) and the Epistle of Barnabas (18–20). (Matthew, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Cynthia Schmersal finds herself easily imagining the irritations that marked their days of sharing land, a time seemingly saturated with the herdsmen’s frustrations and griping.

Mindful of the truth of our kinship, may we – when experiencing the inevitable bumping into one another that marks each of our lives – consciously choose what Love demands – the constriction of the narrow gate – and genuinely affirm in word and in deed, “Let there be no strife between us.” (Schmersal, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Unreadiness to receive Godly teaching,” by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.

"Now in this precept we are forbidden to give a holy thing to dogs or to cast pearls before swine. We must diligently seek to determine the gravity of these words: holy, pearls, dogs and swine. A holy thing is whatever it would be impious to profane or tear apart. Even a fruitless attempt to do so makes one already guilty of such impiety, though the holy thing may by its very nature remain inviolable and indestructible. Pearls signify all spiritual things that are worthy of being highly prized. Because these things lie hidden in secret, it is as though they were being drawn up from the deep. Because they are found in the wrappings of allegories, it is as though they were contained within shells that have been opened.(1) It is clear therefore that one and the same thing can be called both a holy thing and a pearl. It can be called a holy thing because it ought not to be destroyed and a pearl because it ought not to be despised. One tries to destroy what one does not wish to leave intact. One despises what is deemed worthless, as if beneath him. Hence, whatever is despised is said to be trampled under foot... Thus we may rightly understand that these words (dogs and swine) are now used to designate respectively those who assail the truth and those who resist it." (excerpt from SERMON ON THE MOUNT 2.20.68-69)

(1) The interpretive task is to crack through the shell of the language to its inner spiritual meaning. (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 13:2, 5-18 asks what if Lot had adopted Abram’s attitude and agreed that relationships are worth more than possessions?

Abram and Lot’s story invites us to ask ourselves a similar question. Are my possessions hindering the relationships that matter most? It’s not uncommon for family members, friends, or even coworkers to disagree about what’s most important. It can drive a wedge between us when the desire for success or the urge to preserve material goods overshadows the time and attention that we need to spend with one another.

If you notice any areas like this in your life, be like Abram: value your relationships first, and trust God to take care of you.

“Holy Spirit, open my eyes to the attachments that separate me from my brothers and sisters.” (Meditation on Genesis 13:2, 5-18, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the generosity of Abram in allowing his nephew, Lot, first choice of the land to which he would move to eliminate discord between their herders. We seek to be prudent about the possibility of wasting time and words when the situation is not likely to produce fruit. Friar Jude reminds us of the many modern distractions that may take us awake from the narrow gate to full life.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Catholic theologian and Carmelite Sister Constance FitzGerald who uses “impasse” to describe facing an extended experience of crisis. Despite the potential for despair, FitzGerald finds the possibility of hope and transformation amid both personal and societal impasse.

We close off the breaking in of God into our lives if we cannot admit into consciousness the situations of profound impasse we face personally and societally…. The “no way out” trials of our personal lives are but a part of the far more frightening situations of national and international impasse that have been formed by the social, economic, and political forces in our time….  

It is only in the process of bringing the impasse to prayer, to the perspective of the God who loves us, that our society will be freed, healed, changed, brought to paradoxical new visions, and freed for nonviolent, selfless, liberating action, freed, therefore, for community on this planet earth. Death is involved here, a dying in order to see how to be and to act on behalf of God in the world. (Rohr, 2023)

We have access to the enlightenment of the Spirit as we pause to allow both respect for things we hold sacred and our mission to love to be present in our relationships with others.

References

Genesis, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/13?2 

Matthew, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?6 

Meditation on Genesis 13:2, 5-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/06/27/717187/ 

Psalms, PSALM 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/15?2 

Rohr, R. (2023, June 27). Impasse and Opportunity — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/impasse-and-opportunity-2023-06-27/ 

Schmersal, C. (2023, June 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/062723.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Throw Your Pearls before Swine. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jun27 

In Good Time

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the perspective of the long human journey to live in the mystery of God.

Growth in Good Time

 

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews declares that we need endurance.

