Declaring Divinity

The texts for the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to recall the omnipotence of God that also is revealed in our everyday experiences of love, compassion, kindness, and mercy.

Revealing The Divine

The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy proclaims the Essence of the Law.

* [10:16] Circumcise therefore the foreskins of your hearts: cf. 30:6; Jer 4:4; Rom 2:29. The “uncircumcised heart” (Lv 26:41; Jer 9:25; Ez 44:7, 9) is closed and unreceptive to God, just as “uncircumcised ears” (Jer 6:10) are closed to the word of the Lord, and “uncircumcised lips” (Ex 6:12, 30) are a hindrance to speaking on behalf of the Lord. (Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 147 offers praise for God’s Care for Jerusalem.

* [Psalm 147] The hymn is divided into three sections by the calls to praise in Ps 147:1, 7, 12. The first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah (Ps 147:1–6); the second section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water. (Psalms, PSALM 147, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus again foretells His Death and Resurrection. Jesus pays the Temple Tax.

* [17:22–23] The second passion prediction (cf. Mt 16:21–23) is the least detailed of the three and may be the earliest. In the Marcan parallel the disciples do not understand (Mk 9:32); here they understand and are overwhelmed with grief at the prospect of Jesus’ death (Mt 17:23).

* [17:24–27] Like Mt 14:28–31 and Mt 16:16b–19, this episode comes from Matthew’s special material on Peter. Although the question of the collectors concerns Jesus’ payment of the temple tax, it is put to Peter. It is he who receives instruction from Jesus about freedom from the obligation of payment and yet why it should be made. The means of doing so is provided miraculously. The pericope deals with a problem of Matthew’s church, whether its members should pay the temple tax, and the answer is given through a word of Jesus conveyed to Peter. Some scholars see here an example of the teaching authority of Peter exercised in the name of Jesus (see Mt 16:19). The specific problem was a Jewish Christian one and may have arisen when the Matthean church was composed largely of that group. (Matthew, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)

Angela Maynard shares a reflection on St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe.

Today we remember St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe  He is a wonderful example of one who trusted in Jesus, often through the intercession of Mary. St. Maximillian is a new saint. He was born in 1994 and was canonized in 1982. As a Franciscan friar, he founded the Immaculate movement based on the notion that the fastest easiest way of becoming like Jesus was through the grace of Mary. Most who are familiar with St. Maximilian know of his arrest by the Nazis and time spent in a concentration camp. He volunteered to take the place of another prisoner (a husband and father) who was to be sent to the starvation bunker. While in the concentration camp he made it his mission to show through word and action that there is a God—an incredible task during a genocide!

On the eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 14, 1941, Fr. Maximilian’s time in the starvation ended when he died after an injection of carbolic acid. What a testament to his devotion to our blessed Mother! I do not believe this was a coincidence.

St. Maximilian is a wonderful example of faith and trust in our Lord. I can only imagine the peace he brought to his fellow prisoners in the concentration camp.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed him the “Patron Saint of our Difficult Age.”  The challenge is for us to find those saints among us—they are there— and they serve as incredible models of faith and trust. (Maynard, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"I think we have an obligation to examine this, too: that Jesus was delivered into the hands of men, not by men into the hands of men but by powers to whom the Father delivered his Son on behalf of us all. In the very act of being delivered and coming under the power of those to whom he was delivered, he "destroyed him who had the power of death." For "through death he destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.8) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 17:22-27 asks us to Imagine how Peter must have felt when he pulled that coin from the mouth of the fish—especially given all the recent drama he had experienced! Jesus hadn’t performed this miracle to keep the authorities happy; they had no idea where the money had come from. He did it to give Peter a simple sign to encourage and reassure him.

As he did for Peter, Jesus will give us signs occasionally to reassure us and to remind us that we belong to him. These don’t have to be big miracles like a healing. They’re often little things like a word of affirmation from a friend or a song on the radio or the reappearance of a cherished item you thought you had lost forever—or a million other “little miracles.”

Especially when we are going through our own rough times, Jesus will reach out to us. The signs will be there; we just need to see them for what they are: generous gifts from a loving God.

“Jesus, thank you for always surrounding me with your love!” (Meditation on Matthew 17:22-27, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the assertion of Moses that the Law was an incredible gift for an insignificant people to follow and reach out to orphans not yet blessed by the Lord. Jesus declares Himself the Son of Man as well as using vocabulary in Second Isaiah of the Suffering Servant. Friar Jude reminds us of the nature miracle of Jesus to fulfill the Law around the Temple Tax.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces storyteller Kelley Nikondeha who offers her imaginative interpretation of the scene near the Red Sea from Exodus 14–15.

And when the last Hebrew heel lifted off the dried seabed, the towering barriers released like twin tsunamis, sending the Egyptian chariots crashing into the dark sea. Miriam stood by her brothers in shock, in unspoken awe…. 

Miriam, prophet, stood over the sea aching. A few widows came alongside her, sharing in her lament for the dead. “There will be empty places at their tables now,” she spoke in a plaintive tone. “We know what that does to a heart.” … “I will remember your son always,” Miriam whispered like a prayer and a promise. The prophet, heavy with jewelry and tears, swore she heard God weeping over her shoulder. She turned to the small band of women. “Let’s go down to the shore and mourn the dead, lest our own hearts calcify and become hard like Pharaoh’s.” And so while the Hebrews broke out their unleavened bread in the cool of that first free night, the women wept with God and the angels. (Rohr, n.d.)

We pause to allow awe at the action of God in our salvation history that includes our personal experience of life miracles on our journey.

References

Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/10?12 

Matthew, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/17? 

