Hope and Humanity

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to interact with our environment with faith, hope, and charity that reflect the Presence of God.

Hope for Humanity

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims the Certainty of God’s Promise.

* [6:12] Imitators of those…inheriting the promises: the author urges the addressees to imitate the faith of the holy people of the Old Testament, who now possess the promised goods of which they lived in hope. This theme will be treated fully in Heb 11.

* [6:13] He swore by himself: God’s promise to Abraham, which he confirmed by an oath (“I swear by myself,” Gn 22:16) was the basis for the hope of all Abraham’s descendants.

* [6:15] He obtained the promise: this probably refers not to Abraham’s temporary possession of the land but to the eschatological blessings that Abraham and the other patriarchs have now come to possess.

* [6:18] Two immutable things: the promise and the oath, both made by God.

* [6:19] Anchor…into the interior behind the veil: a mixed metaphor. The Holy of Holies, beyond the veil that separates it from the Holy Place (Ex 26:31–33), is seen as the earthly counterpart of the heavenly abode of God. This theme will be developed in Heb 9. (Hebrews, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 111 offers praise for God’s Wonderful Works.

* [Psalm 111] A Temple singer (Ps 111:1) tells how God is revealed in Israel’s history (Ps 111:2–10). The deeds reveal God’s very self, powerful, merciful, faithful. The poem is an acrostic, each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (Psalms, PSALM 111 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark, presents Jesus' pronouncement about the Sabbath.

* [2:23–28] This conflict regarding the sabbath follows the same pattern as in Mk 2:18–22.

* [2:25–26] Have you never read what David did?: Jesus defends the action of his disciples on the basis of 1 Sm 21:2–7 in which an exception is made to the regulation of Lv 24:9 because of the extreme hunger of David and his men. According to 1 Samuel, the priest who gave the bread to David was Ahimelech, father of Abiathar.

* [2:27] The sabbath was made for man: a reaffirmation of the divine intent of the sabbath to benefit Israel as contrasted with the restrictive Pharisaic tradition added to the law.

* [2:28] The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath: Mark’s comment on the theological meaning of the incident is to benefit his Christian readers; see note on Mk 2:10. (Mark, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Mike Cherney comments that in today’s Gospel, Jesus disciples pick grain while walking through a field on the Sabbath. Jesus is confronted by a group of Pharisees who interpret these actions as a willful disregard for the law of God.

If I imagine myself as an onlooker to this Gospel event, I see Jesus as inviting me to reconsider the nature of religious observance. I hear Jesus teaching that God’s laws were not made as impediments, but rather they exist for the betterment of humanity. In this contemplation, I experience a call to better embody the deeper values of my faith: mercy, justice, inclusion, and compassion. In contrast to the legalistic, rule-bound faith of my childhood, I find myself drawn to live out a faith that is centered on the humanity of those around me, particularly the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed. I am moved to believe that this is the true “sabbatical” rest God desires for us, a rest that restores us to one another and to the heart of God’s loving purpose for the world. (Cherney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Lord of the Sabbath,” by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

"Doubtless he speaks of himself when he mentions the 'Lord of the sabbath' (Mark 2:28, Matthew 12:8, Luke 6:5). Mark relates a complementary saying about our common human nature, that "the sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Why then should someone who gathered sticks on the sabbath be censured? The law that was established earlier could not be scorned without jeopardizing the law to be given later.

"The sabbath did confer many benefits, great blessings in the earlier dispensation. It made people more gentle toward those close to them. It guided them toward being more sympathetic. It located them temporally within God's creation and providence, as Ezekiel knew (Ezekiel 20:19-20). The sabbath trained Israel by degrees to abstain from evil and disposed them to listen to the things of the Spirit.

