Truth and Freedom

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to seek the truth revealed by the Spirit about messages and actions in our community that are opposed to the truth of the Love we experience and are called to practice in God.

Truth for Life

 

The reading from the Book of Daniel describes the Fiery Furnace.

* [3:24–90] These verses are additions to the Aramaic text of Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were probably first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, but are no longer extant in the original language. The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures.1

 

The response is the Prayer of Azariah from the Book of Daniel.

 

In the Gospel of John, the dialogue is about Jesus and Abraham.

 [8:31–59] Jesus’ origin (“before Abraham”) and destiny are developed; the truth will free them from sin (Jn 8:34) and death (Jn 8:51).2

 

Sr. Candice Tucci, OSF, shares that they do not understand that Jesus is sent by the Father, the God of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and all the prophets. If they believed, they would love him and not wish him harm. There seems to be a gap in their understanding. What are they not getting?

Lent offers us the opportunity to look at the gaps in our lives and in the world that need to be filled with mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and love of God. People are still killed because of religious beliefs, cultural and racial differences.3

 

Don Schwager quotes “The upright of heart”, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Do you know who the upright of heart are? They are those who wish what God wishes. Therefore, do not try to twist God's will to you own but correct your will to that of God. The will of God is a rule of conduct. By it you have the means of being converted and of correcting your evil ways." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 93,18)4

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 8:31-42 comments that we can find many of Jesus’ teachings challenging as well. But we also know that remaining in Jesus’ word means more than saying we believe in it. It means embracing that word and putting it into practice in our lives, even when it’s difficult. That’s the only way we truly grow as disciples of the Lord.

We won’t always see such obvious effects of remaining in God’s word—at least not in this life. But everything will become abundantly clear when we get to heaven. We simply can’t anticipate how much God will multiply our efforts to stay true to him and his word. As his truth takes root in us, it becomes more powerful and eternally life-giving than all the challenges we may face on earth. “Father, deepen my trust in your word so that I may be a witness of faith.”5

 

Friar Jude Winkler (https://soundcloud.com/user-863663632 ) has been experiencing technical problems with his reflections.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, wrote a poem in response to the collective suffering of the people of Ukraine.

How can we not feel shock or rage at what is happening

to the people of Ukraine—

As we watch their suffering unfold in real time

from an unfair distance?

Who of us does not feel inept or powerless

before such manifest evil? In this, at least, we are united.

Our partisan divisions now appear small and trivial.

Remember what we teach: both evil and goodness are,

first of all, social phenomena.

The Body of Christ is crucified and resurrected

at the same time. May we stand faithfully

Inside both these mysteries (contemplation).

In loving solidarity, we each bear what is ours to carry,

the unjust weight of crucifixion,

in expectant hope for God’s transformation.

May we be led to do what we can on any level (action)

to create resurrection!

The people of Ukraine have much to teach the world.6 

The truth that sets us free is the foundation to build relationships that demonstrate Jesus Love to those we encounter on our journey together.

 

References

 

1	(n.d.). Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/3
2	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/8
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040622.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=apr6
5	(n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/04/06/345423/
6	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Yearly Theme Archive - Center for Action and .... Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://cac.org/it-cant-be-carried-alone-2022-04-06/

Reclaiming Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the mystery of the role of suffering as individuals and communities in our relationship with God.

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The reflection resonates with a visit, in 2015, to the Church of Gesù Nuovo in Naples where totems of the healing work of Dr. Giuseppe Moscati, a chief physician at the Naples Hospital for the Incurable, are displayed.

 

The reading from the Book of Numbers describes the Serpent Totem.

* [21:8] Everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover: in the Gospel of John this scene is regarded as a type for the crucifixion of Jesus (Jn 3:14–15).1

 

Psalm 102 is a prayer to the Eternal King for Help.

* [Psalm 102] A lament, one of the Penitential Psalms. The psalmist, experiencing psychological and bodily disintegration (Ps 102:4–12), cries out to God (Ps 102:1–3). In the Temple precincts where God has promised to be present, the psalmist recalls God’s venerable promises to save the poor (Ps 102:13–23). The final part (Ps 102:24–28) restates the original complaint and prayer, and emphasizes God’s eternity.2

 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is the Father’s Ambassador and He foretells His Death.

* [8:22] The Jews suspect that he is referring to his death. Johannine irony is apparent here; Jesus’ death will not be self-inflicted but destined by God. * [8:24, 28] I AM: an expression that late Jewish tradition understood as Yahweh’s own self-designation (Is 43:10); see note on Jn 4:26. Jesus is here placed on a par with Yahweh.3

 

  Andy Alexander, S.J. suggests that we might be still hoping for something hopeful to make this a fruitful Lent, and, not yet finding it, we might begin a bit of whining.

