Deception or Compassion

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our sense of injustice from deception and gratitude for restoration.

Feeding Body and Soul

In the reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, Hananiah opposes Jeremiah and dies.

Psalm 119 praises the Glories of God’s Law.

* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims Jesus feeding the Five Thousand.

* [14:13–21] The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus that is recounted in all four gospels. The principal reason for that may be that it was seen as anticipating the Eucharist and the final banquet in the kingdom (Mt 8:11; 26:29), but it looks not only forward but backward, to the feeding of Israel with manna in the desert at the time of the Exodus (Ex 16), a miracle that in some contemporary Jewish expectation would be repeated in the messianic age (2 Bar 29:8). It may also be meant to recall Elisha’s feeding a hundred men with small provisions (2 Kgs 4:42–44).

* [14:19] The taking, saying the blessing, breaking, and giving to the disciples correspond to the actions of Jesus over the bread at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26). Since they were usual at any Jewish meal, that correspondence does not necessarily indicate a eucharistic reference here. Matthew’s silence about Jesus’ dividing the fish among the people (Mk 6:41) is perhaps more significant in that regard.

* [14:20] The fragments left over: as in Elisha’s miracle, food was left over after all had been fed. The word fragments (Greek klasmata) is used, in the singular, of the broken bread of the Eucharist in Didache 9:3–4. (Matthew, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)

Edward Morse comments that the miraculous sign he performed is the only miracle that appears in all four gospels. It calls to mind the prophet Elisha, who miraculously fed a hundred men with twenty loaves, also with plenty left over.  (2 Kings 4: 42-44).  It also reflects the manna that God used to feed Israel during the exodus.  And it foreshadows Jesus’ own transformation into the bread of life, which comes to us in the eucharist (John 6).

Jesus follows after the line of prophets who went before him, sharing a life of difficulty and suffering to bring a message that was not always well received.  Only Jesus delivers on the promise of peace, uniting us to God in a way that only He could bring, thereby also fulfilling the words Jeremiah spoke so many years before.   

Lord, help us to follow the words of the Psalms today, coming to you in humility to hear your words and to live according to them.  Save us from false prophets and false promises.  Draw us to the living bread that you alone provide to sustain us, even in the midst of hard times and difficulties that accompany us in this life.   Thanks be to God. (Morse, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Lord fills all things with blessing from above,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"So that by every means the Lord might be known to be God by nature, he multiplies what is little, and he looks up to heaven as though asking for the blessing from above. Now he does this out of the divine economy, for our sakes. For he himself is the one who fills all things, the true blessing from above and from the Father. But, so that we might learn that when we are in charge of the table and are preparing to break the loaves, we ought to bring them to God with hands upraised and bring down upon them the blessing from above, he became for us the beginning and pattern and way." (excerpt from FRAGMENT 177) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 14:13-21 comments that being in this place of scarcity, where what they had wasn’t enough, gave the disciples an opportunity to rely on God, who is good and powerful and trustworthy. As they stared open-mouthed at the twelve baskets of leftovers, they were blessed by his overflowing love and generosity (Matthew 14:20).

Are you like Jesus in the boat, weary and hoping for rest? Are you like the disciples, feeling empty-handed in the face of some great need? You might look at a situation in your life and think, “This is all the energy I have; there’s nothing left.” Or “This is all the certainty I have; I don’t know what to do next.” But that’s a blessed place to be! Like the disciples, you can lay what you do have before your Father and trust him to provide whatever it is that you need.

Times like these are invitations to stay close to the Lord and grow in trust. They give you a chance to recognize that uncertainty or weariness are a call to give what you have to God. And as you exercise your trust in him, you can watch what your heavenly Father can do with what you’ve given him!

“Father, I love you. I offer you what I have and trust you to use it to accomplish your will.” (Meditation on Matthew 14:13-21, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today.

James Finley shares his personal experience with domestic abuse. We invite readers to ground themselves as Finley describes growing up with a violent, alcoholic father.

