Presence and Healing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to seek out Sacred Places when the Spirit nudges us to the need of the peace and healing of closeness to God.

Thin Places

The reading from the First Book of Kings describes Dedication of the Temple.

* [8:6–9] The transfer of the ark of the covenant into the newly constructed Temple building, God’s act of possession (8:10–13), and Solomon’s dedicatory prayer and sacrifices constituted the Temple’s solemn dedication and made of it the place of God’s presence in the midst of Israel for which David had hoped (2 Sm 6:12–15; 7:1–3). Later God expresses approval of the Temple with an oracle (1 Kgs 9:3–9).

* [8:12–13] This brief poem is rich in layered meanings. The “dark cloud” in which the Lord intends to dwell refers not only to the cloud that filled the Temple (v. 10) but to the darkness of the windowless holy of holies and to the mystery of the God enthroned invisibly upon the cherubim as well. Solomon calls the Temple he offers God a firm base, using terminology similar to that used for God’s firm establishment of Solomon’s own kingdom (2:12, 46). Finally, Solomon intends this as a place for God to yashab, but the Hebrew word yashab can mean “to dwell” or “to sit.” In other words, the Temple can be understood both as a place where God resides and as the earthly foundation of God’s heavenly throne. The double meaning allows an understanding of the divine presence as both transcendent and graciously immanent. See Solomon’s sentiments in 8:27, and the frequent reference in 8:30–52 to God’s hearing in heaven prayers that were offered in or toward the Temple. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)

Psalm 132 praises the Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion.

* [Psalm 132] A song for a liturgical ceremony in which the ark, the throne of Israel’s God, was carried in procession to the Temple. The singer asks that David’s care for the proper housing of the ark be regarded with favor (Ps 132:1–5), and tells how it was brought to Jerusalem (Ps 132:6–10). There follows God’s promise of favor to the Davidic dynasty (Ps 132:11–12) and to Zion (Ps 132:13–17). The transfer of the ark to the tent in Jerusalem is described in 2 Sm 6. (Psalms, PSALM 132, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark describes Jesus healing the Sick in Gennesaret.

Nancy Shirley shares the story of St. Agatha, one of the virgin martyrs. because it challenges her in her faith journey.

One thing I can be sure of as I ponder all of this: in times of challenges on any and every level, I seek God. I don't anticipate that it will change as I meander through my Golden Years and the numerous challenges and losses that will await me. I may never be in a dramatic situation with a gun held to my head or burning torches to my body, but I have no doubt that I will be tested. I will remember what is engraved on the inside of my bracelet that I wear constantly: God is within her, she will not fall. I touch it whenever, I'm in a difficult situation. The thought sustains me and gives me strength like the little index card I had on my wall in my freshman dorm room: If God be for us, who can be against us? (Shirley, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ's wounds bring healing and life,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"The Lord of hosts was not signaling weakness as he gave sight to the blind, made the crooked to stand upright, raised the dead to life (Matthew 11:5), anticipated the effects of medicine at our prayers, and cured those who sought after him. Those who merely touched the fringe of his robe were healed (Mark 6:56). Surely you did not think it was some divine weakness, you speculators, when you saw him wounded. Indeed there were wounds that pierced his body (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33; John 19:18, 31-37), but they did not demonstrate weakness but strength. For from these wounds flowed life to all, from the One who was the life of all." (excerpt from ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 4.5.54-55.16) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:53-56 comments that mention of Jesus’ tassel tells us something else: God uses ordinary things to communicate extraordinary love. And not just ordinary “things,” but ordinary people as well. The whole story of the early Church, in fact, is the story of ordinary fishermen, reformed tax collectors, and part-time tentmakers becoming channels of God’s healing power. It’s the story of sinful people just like us spreading the good news throughout the entire known world!

So ask the Holy Spirit to keep you connected to the Lord. Ask him to give you greater confidence that when anyone touches you, they are touching Christ. Whether you are offering quiet prayers of intercession or sharing words of encouragement or praying with someone who is hurting, you can be a channel of Jesus’ own life-changing grace.

