Present to the people

The tests today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invoke consideration of the role which we individually have in the presentation of the Kingdom of God to the world. Friar Jude Winkler highlights the approach of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews who points out that our understanding of the Presence of God in our lives, through Jesus, is much more intense and intimate than the experience of the Israelites with Moses on Mt Sinai who were terrified by His Presence. That suspension of our ordinary path in the awareness of Divine Presence is experience for which we unfortunately do not spend enough time preparing ourselves and anticipating it will happen. The psalmist indicates that we will come to greater understanding of the dwelling place of God in the world by walking and living in expectation of a Divine encounter. Friar Jude suggests that the establishment of the Kingdom of God could be an action entirely accomplished through the initiative of God. The Gospel of Mark specifies how the followers of Christ are to be active as the witnesses to His Presence. The discipline of losing self in our encounter with the people in our lives is essential for the success of our mission. Our concern that the will of God be done is our motive. When the people with whom we interact accept the invitation to be with us, we trust that their response, with acceptance or rejection, is the proper direction in the plan of God. Our experience of God Present in His people is our vision of the heavenly Jerusalem in the Letter to the Hebrews.

Discipline to see deeper

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary prompt consideration of a series of assumptions and practices which plague believers and often dull our zeal to strive for holiness. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews shifts to discussion of Christian morality. The goal of holiness, through which we are prepared to see God, requires discipline. FriarJude Winkler sees the opportunity for discipline in the way we approach the difficulties of life. The way we interact with others can be driven by our emotions and we can be self satisfied that non Christian action is justified in particular case with certain people. Friar Jude understands this as backing up from our mission to witness. Our self discipline is to be aware of the direction our daily decisions take us in the direction of, or away from, being a witness to holiness. Hebrews compares Divine discipline to the discipline of a parent toward children. The psalmist takes the position of a child of God and praises Divine Providence which sustains and protects people with love regardless of their position or disposition in regard to holiness. The Love is the motivation for holiness. The Gospel of Mark relates the cognitive dissonance in the people of Nazareth as they attempt to reconcile the recent public actions of Jesus in natural miracles, exorcism and healing with His familiar position as carpenter Son of Mary with family they all know in the community. Our assumptions about people, as noted by Friar Jude, can be a path to miss the goodness they embody as we concentrate only on those aspects of their personalities which annoy us. Our discipline includes positive action to see others as God sees His children and be the Love which attracts them toward holiness.

Keep the faith

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer an opportunity to review and extend our experience and understanding of the role faith plays in our lives. The opening line from the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews invokes an image of the “so great a cloud of witnesses” which was part of a local chapel. This line has been imaged by many artists and photographers. Friar Jude Winkler conveys the idea that the image is of the community of saints which Christians proclaim in the Creed to be a community that transcends physical death. The experience of closeness to diseased family and friends is our faith tying us to this wealth of support through love which never dies. The psalmist speaks about the families of the earth who receive their support and deliverance from God who hears them even from their sleep in the earth. Friar Jude notes the technique used by Mark to interrupt one story about Jesus with a story within the story. The daughter of the synagogue official is declared by Jesus to be asleep. Friar Jude offers the comparison of this statement to how a child often understands death. The conviction from the young that the love experienced in relationship with the diseased is only interrupted is recommended to us as our consolation. Our faith will support this position and the distress we experience in mourning is an example of the struggle from which our faith will draw us to healing. The inner story in the Gospel of Mark contains the revelation that Jesus was aware of the power for healing leaving Him though He was unaware of who had touched Him. Friar Jude suggests that the faith of the woman with the hemorrhage was the key to her healing. Faith was declared by Jesus as responsible for making her well. Faith prompted action and faith brought healing. Keep the faith. 

Faith sustains

Faith moves mountains. The texts from the RomanCatholic Lectionary today present examples of strong faith which conquers powerful opposition from people and demonic forces. The psalmist praises God who hides the faithful who trust in God from human plots and shelters them from contentious tongues. The Letter to the Hebrews list many “heroes of the Kingdom” in the Hebrew Bible. We know people who we describe as being of great faith. That spirit of undaunted perseverance is the quality we identify in their lives. The Gospel of Mark today opens in a section where Friar Jude Winkler comments that Jesus is performing the three types of miracles categorized in His time, nature miracles, exorcism and healing. The relationship of non-believers with miracles is complicated. The image of “buddy Jesus” who is all too human fits with soft miracles of emotional healing and spiritual consolation. Jesus of the prosperity Gospel is more likely to help with insight on good investments of our time, talent and treasure which will have consequence in our cup overflowing. The intimate relationship to which Jesus invites us through which our faith matures is communion with the Son of God, as recognized by the “legion” within the demoniac. The power of transcendence over natural disaster, struggles, persecutions, temptations and illness is the experience of those who live in the faith which acknowledges the once for all full participation in our life and death by Divine Presence. 