Maynard, A. (2023, August 14). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/081423.html 

Meditation on Matthew 17:22-27. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/08/14/758449/ 

Psalms, PSALM 147. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/147?12 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-prophet-celebrates-freedom-2023-08-14/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Not to Give Offense. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=aug14 

Glory Love and Law

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Memorial of Saint Dominic, challenge us to expand our understanding of the action of God that is expressed to humanity through our imperfect body and imagination.

Imagination and Revelation

The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel is the Vision of God on the Cherubim.

* [1:26] Looked like a human being: the God who transcends the powers of the human imagination is pictured here in the likeness of an enthroned human king. (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)

Psalm 148 praises God’s Universal Glory.

* [Psalm 148] A hymn inviting the beings of heaven (Ps 148:1–6) and of earth (Ps 148:7–14) to praise God. The hymn does not distinguish between inanimate and animate (and rational) nature. (Psalms, PSALM 148, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus again foretells His Death and Resurrection and addresses payment of the Temple Tax.

* [17:24–27] Like Mt 14:28–31 and Mt 16:16b–19, this episode comes from Matthew’s special material on Peter. Although the question of the collectors concerns Jesus’ payment of the temple tax, it is put to Peter. It is he who receives instruction from Jesus about freedom from the obligation of payment and yet why it should be made. The means of doing so is provided miraculously. The pericope deals with a problem of Matthew’s church, whether its members should pay the temple tax, and the answer is given through a word of Jesus conveyed to Peter. Some scholars see here an example of the teaching authority of Peter exercised in the name of Jesus (see Mt 16:19). The specific problem was a Jewish Christian one and may have arisen when the Matthean church was composed largely of that group.

Nancy Shirley comments that similarly to St. Ignatius, St. Dominic recognized that the conversion of others required action and being a role model. She shares a wonderful /legend about St. Dominic.

Legend has it that Dominic saw the sinful world threatened by God’s anger but saved by the intercession of Mary, who pointed out to her Son two figures: One was Dominic himself, the other a stranger. In church the next day he saw a ragged beggar enter—the man in the vision. He went up to him, embraced him and said, “You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us.” The beggar was Francis of Assisi. The meeting of the two founders is commemorated twice a year, when on their respective feast days Dominicans and Franciscans celebrate Mass in each other’s churches and afterward sit at the same table “to eat the bread which for seven centuries has never been wanting” (Butler’s Lives of the Saints). (Shirley, n.d.)

 Don Schwager comments that “Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection,“ by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"I think we have an obligation to examine this, too: that Jesus was delivered into the hands of men, not by men into the hands of men but by powers to whom the Father delivered his Son on behalf of us all. In the very act of being delivered and coming under the power of those to whom he was delivered, he "destroyed him who had the power of death." For "through death he destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.8) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 17:22-27 comments that Jeus knew that the apostles had to experience his resurrection in order to truly understand it. In a similar way, there are some situations that we just have to live through before we can see, with hindsight, how Jesus was with us.

So yes, some things take time. They also take the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit who turned the disciples’ grief into joy on Easter Sunday, and it’s the Spirit who will help us whenever we feel overwhelmed with grief (John 20:22). He will give us not only the grace to endure trials, but also the grace to believe that no matter what we are facing, there will be a resurrection. We may not see it right away; we may even question our faith at times. But Jesus remains faithful and true. He will always give us new opportunities to start again, to die to sin and rise to new life with him. It’s for us to experience!

“Holy Spirit, show me the power of Jesus’ resurrection today!” (Meditation on Matthew 17:22-27, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler explains the exile of Ezekiel to Babylon and the thought that the mentally ill may have been especially touched by God. Prophets are often not as we expect. Friar Jude reminds us of Jesus' connection to Daniel 7 and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah as he notes Jesus' authority of Nature as he resolves the payment of the Temple tax.

Franciscan Media comments that St. Dominic's ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of God. His ideal: contemplata tradere: “to pass on the fruits of contemplation” or “to speak only of God or with God.”

The Dominican ideal, like that of all religious communities, is for the imitation, not merely the admiration, of the rest of the Church. The effective combining of contemplation and activity is the vocation of truck driver Smith as well as theologian Aquinas. Acquired contemplation is the tranquil abiding in the presence of God, and is an integral part of any full human life. It must be the wellspring of all Christian activity. (Saint Dominic, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes how Christianity’s distrust of the body originates not from the Bible, but from Greek philosophy. Fr Richard’s brilliant Franciscan history and liturgy professor, Father Larry Landini (1935–2005), may have given the best explanation for why so many Christians seem to be ashamed and afraid of the body. In 1969, after four years studying church history, Father Larry offered these final words: “Just remember, on the practical level, the Christian Church was much more influenced by Plato than it was by Jesus.”

For Plato, body and soul were incompatible enemies; matter and spirit were at deep odds with one another. Yet for Jesus, there is no animosity between body and soul. In fact, this is the heart of Jesus’ healing message and of the incarnation itself. Jesus, in whom “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), was fully human, even as he was fully divine, with both body and spirit operating as one. (Rohr, n.d.)

We journey in relationship with God and people as the Spirit operates in our piety, study, and action to reveal truth, beauty, and fullness of life.

References

Ezekiel, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/1?2 

Matthew, CHAPTER 17. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/17?22 

Meditation on Matthew 17:22-27. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/08/464440/ 

Psalms, PSALM 148. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/148?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Body and Spirit as One. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/body-and-spirit-as-one-2022-08-08/ 

Saint Dominic. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-dominic 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Not to Give Offense. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug8 

Shirley, N. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080822.html