In looking back at these moments, I can see how I was being led by God into enigmatic and paradoxical waters in which I was invited to realize that ultimately speaking there is no wall, no barrier between the polar opposite realms of trauma and transcendence that meet and merge and interpenetrate each other in endlessly varied ways throughout our lives. (Finley, n.d.)

We ponder the events of our journey that were experiences of deception as we express gratitude for the care and compassion that reflect Jesus' Way and nourish the wounds of deception with transformation.

References

Finley, J. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. God’s Sustaining Presence. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/gods-sustaining-presence/ 

Jeremiah, CHAPTER 28 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/28?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/14?13 

Meditation on Matthew 14:13-21. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/05/1041955/ 

Morse, E. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080524.html 

Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Blessed the Loaves and Fishes. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug5 

 

Called to Heal Hatred

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our share in the Spirit that moves leaders to act with Christ against hatred.

Sharing and caring

 

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles relates how Timothy joins Paul and Silas to bring the Good News to Macedonia.

 

* [16:3] Paul had him circumcised: he did this in order that Timothy might be able to associate with the Jews and so perform a ministry among them. Paul did not object to the Jewish Christians’ adherence to the law. But he insisted that the law could not be imposed on the Gentiles. Paul himself lived in accordance with the law, or as exempt from the law, according to particular circumstances (see 1 Cor 9:19–23).1

Psalm 100 declares all lands are summoned to praise God.

 

* [Psalm 100] A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them. * [100:3] Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God.2

In the Gospel of John, Jesus explains the world’s hatred.

 * [15:21] On account of my name: the idea of persecution for Jesus’ name is frequent in the New Testament (Mt 10:22; 24:9; Acts 9:14). For John, association with Jesus’ name implies union with Jesus.3

Eileen Burke-Sullivan observes we are not just a human association that helps us along, but confirmed together by God’s Spirit we together are the Body of Christ called to touch and challenge, comfort and heal the world the way that Jesus served his own community and time.  We have been given the power of Jesus to accomplish this.

 

Today’s Gospel invites us to realize that aspects of culture will also reject the goodness of mercy of God and will hate the messengers of God’s love.  The believers in the Church must be constantly on guard and being renewed in the Spirit to discern what is of God in every culture, and what opposes God’s desire for humanity and the world.  This discernment is no easy task.  The Spirit of God filling the Church and binding it in love makes it possible to discern, but it takes time and slow conversion of heart to truly know and follow what God wants within each pattern of human life.  The heart of the Christian faith is this desire to dwell in God and in God’s desire, but the world will try to seduce us into believing in our own desire and especially our desire to be independent of the authority of faith.  If any of us desires the consolation of God’s mercy, we are challenged to listen to Jesus’ voice in the Church, even if the human sin of leaders makes it difficult to hear.4

Don Schwager quotes “Those who suffer with Christ reign with Christ,” by Cyril of Alexandria, 375-444 A.D.

 

"It is just as if Jesus said, 'I, the creator of the universe, who have everything under my hand, both in heaven and on earth, did not bridle their rage or restrain ... their inclinations. Rather, I let each one choose their own course and permitted all to do what they wanted. Therefore, when I was persecuted, I endured it even though I had the power of preventing it. When you too follow in my wake and pursue the same course I did, you also will be persecuted. You're going to have to momentarily endure the aversion of those who hate you without being overly troubled by the ingratitude of those whom you benefit. This is how you attain my glory, for those who suffer with me shall also reign with me.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 10.2)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:18-21 comments Jesus’ words here apply not only to the hate that’s out there “in the world” but also to whatever darkness is lurking in our hearts. Sometimes we are the ones doing the “hating.” Think about those times when we fail to love as we should or when we succumb to temptations to envy, pride, anger, or ingratitude. It may not be hatred, but any lack of love gives room for its opposite to grow.