“Holy Spirit, help me to be the tassel of Jesus’ cloak so that I can bring his love to those who need it.” (Meditation on Mark 6:53-56, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the dedication of the Temple by Solomon in 1 Kings. God, Who is everywhere at all times, can be especially close to people in our Holy Places. Friar Jude notes how the people of Gennesaret found a healing connection to Jesus by touching the tassel of His garment.

Brian McLaren introduces Buddhist teacher angel Kyodo williams who describes how clinging to harmful stories may increase our suffering. Brian McLaren witnesses how the Seventh Story can free us from other unjust stories, including the story of victimization.

The stories that we’ve looked at—the stories of domination, revolution, purification, isolation—these stories create victims. These stories victimize people, and very often people’s lives are devastated, destroyed, or ended by these stories. We might be able to say that in millions of people’s lives, their experience of being a victim of these other stories becomes the biggest reality of their lives. This reality becomes the story of victimization. Part of the Seventh Story framework is that it communicates to people who’ve been victimized by other stories and says, “We’d like to give you permission to not let that story be the defining factor in your life, but rather to help you see and understand yourself in some other way.” Domination creates victims. Revolution creates victims. Purification creates victims. But victims have an alternative in how they define their lives. The Seventh Story can liberate us from our lives being defined by oppression, abuse, exploitation, marginalization, or vilification in some way. [2] (McLaren, 2024)

We recall the “thin places” we have encountered on our journey where the Spirit affirms our sense of special closeness to the Divine and healing for our anxieties.

References

Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?53 

McLaren, B. (2024, February 5). The Story of Victimization — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-story-of-victimization/ 

Meditation on Mark 6:53-56. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/02/05/889511/ 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/8? 

Psalms, PSALM 132. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/132?6 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=feb5 

Shirley, N. (2024, February 5). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/020524.html 

Decision for Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary challenge us to react, guided by the Spirit, to the negative response we may encounter to the Way of Jesus.

Division and Life

In the reading from the Book of Exodus the Israelites are oppressed in Egypt.

* [1:8] Who knew nothing of Joseph: the nuance intended by the Hebrew verb “know” here goes beyond precise determination. The idea may be not simply that a new king came to power who had not heard of Joseph but that this king ignored the services that Joseph had rendered to Egypt, repudiating the special relationship that existed between Joseph and his predecessor on the throne.

* [1:10] Increase: Pharaoh’s actions thereby immediately pit him against God’s will for the Israelites to multiply; see note on v. 7 above.

* [1:11] Pharaoh: not a personal name, but a title common to all the kings of Egypt.

* [1:14] Mortar: either the wet clay with which the bricks were made, as in Na 3:14, or the cement used between the bricks in building, as in Gn 11:3. (Exodus, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 124 offers thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance.

* [Psalm 124] A thanksgiving which teaches that Israel’s very existence is owed to God who rescues them. In the first part Israel’s enemies are compared to the mythic sea dragon (Ps 124:2b–3a; cf. Jer 51:34) and Flood (Ps 124:3b–5; cf. Is 51:9–10). The Psalm heightens the malice of human enemies by linking them to the primordial enemies of God’s creation. Israel is a bird freed from the trapper’s snare (Ps 124:6–8)—freed originally from Pharaoh and now from the current danger. (Psalms, PSALM 124, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, not Peace, but a Sword follows Jesus, a cause of Division.

* [10:32–33] In the Q parallel (Lk 12:8–9), the Son of Man will acknowledge those who have acknowledged Jesus, and those who deny him will be denied (by the Son of Man) before the angels of God at the judgment. Here Jesus and the Son of Man are identified, and the acknowledgment or denial will be before his heavenly Father.

* [10:38] The first mention of the cross in Matthew, explicitly that of the disciple, but implicitly that of Jesus (and follow after me). Crucifixion was a form of capital punishment used by the Romans for offenders who were not Roman citizens.

* [10:39] One who denies Jesus in order to save one’s earthly life will be condemned to everlasting destruction; loss of earthly life for Jesus’ sake will be rewarded by everlasting life in the kingdom.

* [10:40–42] All who receive the disciples of Jesus receive him, and God who sent him, and will be rewarded accordingly.