* [10:37–38] In support of his argument, the author uses Hb 2:3–4 in a wording almost identical with the text of the Codex Alexandrinus of the Septuagint but with the first and second lines of Heb 10:4 inverted. He introduces it with a few words from Is 26:20: after just a brief moment. Note the Pauline usage of Hb 2:4 in Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11.1 

Psalm 37 is an exhortation to patience and trust.

* [Psalm 37] The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic.2

 

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus teaches in parables, including the Growing Seed.

* [4:26–29] Only Mark records the parable of the seed’s growth. Sower and harvester are the same. The emphasis is on the power of the seed to grow of itself without human intervention (Mk 4:27). Mysteriously it produces blade and ear and full grain (Mk 4:28). Thus the kingdom of God initiated by Jesus in proclaiming the word develops quietly yet powerfully until it is fully established by him at the final judgment (Mk 4:29); cf. Rev 14:15.3 

Mary Lee Brock notes that the first reading from Hebrews offers a reminder to stay strong in our faith:  “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.”

 I feel a sense of peace that I am like one of the birds of the sky feeling the comfort of the shade of the mustard tree. Today I pray for the grace to see and receive what God has promised. I ask for help in deepening my trust in the teachings of Jesus.  As I strive to serve the kingdom of God, I look for ways to be shelter for others as an ally, advocate, neighbor and friend.4 

Don Schwager quotes “God gave us what was most precious,” by Isaac of Nineveh (a Syrian monk, teacher, and bishop), 613-700 A.D.

"The sum of all is God, the Lord of all, who from love of his creatures has delivered his Son to death on the cross. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for it. Not that he was unable to save us in another way, but in this way it was possible to show us his abundant love abundantly, namely, by bringing us near to him by the death of his Son. If he had anything more dear to him, he would have given it to us, in order that by it our race might be his. And out of his great love he did not even choose to urge our freedom by compulsion, though he was able to do so. But his aim was that we should come near to him by the love of our mind. And our Lord obeyed his Father out of love for us." (excerpt from ASCETICAL HOMILY 74.28)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 4:26-34 asks why did Jesus use a mustard seed as an analogy for the kingdom of God? Perhaps because he knew that God often works by planting a tiny seed of an idea in our hearts, which then grows into something big through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps Jesus has planted a tiny mustard seed in your heart or in the heart of someone you know and trust. If so, as you bring the idea to prayer, consider what the next step might be. Is there some small action you can do to start things off? As you follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, you might be surprised to see this little seed grow. You might even witness something amazing happen from that tiny seed of faith! “Jesus, help me be open to the ideas you plant in my heart.”6

 

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the audience for the letter to the Hebrews was encouraged to consider what they had already suffered for the faith. In the Mystery of God, our faith and the Kingdom grow in God’s time. Friar Jude reminds us that frustration with the progress of the community needs to be tempered as we are on a journey in the mystery of God.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that once we know that the entire physical world around us, all of creation, is both the hiding place and the revelation place for God, this world becomes home, safe, enchanted, offering grace to any who look deeply. He calls that kind of deep and calm seeing “contemplation.”

In the Franciscan tradition, John Duns Scotus (1266–1308) developed the doctrine of the univocity of being. He believed we could speak “with one voice” (univocity) of the being of waters, plants, animals, humans, angels, and God. God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4), and thus reality is one too (Ephesians 4:3–5). We are all part of The Story of Being. Author, lawyer, and activist Sherri Mitchell shares a similar and even more ancient perspective held by Native peoples. They do not use the word Christ, but within The Story, the universal patterns hold. She writes: We all originate from the same divine source. . . . Sadly, there will also be times when we will lose sight of this basic fact. During those times, we will become lost in the unfolding stories of our own individualized realities. [1]7

 

Sheri Mitchell invites us to be aware of the expanded kinship networks that surround us, which include other human beings along with the beings of the land, water, and air, and the plants, trees, and all remaining unseen beings that exist within our universe. In God’s time, our faith and witness will support, like the mustard plant, the journey of humanity to fullness of life.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Hebrews, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/10
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 37 | USCCB. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37
3	(n.d.). Mark, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/4
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online .... Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/012921.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=jan29
6	(n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/01/29/180676/
7	(2021, January 24). The Cosmic Egg Archives — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://cac.org/themes/the-cosmic-egg/