 

It may be helpful here to consider St. Paul’s classic definition of love. He tells us that love is patient and kind. It isn’t jealous, pompous, or rude. It doesn’t seek its own interests. It bears all things, hopes at all times, and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This is a high bar indeed, but as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, we don’t belong to this world (John 15:19). That means that he has given us the grace to love in a way that goes beyond the world’s idea of love. Through Christ, we can learn to love everyone, even the ones who don’t return that love and, yes, even the ones who hate us.6

Friar Jude Winkler discusses an apparent reversal in the circumcision of Timothy. Paul preached where the Gospel had not yet been preached. Friar Jude sets our concern about sharing persecution in the context of the very dualistic Gospel of John.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Resmaa Menakem, a therapist who focuses on healing racial trauma. In his book My Grandmother’s Hands, he reminds readers of all races that the way to begin and to continue on the journey of healing trauma is to return to our bodies. This practice is rooted in Menakem’s memories of his grandmother. He recalls hearing her hum.

 

This humming practice is intended to soothe the nervous system and bring about calm, presence, and greater awareness in our bodies, as it did for Menakem and his grandmother. He instructs: Find a quiet, private, comfortable place. Sit down. Put one hand on your knee or in your lap. Place the other on your belly. Now hum. Not from your throat or chest, but from the bottom of your belly. Hum strong and steady. Push the air out of your belly firmly, not gently. Stop to breathe in, but return to the hum with each new breath. Experience the hum in your belly. Then sense it in the rest of your body. Continue humming for two minutes. When you’re done, reach your arms upward. Then, slowly and gently, feel your body with your hands, starting from the top of your head. Move slowly down your neck and along your chest, then below your waist, then past your knees, until your arms are fully extended downward. What do you notice?7

Our missionary journey brings us in contact with others for whom we bring the Good News.

 

References

 

1	(n.d.). Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/16
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 100 | USCCB. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/100
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/050821.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
6	(2021, May 8). 5th Week of Easter - The Word Among Us. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/05/08/188864/
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/

 

Abiding in a Spirit of Love

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary (outside Canada) today invite contemplation of the action of the Holy Spirit in drawing us to abide with Jesus in the Love of the Father.

Abide in Love

 

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles explains that God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit.

 

* [15:1–35] The Jerusalem “Council” marks the official rejection of the rigid view that Gentile converts were obliged to observe the Mosaic law completely. From here to the end of Acts, Paul and the Gentile mission become the focus of Luke’s writing.1

Psalm 96 praises God Who comes in judgement.

 

* [Psalm 96] A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33.2

The Gospel of John is the invitation of Jesus to “abide in my love”.

 

* [15:1–17] Like Jn 10:1–5, this passage resembles a parable. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard at Is 5:1–7; Mt 21:33–46 and as a vine at Ps 80:9–17; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:2; 17:5–10; 19:10; Hos 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Ps 80:15 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sir 24:17 are further background for portrayal of Jesus by this figure. There may be secondary eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mk 14:25, “the fruit of the vine.”3

Mary Lee Brock’s heart was drawn to the third commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. The author of “Sabbath:  Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest,” Wayne Muller, writes:  “Sabbath time can be a revolutionary challenge to the violence of overwork, mindless accumulation, and accomplishments.  Sabbath is a way of being in time where we remember who we are, remember what we know, and taste the gifts of spirit and eternity.”

 

In addition to a sacred day of the week, Sabbath can be framed as a way of being.  How often I pray for the grace to hear the voice of God.  The commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy is not an obligation but rather a generous gift of time and space to be with and for God.  Muller offers many ways to honor the Sabbath around the themes such as rest, rhythm, time, happiness and wisdom.  Being guided by the commandments is how we can experience the complete joy that Jesus wants for us. This invitation to reimagine my time and energy in the frame of the Sabbath is a true gift from God.4

Don Schwager quotes “Joy in rejoicing over us,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

 