"They would have stretched the law out of shape if, when he was giving the law of the sabbath, Jesus had said, 'You can work on the sabbath, but just do good works, do nothing evil.' This would have brought out the worst in them. So he restrained them from doing any works at all on the sabbath. And even this stricter prohibition did not keep them in line. But he himself, in the very act of giving the law of the sabbath, gave them a veiled sign of things to come. For by saying, 'You must do no work, except what shall be done for your life' (Exodus 12:16), he indicated that the intent of the law was to have them refrain from evil works only, not all works. Even in the temple, much went on during the sabbath, and with great diligence and double toil. Thus even by this very shadowy saying Jesus was secretly opening the truth to them. Did Christ then attempt to repeal a law so beneficial as the sabbath law? Far from it. Rather, he greatly magnified the sabbath. For with Christ came the time for everyone to be trained by a higher requirement."(excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 39.3) (Cherney, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Hebrews 6:10-20 comments that the love of God is stable and unchanging like a rock, but it is also active and dynamic like the wind.

You may feel today that you need to be anchored safely to the Lord as storms rage around you. Or you may need a fresh wind from the Spirit to enliven you and help you get unstuck. Or you may need a mixture of both. Whatever your situation and whatever your need, keep your heart fixed on the Lord! Place your hope in his promises, because hope doesn’t disappoint (Romans 5:5)!

“Lord, fill me with hope that helps me to stand firm when I need to—and to run toward you when I need to!” (Meditation on Hebrews 6:10-20, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the interspersing of exhortation and dogmatic instruction in the passage from Hebrews. The mystical dimension of what we do where we change reality through our prayer is celebrated by Jesus' opening of the Holy of Hollies. Friar Jude knows how the humanity of Jesus is presented in the factual error about the priest who ministered to David with the Bread of Presence.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr who considers how our imperfect families and relationships are opportunities to practice divine love, acceptance, and compassion. Through accepting reality, we find a greater capacity to love what is.

Chances are, if you are a parent, whether adoptive or biological, you too have experienced the collapse of your parenting fantasies. You also have received an open invitation to accept the kids you have and forgive the parent you are, with a degree of humility bordering on humiliation and a dash of humor that can sometimes carry maniacal overtones…. 

This is the human condition. And at the very center of your own shattered dream, the face of the sacred flashes and glimmers. The holy disaster is a beckoning. Come. Enter the fire of love and let it remake you again and again. To be an ordinary, everyday mystic is to take your rightful place on the throne of what is. (Rohr, n.d.)

We are consoled by our faithful God as we seek to celebrate the gift of our humanity and find hope in our resolve to be workers in the vineyard of Christ.

References

Cherney, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jan21 

Hebrews, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/6?10 

Mark, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/2?23 

Meditation on Hebrews 6:10-20. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/01/21/1184295/ 

Psalms, PSALM 111 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/111?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Our Families Are Teachers. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/our-families-are-teachers/ 

Heart of the Good Shepherd

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with the way in which we love as the Shepherd in caring for family and others.

Beside still waters

The passage from the Prophet Ezekiel is the Parable of the Shepherds in which God is promised as the Shepherd of Israel.

* [34:2] Shepherds: the leaders of the people. A frequent title for kings and deities in the ancient Near East; the ideal ruler took care of his subjects and anticipated their needs. Ezekiel’s oracle broadens the reference to include the whole class of Jerusalem’s leaders (v. 17). The prophet assures his audience, the exiles in Babylon, that God holds these leaders responsible for what has happened to Jerusalem and will give Israel a new shepherd worthy of the title.1 

In Psalm 23 God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed.

* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).2 

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans underlines the development of Hope in the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love.

Because this fullness of salvation belongs to the future it is called the Christian hope. Paul’s Greek term for hope does not, however, suggest a note of uncertainty, to the effect: “I wonder whether God really means it.” Rather, God’s promise in the gospel fills believers with expectation and anticipation for the climactic gift of unalloyed commitment in the holy Spirit to the performance of the will of God. The persecutions that attend Christian commitment are to teach believers patience and to strengthen this hope, which will not disappoint them because the holy Spirit dwells in their hearts and imbues them with God’s love (Rom 5:5).3 

The Gospel from Luke is The Parable of the Lost Sheep told by Jesus in this Gospel and in Matthew.