This is a wonderful opportunity on our Lenten journey - if we feel a complaining spirit compromising the graces of this journey - to turn to Jesus again and look at him for who he is for us. Realizing our need for a Savior, and beholding him as our Savior, can be the grace we need at this point in our journey. It can be the time to be freed from the biting crabbiness that can settle in and make its troubling presence felt in our heart. It can be a liberation from the darkness of judgments of others and the divisive spirit which is determined to take away our peace. It can fill us with more gratitude and simple joy to "re-discover" the "good news" of Jesus' love for us and his presence with us on this journey, warming our hearts to turn from ourselves to others in need of our compassion and mercy and faithful presence.4

 

Don Schwager quotes “Aided by Christ's grace,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"God the Father said: 'I sent you One who would seek you out, walk with you, and forgive you. So he had feet to walk with and hands to forgive with. Thus, when he ascended after his resurrection, he showed hands, side, and feet: hands with which he gave pardon to sinners; and side from which flowed the ransom of the redeemed.'" (excerpt from Sermon 16A,10)5

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 8:21-30 recalls that Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM” (John 8:28). We see that death is not his ultimate end. He will rise, and not only that, but he will raise us up with him. He will bring us into full union with the God who has loved us from before the dawn of creation.

Find a few moments this week to sit, stand, or kneel before a crucifix, whether it’s in a church or in your own prayer corner at home. Don’t worry about what to say. Just still your heart before Jesus and be there with him. Let him share with you his heartbreak and his overwhelming love. “Jesus, crucified Lord, help me to grasp more deeply everything that you revealed on your cross.”6

 

Friar Jude Winkler (https://soundcloud.com/user-863663632 ) has been experiencing technical problems with his reflections.

 

 Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that suffering has this strange and marvelous ability to pull us into oneness. Maybe we have seen it happen in our family, at the funeral of a loved one or some other communal tragedy. He thinks many of us felt it in the early days of the pandemic—before our dualistic politics got in the way—there was a sense that we were in it together.

Until we find the communal meaning and significance of the suffering of all life, we will continue to retreat into our individual, small worlds in our misguided quest for personal safety and sanity. A Crucified God is the dramatic symbol of the one suffering that God fully enters into with us—not just for us, as we were mostly taught to think, but in solidarity with us. The Good News is we do not have to hold that suffering alone. In fact, we cannot hold it alone. As we approach Easter, let us remember that we too can follow this path, actively joining God’s loving solidarity with all. What starts in God ends in God. All of reality is moving toward resurrection. This is the great hope of our tradition and one that is becoming more and more necessary for the world to hear.7

 

We are prompted by the Spirit to sit with Jesus and express gratitude for the people and events that have brought us healing on our Journey.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Numbers, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/21
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 102 | USCCB. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/102
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/8
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040522.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=apr5
6	(n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/04/05/344870/
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Yearly Theme Archive - Center for Action and .... Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://cac.org/a-special-note-from-fr-richard-in-loving-solidarity-with-all-2022-04-05/

 

Witness to the Light

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the role of faith when we are called to witness to Jesus' light in the midst of trials and tribulations.

Witness to the Light

The reading from the Book of Daniel presents the story of the false accusations against Susanna.

* [13:1–14:42] The short stories in these two chapters exist now only in Greek and other translations, but probably were first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic. They were never part of the Hebrew-Aramaic Book of Daniel, or of the Hebrew Bible. They are excluded from the Protestant canon of Scripture, but the Catholic Church has always included them among the inspired writings; they existed in the Septuagint, which was used as its Bible by the early church.1

 

Psalm 23 praises the Divine Shepherd.

* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).2

 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus cites the Father as witness to the Light of the World.

* [8:12–20] Jesus the light of the world. Jesus replaces the four torches of the illumination of the temple as the light of joy. * [8:14] My testimony can be verified: this seems to contradict Jn 5:31 but the emphasis here is on Jesus’ origin from the Father and his divine destiny. Where I am going: indicates Jesus’ passion and glorification. * [8:15] By appearances: literally, “according to the flesh.” I do not judge anyone: superficial contradiction of Jn 5:22, 27, 30; here the emphasis is that the judgment is not by material standards. * [8:17] Your law: a reflection of later controversy between church and synagogue.3

 

Maureen McCann Waldron comments that Jesus, too, seems to be “on trial,” as always, by the Pharisees. More arrogant religious leaders probe at Jesus and his odd teachings. With Susanna, it takes the testimony of two men to convict her and the guilty elders step up to do that. In defending himself, Jesus quotes their law back to the Pharisees: “Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified.”  He chooses himself and his father – God.  His audacity to speak of himself as the son of God continues the drum beat of tension between him and the religious leaders who want him silenced.