"And what else is Christ's joy in us except that he is pleased to rejoice over us? And what is this joy of ours that he says is to be made full, but our having fellowship with him?... His joy, therefore, in us is the grace he has bestowed on us, and that is also our joy. But he rejoiced over this joy even from eternity when he chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Nor can we rightly say that his joy was not full. For God's joy was never at any time imperfect. But that joy of his was not in us. For we, in whom that joy could exist, had as yet no existence. And even when our existence commenced, it began not to be in him. But in him it always was, who in the infallible truth of his own foreknowledge rejoiced that we should yet be his own. Accordingly, he had a joy over us that was already full when he rejoiced in foreknowing and foreordaining us. And there could hardly be any fear intermingling in that joy of his that might imply a possible failure in what he foreknew would be done by himself." (excerpt from TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 83.1)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 15:7-21 comments discerning where God is leading involves a process. For example, it wasn’t easy for the apostles to understand what the Holy Spirit was calling them to do regarding the Gentile Christians and circumcision. They needed to meet together to discuss the issue. As they listened to one another and prayed for guidance, they began to realize that God didn’t require that the Gentiles be circumcised before he sent them the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit was the sign to them that Baptism, not circumcision, was the one necessary key for entry into God’s kingdom.

 

So if you are facing a decision or need guidance from the Holy Spirit, go ahead and look for signs, but be patient about the process as well. You may have to spend some time discussing the issue with a trusted friend or your pastor. You may have to “try on” your decision for a time. Above all, you will have to pray. As you go through these various steps, you will become more and more confident of where the Spirit is leading you. The Holy Spirit really does want to guide you. It may take time, as it did for Peter and the early Church. There may be some twists and turns along the way. But believe that one way or another, the Spirit will help you find the right path. “Come, Holy Spirit! Lead and guide me today.”6

Friar Jude Winkler outlines the roles and records of the “Council of Jerusalem” as contained in Acts and 1 Corinthians. We remain in the love resulting from the Commandment that Jesus is the Son of God. Friar Jude reminds us that our life of vitality and joy begins in our relationship with Jesus.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a contemplative poem from CAC friend and writer Felicia Murrell. Felicia’s words combine a deep awareness of God’s presence while clearly naming the collective trauma of police brutality and lynchings. It is worth remembering, as Black liberation theologian James Cone (1938–2018) points out, that the lynchings of African Americans and the crucifixion of Jesus share much in common: “Both the cross and the lynching tree were symbols of terror, instruments of torture and execution, reserved primarily for slaves, criminals, and insurrectionists—the lowest of the low in society.” [1] There is something about poetry that gives us permission to sit with the paradoxes of our pain, perhaps especially when addressing traumatic suffering.

 

Silence

If you’re silent,

you can hear the forest breathe,

the holy hush of the tree’s limb.

“Silence,” said Thomas Merton, “is God’s first language”:

the way it soaks into your skin,

surrounds you,

blanketing you like the forest’s breath.

Silence:

The cadence of the land at rest,

the body asleep,

the heart awake.

Silence:

The deep rhythmic breathing of a mind slowed down,

an ocean still,

wet dew clinging to grass blade.

Silence:

The sacred song trapped in a bird’s breast before its first

chirp,

the still of night across a desert landscape

wrapped in a bone-aching chill

before the sun rises to scorch its parched earth.

Silence:

The lusty gaze of onlookers staring at the negro on the

lynching tree,

neck snapped,

life ended,

feet dangling,

back and forth,

back and forth.

Silenced:

Hands up, don’t shoot!

Body thrumming with a heady sense of power.

Hands in pocket,

resting pose, knees embedded into a man’s neck.

Silence, please.

I. Can’t. Breathe.Silenced.7

The opposite of fear that is used to oppress is love that invites us to abide in Jesus.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/es/node/4402?12=
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 96 | USCCB. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/96
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
6	(2021, May 6). 5th Week of Easter - The Word Among Us. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/05/06/188831/
7	(2021, May 2). Trauma and Healing Archives — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from https://cac.org/themes/trauma-and-healing/