The Good Action is not overlooked

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today take us to episodes where the good people suffer hardship as they do the right thing. Tobit is moved to be compassionate to the poor in his community of exiles under oppression from the Assyrians. The scorn of his neighbours is heaped upon him for his daring action to maintain the respect for the lives and death of his people. The psalmist proclaims the praise of the righteous who are compassionate, generous, merciful and just. The model set by such people is praised by the psalmist and peace and remembrance is the fruit of this life. The Gospel of Mark tells of the tenants of the vineyard who do not attend to the will of the owner. They decide on that their fortunes are better realized by an attempt to run the vineyard according to their plan which included the murder of the son of the vineyard owner. Mark records Jesus declaration that the “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ”. This expression and idea is found in several locations in the Bible. The religious authorities understand that Jesus is presenting the paradox that His life embodies and that gives hope to many who like Jesus and Tobit know the rejection that may accompany hearing and following the path of righteousness which is written in our being through the indwelling Spirit.

Listen Hear Obey

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today highlight the tension which exists between the Will of God and our will to accommodate our self aggrandizement. The advice of the Book of Deuteronomy is to attend to the path which has and will bring blessing to the community of believers. Moses exhorts the people of Israel to reflect on the path that remaining faithful to the direction of God and listening to the understanding of the Law which is written on their hearts. (Gillick, 2011)

The essence of the process of listening, hearing and obeying is proclaimed by the psalmist as trust in the guidance of the Divine to maintain the relationship regardless of circumstances including ridicule and rejection by other people. The obedience is to the will of God. Gillick reflects on the paradox of the difficulty of the finite temporal being to be aware of doing the will of the Divine. He places the emphasis on having and being faithful to trusting the direction revealed through the experience of hearing the Word through the person of Jesus. The assertion of Paul in Romans 3:28 - "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”. Is not a division between faith and works but reflects more of Gillick’s observation that our limitedness as finite creature will give us greater certainty about our trust through faith that we are maintaining the relationship with the Divine than our “personal works for redemption” and “credit” towards the afterlife.

The Gospel of Matthew offers us the promise that listening, hearing and acting on the Word experienced in the intimate relationship with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit and the person of Jesus will strengthen us against the surges of the waters of disconnection and destruction.



Gillick, S. ,. (2011, March 3). Daily Reflection. Retrieved March 6, 2011, from Creighton University Online Ministries : http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030611.html

Wisdom and Authority

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today bring consideration of the nature of Wisdom. The search of the author in the Book of Sirach is for that understanding of the universe which is the motivator for the spiritual journey of many. The psalmist proclaims delight in the Law of the Lord which perhaps is the Wisdom so valued by the first text. The completeness of the Law is a Mystery which Jesus does not unravel for His followers. The episode from the Gospel of Mark might be understood as Jesus avoiding the direct answer to the authorities as some kind of “divide and conquer” strategy. We so desire the authority in our lives to take sides. How frustrating it is to have to sort it out for ourselves and to journey along the path for some of the Wisdom so valued in the Hebrew text. Perhaps the journey is important as well as the destination.

pleasure and purpose in the people

The psalmist proclaims the pleasure that the Lord takes in His people in the refrain to the psalm from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The Wisdom of Sirach praises the righteous ancestors who continue to positively influence the people through their descendants in whom the tradition and practice of a covenant relationship with the Divine has been maintained. This relationship continues to bear fruit. The episode from the Gospel of Mark points out the two sides of the fruitful relationship with the Divine. We are called to greater intimacy, to bear fruit, even when it is not “in season”. We need to attend to the search and the journey and to continue to put right those things which are identified as obstacles to the deepest of relationships. The Gospel assures us that the power of the Divine is with us to help as we make those moves toward wholeness.

The work of words

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today emphasize the understanding of the impact of the Divine word on our existence. The Book of Sirach underlines the totality of the ‘Word’ of God. It is an image of Creation which exists as the consequence of the Word or Will of the Divine. A reference to the all things having two sides by Divine intent is perhaps a guideline for humanity to avoid the “dual thinking”, right or wrong, binary analysis of situations. The psalmist proclaims praise for the word of the Lord which has created the universe and the love righteousness and justice which are the fruit of the intimate relationship with the Spirit and Word of the Divine. The Gospel of Mark tells of Jesus encounter in Jericho of the blind beggar, Bartimae'us, the son of Timae'us with Jesus and His entourage. The text here is densely packed with meaning. The beggar is pushed away. Is his disease a mark of his sins and he is unclean? We are told of his parent. Has he inherited a status to be unworthy of approaching the “Teacher”? The blindness that is healed by Jesus, the Word made Flesh, is not that of the beggar but that of the onlookers and readers of the text today. The faith given and advocated is that to see beyond appearance and assumption. To see as the Word sees!

Knowing the Whole Story

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary contain a theme of assumptions about the nature of the Divine and the role of God in the lives of humanity. The Wisdom of Sirach presents the understanding that the Lord God protects the Hebrew people against the tribes which would bring harm. This understanding that the Divine honours promises to peoples may be extended in the texts from Isaiah to be understood as promises for all nations. The psalmist makes the appeal to God that the people will be attended to in their need because of the nature of God. God cannot be against the nature of forgiving, compassionate Shepherd. Commentators have identified this theme in the very familiar Psalm 23. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus announces for the third time that the scenario of His ‘triumph’ in Jerusalem would be humiliation by the Gentiles and death at the hands of the authorities. The final prediction of rising from the dead is almost unnoticed at the end of His announcement. The failure of people to take in the “whole story” is daily occurrence. We do hear what we want to hear. One aspect of obedience and being a follower of Christ is to ‘listen’. Did James and John know the whole story as they assented to Jesus fate in following the Will of the Father? Jesus does not take pains to ensure that they “fully understand” what they need to do. The value of “full understanding” is over stated for at least two reasons which are presented today. (1) “Full understanding” may be beyond our cognitive ability at the time and (2) the disciple needs to move forward in the relationship with the Divine through faith and trust. There is no other way for Creator and creature to collaborate intimately.

Faith Trust Obedience

The text from the Wisdom of Sirach today, in the Roman Catholic Lectionary, presents the strong advice not to appear before the Lord without an offering. What do we think of our obligation in the relationship with the Divine to which we are invited? The immediate and genuine responses of the creature to the Creator are awe and thanksgiving. The psalmist identifies thanksgiving as a movement of bringing an ‘acceptable offering’ to the Lord. The attitude of thanksgiving boosts joy and faith. The faith to which we are called is that of Abraham and Mary. It is faith beyond what our senses tell us. It is trust that puts self desire far behind the desire to follow the will of the Father. The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus response to Peter’s declaration that they have left everything to follow Jesus. Is this a statement of that trust of Abraham and Mary or is it the frustration of “What more do you expect?” Jesus responds with a promise and an observation of the present situation. The relationships building within the Kingdom of God are bringing life to the disciples now. The relationships are the links to the eternal and infinite.