The Twelve who lead

Paul addresses the Ephesians in the text from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today with good news of the community in which they are members through their acceptance of the invitation to intimacy with Christ Jesus. This is a community including the apostles and prophets which becomes the temple and dwelling place of God. This is a mystical community with transrational characteristics. It is the message witnessed by the psalmist of the voice and power of God which covers all space and time with joy. In the Gospel of Luke, the events before the selection of the Apostles by Jesus are described. The new positions which match the Twelve Tribes of Israel will be filled with a diverse and different set of persons. Prayer with the Father revealed the name of those who would hold these positions. The persons thus chosen would not be those picked by a rational selection process for human leadership. The thoughts and actions of the Divine are far from the usual human ideas.

Divine love is not defeated

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the position that we can count on the steadfast love of God at all times and through all difficulties. Paul proclaims to the Romans that nothing will separate the believer from the love of God. He has had personal experience of many of the difficulties which he enumerates, hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness and peril. He is witness to the slaughter of the faithful and he is convinced that death too is a passing through which Divine love will triumph. The Gospel of Luke indicates that Jesus is becoming increasingly aware that His message and actions are perceived as a threat by the powerful and like the prophets before Him, who brought attention to how to live according to the will of God,  Jerusalem will be the site of His final encounter with the authorities. Divine love is not a guarantee of safety and security of person which dominates so much of our time, but it is a guarantee that in all events of life and death the Presence is our strength and victory.

The narrow door to our pre-destiny

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary are the source of much theological study and effort. Friar Jude Winkler offers a concise and clear discussion of prayer, the Spirit, predestination and the narrow door to salvation. I am reminded how we sometimes feel so badly that people we care for have not embraced what we consider to be essential for their fullness of life. Our struggle is the minor one and perhaps by witnessing it our beloved will look inside. The Spirit is the force which not only calls us to be in prayer with God but is the deepening force which moves us to the realization of Paul (and Friar Jude) that through the Spirit we become aware of the plan of the divine for our lives. It is a unique plan which is all for our deepening in intimate relationship with the Divine. The Gospel of Luke indicates the truth that our pursuit of this intimacy must be genuine and in the measure that we have been graced by God to have vision and experience of the journey. If we have been graced with ten talents, we need to pursue our pre destiny with the intensity and power that is proportional to our gifts. The narrow gate does not allow us to pass through without sincere commitment to living the gifts as the psalmist proclaims "he has dealt bountifully with me"   

The nature of the Kingdom

The text today from the Gospel of Luke in the Roman Catholic Lectionary compares the effect of the Kingdom of God on the world to the effect of the mustard seed and yeast. The smallest seed or a small bit of yeast becomes the highly visible life and nourishment for many. The Letter of Paul to the Romans exhorts us to hope that the present suffering will lead to the fulfillment of the rebirth of creation in the model of people being children of God who like the apparently inconsequential yeast and mustard seed will bring the life to the world for which the psalmist praises God. The growth of the Kingdom is the freeing of people from bondage to addictive self satisfying living to be servant leaders full of joy and laughter as we come home carrying our sheaves.

Comfortable about limits to the heirs

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the challenge that an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit brings to the world in which control and security are primary motivators. Paul exhorts the Romans and all those who are living by the guidance of the Spirit to claim the relationship to which they are participants, "Children of God". In this relationship the expressions of the Divine praised by the psalmist are ours to practice as heirs. In the power of the Spirit we lead prisoners to prosperity and live the escape from death. The action of Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath is presented by Luke. Our mission is to be the healing agent of His Presence in our daily encounters regardless of the impact on the established comfort zones which serve to deny and obscure our invitation to be in the intimate relationship of heirs to the ministry of healing, mercy and forgiveness to which we have been invited by Jesus.

Take it as more than literal

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are some which if interpreted literally would cause us all to realize how we fall short in many areas in living the Great Commandment. The Friar Jude Winkler advises readers of the passages today that they were not written by an American but by people of the Middle East who write and exaggerate descriptions for emphasis. The example of the Thessalonians in living in the power of the Holy Spirit was a powerful example to many but not the "whole world". The text from Exodus is part of the section of that has a huge number of laws concerning conduct within the Jewish community. Fr Larry Gillick SJ suggests that many of us in legalistic North America might actually prefer to revive the long list of laws and then know exactly what God wants us to do. The Gospel of Matthew details the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees and the Sadducees to determine which is the greatest commandment. Jesus response states the foundation of the focus of love for Judeao-Christian believers. The power of God in our lives as expressed by the witness of the Thessalonians "Life in the Spirit" and praise of the psalmist for the God as rock, fortress and deliver is not based in the security of keeping rules but it is in the trust and faith of Abraham and Mary that our relationship with the Divine is transcendent of human experience and calls us to intimacy with the Divine. 

The choices for life

The psalmist from the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today asks the question which is deeply important to all people "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?" Paul opens Chapter 8 of the Letter to the Romans with an appeal to us to walk in our spiritual journey "according to the Spirit" and not to live according to the flesh. The choice to live in the pattern of our addictions which continually focuses on our needs and gratification cannot be in accordance with God's Law. In the Gospel of Luke today Jesus reminds the disciples that death is not reserved to the wicked or those who have a lack of God's blessings. All die. The Owner of the fig tree will come to look for the fruit. Jesus also indicates that God provides time and more care to bring forth fruit. The summary from Paul and the psalmist is that the life in the Spirit, the continual intimate relationship with the Father, through Jesus and the resonance of our indwelling Spirit with the Divine is assent to the hill of the Lord where we strive for clean hands, pure hearts and truth and experience the invitation to the state of no "condemnation for those who are in Christ". (Romans 8:1)