Prophetic problems

The prophetic role is presented in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The passage from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah addresses the question which only in our relationship with God can we find the answer. Who am I? What is my name? What am I called to do? Our Christian tradition celebrates our initiation in Life in the Spirit in Baptism. The Baptismal Liturgy anoints us as priest, prophet and king. Our prophetic role is to see and listen to our environment and speak of the situations in our experience which are moving people away from greater intimacy with God. The proclamations of Jeremiah to the people of Judah required great strength from his relationship with God because, as Friar Jude Winkler comments, Jeremiah was thought of as a collaborator with Babylonian forces threatening the Kingdom of Judah. The conflict behind the exhortation of Love by Paul to the Corinthians is the misuse of the Gifts of the Spirit, in particular the gift of speaking in tongues, by members of the community. Our culture is characterized by Father Larry Gillick SJ as one of deep individualism. The excitement of those gifted with tongues or other charisms is a natural human response. The temptation to self aggrandizement and pride is great for the one who is gifted. Father Larry encourages us to review and revise the Western motto of “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM) to the Christian love mission of “What’s in it for Them?”  (WIFT?) The appearance of Jesus, popular teacher and center of many gracious gifts of food and health, in the synagogue in His home town Nazareth is described in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus uses the text from the Prophet Isaiah to proclaim that He is the awaited Messiah in their midst. The community holds the reaction to this great leap from carpenter’s son to Messiah until Jesus points to the failure of the chosen people, in the time of Elijah and Elisha, and in His time to recognize the Presence. The action of God in their midst is seen and accepted by the pagans in history and by the outsiders in Capernaum rather than among His townspeople in Nazareth. The hymn to Love which Paul quotes to the Corinthians is a conscience assessment for all. It is the direction in which the true prophetic message exhorts people to move. Venturing into the world of “What is in it for them” will bring the ire of the culture to our attention. We have the strength of the Spirit which accompanies of giftedness as prophet.

Presentation

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today mark the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. As Friar Jude Winkler points out, the Temple in Jerusalem was the Presence of God among the Jewish people. This Presence was not in bodily form. Luke who writes of the presentation of Jesus was a Gentile who may have confused two rites of Jewish tradition. The promise of purification by the Messiah is made in text of the Prophet Malachi. This text was probably written during the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. The people had ceased the practice of some of their traditional ways. We struggle today with the question of which Christian traditions can be abandoned in reform thinking and which need to be recovered from the orthodox point of view. The letter to the Hebrews reminding us of the humanity of Jesus and His communion with us in all things but sin, is proclamation that the Word made Flesh is our continuing Presence and the details of the blessings, Canticles and purifications will be studied and revived and rejected as our humanity seeks to grow in knowledge and wisdom with Brother Jesus. When we seek to draw more from tradition and ritual than it can offer, we substitute our imperfect spiritual understanding for the search for deeper intimacy with the Divine. When we reject the profound experience of the Divine in ritual and tradition we risk prescribing to God how He is Present to humanity.

Time to grow

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary can be viewed on the surface as a review of some of the clichés of the Christian Believer. The struggle which the author of Hebrews reminds us we have gone through to be where we are in our relationship with God is not to be dismissed. Reflection on our spiritual path will deepen our hearing of the messages in these texts. Friar Jude Winkler comments on tribulation as an experience which accompanies our conversion and growth and which may be a ‘great tribulation’ in our future. The time frame of God is not our usual way of understanding time. One powerful distinction between humanity and God is that we live “in the time” as temporal beings who for the most part understand linear progression of events. We seek to be patient but we want that patience now! The longer view can be facilitated by considering the words of the Psalms. The praise and desire of Israel is not foreign to us. For thousands of years we have sought justice and deliverance from God who will uphold His faithful and rescue us from trials. The preparation of the person to be the faithful participant in the Covenant takes time. The Gospel of Mark according to some commentators is intended to be read aloud. The full experience of the message comes to us through hearing. The ancient Shema “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One” reminds us of the power in the Word which is the created reality in the Jewish mind. Mark presents Jesus to us in action and we are open to hear His teaching which requires us today to focus on the seed. The timing of the seed is both predictable and unpredictable. The farmer of the land of Jesus needed to be one who trusted in the unseen and believed that beyond his meagre efforts and willingness to distribute the seed, the growth would occur in the small percentage of ground that is “good soil” and that it would produce a miraculous and plainly visible yield of food, shelter and rest. We rejoice at the opportunity to go to the vineyard and labour so that the will of God can use us as faithful sowers.