Both Jesus and Susanna would have known well Psalm 23, one the most beloved psalms ever written.  “Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side….”   The comforting words of walking in darkness underlines Jesus’ testimony that he is the light of the world. “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  “Loving God, we ask for the grace to remember that you walk next to us in our darkest times, when it may be difficult to see you.  Give us the wisdom to also seek you out when our lives are going well.  Your presence in our ordinary, busy days is a great gift, easily overlooked.  Help us be grateful, always for you in our lives.”4

 

Don Schwager quotes “Walking in the Light of Life,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

[That unfailing Light] has taken you from the eyes of the flesh and brought you back again to the eyes of the heart! He does not think it enough to say... "shall have light" but adds "of life," even as in the psalm it was said, "[In your light shall we see light]; for with you is the fountain of life" (Psalm 36:9). See how the words of our Lord agree with the truth of that psalm where light is placed with the fountain of life and now here he speaks of the "light of life." For bodily uses, light is one thing and a well another. Our mouths seek a fountain; our eyes seek the light. When we thirst, we seek a fountain; when we are in darkness we seek light. And if we happen to get thirsty in the night, we kindle a light to come to a fountain. With God the light and the well are the same. The one who shines on you so that you may see him is the same one who flows to you so that you may drink him. You see then what kind of light this is if you see inwardly the light of which he says, "He that follows me shall not walk in darkness." Follow the sun, and let us see if you will not walk in darkness. When the sun rises, it comes toward you and heads on to the west. But perhaps your journey is toward the east. So if you follow the sun, then you will certainly err and instead of going east you will go west, whether by land... or by sea. Finally, you decide that you should follow the sun, and you travel to the west, where it also travels. Let us see if, after it sets, you will not still walk in darkness. See how, though you are unwilling to desert it, yet it will desert you in order to finish out its service for the day. But our Lord Jesus Christ, even when he was not made known to all through the cloud of his flesh, still held all things by the power of his wisdom. Your God is everywhere entirely. If you do not fall away from him, he will never fall away from you. [excerpt from TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 34.5-6.18]5

 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 comments that Scripture tells us that  “God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). That’s exactly what Daniel exposed: the deceitful, selfish hearts of these judges.

What do you think the world might look like if we weren’t so quick to judge? What would happen if we took the time to listen and to ask questions instead of assuming we knew what other people were thinking? And more to the point, what do you think the world might look like if we all looked at each other as being created in God’s own image? Imagine the respect and dignity we would show everyone! We would take the time to get to know people who seem different from us. We would refrain from making hurtful comments about people we disagree with. We would learn from every person we encounter. In short, we would act the way God has called us to act—with humility, a sincere desire for truth, and loving hearts. “Father, help me to be quick to listen and slow to judge.”6

 

There were some technical difficulties in Friar Jude Winkler’s commentary at publication time.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, turns to Saints Francis of Assisi (1182–1226) and Clare of Assisi (1194–1253) as models of how we can embrace and bear collective suffering.

Only truly inspired souls like Francis and Clare willingly choose to fully jump on board this ship of life and death. They fully rode the resistance to which the rest of us surrender. Our lives can take this same ride—whenever we try to hold any negativity or self-doubt with integrity, and when we “suffer” the full truth of any situation instead of just taking what we think is the one righteous side. Integrity is often a willingness to hold the hard side of things instead of reacting against them, denying them, or projecting our anxiety elsewhere. Frankly, it is just another name for faith. Without the inner discipline of faith, most lives end in negativity, blaming, or deep cynicism—without even knowing it. Jesus hung in the crucified middle and paid the price for all such reconciliation with reality in its wounded state (Ephesians 2:13–18); then he invited us to do the same. And Francis did so wholeheartedly!7

 

In our experience of trial and tribulation, the Spirit consoles us with the promise of Jesus' presence to bolster our faith.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Daniel, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/13
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/8
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from  https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=apr4
6	(n.d.). Meditation: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 - The Word Among Us. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Yearly Theme Archive - Center for Action and .... Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://cac.org/stay-with-the-suffering-2022-04-04/