* [15:1–32] To the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:1–7) that Luke shares with Matthew (Mt 18:12–14), Luke adds two parables (the lost coin, Lk 15:8–10; the prodigal son, Lk 15:11–32) from his own special tradition to illustrate Jesus’ particular concern for the lost and God’s love for the repentant sinner.4 

Carol Zuegner asks “Who among us hasn’t felt lost or broken?”

I am broken, but I am loved. God is with us, even in the dark valleys. He gives us the courage to do the right thing, to share that love that has been poured out into our hearts.5  

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus is Son of David and Son of God,” by Cyril of Alexandria, 375-444 A.D.

"We also will ask the Pharisees of today a similar question. They deny that he who was born of the holy Virgin is very Son of God the Father and himself also God. They also divide the one Christ into two sons. Let these people explain to us how David's Son is his Lord, not so much as to human lordship as divine. To sit at the right hand of the Father is the assurance and pledge of supreme glory. Those who share the same throne are equal also in dignity, and those who are crowned with equal honors are understood of course to be equal in nature. To sit by God can signify nothing else than sovereign authority. The throne declares to us that Christ possesses power over everything and supremacy by right of his substance. How is the Son of David David's Lord, seated at the right hand of God the Father and on the throne of Deity? Is it not altogether according to the unerring word of the mystery that the Word as God sprung from the very substance of God the Father? Being in his likeness and equal with him, he became flesh. He became man, perfectly and yet without departing from the incomparable excellence of the divine dignities. He continued in that state in which he had always been. He still was God, although he became flesh and in form like us. He is David's Lord therefore according to that which belongs to his divine glory, nature and sovereignty. He is his son according to the flesh." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 137.52)6 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 15:3-7 comments that some people would say that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart of a shepherd, and with good reason... today’s Gospel gives us another insight into the kind of shepherd Jesus is: one who rejoices.

 Take some time today to consider the Sacred Heart of Jesus not just as a suffering heart but as a joyful heart. Imagine you are that lost lamb, and your shepherd is pursuing you with eagerness and determination. In your mind’s eye, see his face light up as he spots you and reaches out for you. Feel the warmth of his joy as he lifts you onto his shoulders to carry you home.7

Friar Jude Winkler sets the passage from Ezekiel and Psalm 23 in the time of the Babylonian exile when Israel was in need of a shepherd to lead them back to Jerusalem. The Gospel parable prompts us to ask if our parish budgets do enough in outreach to lost sheep. Friar Jude notes that the Good Shepherd “abandons” the 99 sheep to address the needs of the lost one.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, continues his exploration of parental love and quotes Carol Bialock, a Religious of the Sacred Heart and author of the poem “Breathing Underwater” and “Widening the Door,”

 Does the heart have a narrow door?Will it allow in just one moreof every beast and flower and birdand every song it has ever heard?
Just one more child, just one more flower,one more relinquishing of powerto that sane and sacred foolishnessof living by inclusiveness?
Does the heart have a supple, elastic latchthat makes it easy to dispatchall pettiness and bigotryand opens it to what makes us free?
. . .
You who can heal all wounds and hatemake my heart open, free, and great.
—Carol Bialock [1]8

Brené Brown who offers a parenting manifesto that can serve as a touchstone when we feel afraid or resist vulnerability, “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead”. The feast today of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Solemnity) is an opportunity to reflect on the joy and hope that our practice of a Shepherd’s Love can bring to our journey.

References

1	(n.d.). Ezekiel, chapter 34 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/34
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 23 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23
3	(n.d.). Romans, chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/romans/5
4	(n.d.). Luke, chapter 15 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/15
5	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries - Creighton University. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
6	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
7	(n.d.). The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Solemnity) - Mass Readings and .... Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/28/
8	(2019, June 28). The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto — Center for Action and .... Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://cac.org/the-wholehearted-parenting-manifesto-2019-06-28/