* [10:41] A prophet: one who speaks in the name of God; here, the Christian prophets who proclaim the gospel. Righteous man: since righteousness is demanded of all the disciples, it is difficult to take the righteous man of this verse and one of these little ones (Mt 10:42) as indicating different groups within the followers of Jesus. Probably all three designations are used here of Christian missionaries as such. (Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Andy Alexander, S.J. (2010) asks if the mystery when we call “good news” is that the way to find ourselves, that is, to come to become fully ourselves, is to lose our life – to let go, to surrender, to place our trust in God.

Lord Jesus, as you lay out this way to greater life before me, you stir my heart to desire greater freedom and greater love.  Please give me what I need to live this way, to love this way.  Calm my fears, heal the deep hurts and old wounds.  Grant that I might grow in your grace and have the ongoing desire to practice loving more freely today. (Alexander, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “How peace requires a sword,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"What sort of peace is it that Jesus asks them to pronounce upon entering each house? And what kind of peace is it of which the angels sing, 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace'? And if Jesus came not to bring peace, why did all the prophets publish peace as good news? Because this more than anything is peace: when the disease is removed. This is peace: when the cancer is cut away. Only with such radical surgery is it possible for heaven to be reunited to earth. Only in this way does the physician preserve the healthy tissue of the body. The incurable part must be amputated. Only in this way does the military commander preserve the peace: by cutting off those in rebellion. Thus it was also in the case of the tower of Babel, that their evil peace was ended by their good discord. Peace therefore was accomplished. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 35.1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 10:34–11:1 comments that any kind of division like this is tragic, and yet God has given every human being the freedom to accept or reject him. He loves each one of us beyond our comprehension, but he won’t force his love on anyone. For a variety of reasons, many people are unable to accept God’s personal love for them or the blessings that come with being one with Jesus. We all want every person to come to know the Lord. But we must also expect at times to experience pushback, conflict, or even division when we try to share our faith.

Jesus knew that his coming would cause division and conflict. At the same time, he is the only One who can bring true peace and unity. So let’s strive to be Christ to those who have not yet accepted the gospel but who still long for the love that only he can give. Let’s take the advice of St. Paul and “put on . . . heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12). May the witness of Jesus’ life in us be the catalyst that sparks faith in our loved ones—and in everyone we will encounter today!

“Jesus, Prince of Peace, help me reflect your love and compassion to everyone who is far from you.” (Meditation on Matthew 10:34–11:1, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes that Exodus introduces a new king who knew nothing of Joseph and feared the growth of Semitic people in Egypt as a fifth column. The name of Pharaoh is not mentioned in Exodus as he is portrayed as a nobody. Friar Jude reminds us to preach in word and deed even as our attempts to live in integrity will be opposed as we take up the Cross.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that one of the Bible’s persistent themes is how God chooses the rejected, the outsider, and the unlikely for grace and divine purpose. Rejected sons, barren women, sinners, lepers, or outsiders are always the ones chosen by God. It’s rather obvious when pointed out to us. In every case, we are presented with some form of powerlessness—and from that situation God creates a new kind of power. This is the constant pattern found hidden in plain sight. [1]

In case after case, the victim becomes the real victor, leading philosopher René Girard (1923–2015) to speak of the “privileged position of the most victimized victim” as the absolutely unique and revolutionary perspective of the Gospels. [4] Without it, we are hardly prepared to understand the “folly of the cross” of Jesus. Without this bias from the bottom, religion ends up defending propriety instead of human pain, the status quo instead of the suffering masses, triumphalism instead of truth, clerical privilege instead of charity and compassion. And this from the Christianity that was once “turning the whole world upside down” (Acts 17:6). (Rohr, 2023)

We ponder the historic rejection of the Plan of God as we navigate our position with those close to us with compassion and care.

References

Alexander, A. (2023, July 17). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/071723.html 

Exodus, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/1?8 

Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10? 

Meditation on Matthew 10:34–11:1. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/07/17/735347/ 

Psalms, PSALM 124. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/124?1 

Rohr, R. (2023, July 17). Stories from the Bottom — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/stories-from-the-bottom-2023-07-17/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jul17