Self Denial and Wickedness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the memorial of the Dedication of Santa Maria Maggiore, alert us to ponder our response to the wickedness in the world as we renew our commitment to surrender to the Will of God.

Near Santa Maria Maggiore

The reading from the Prophet Nahum describes the destruction of the wicked city of Nineveh where ruin is imminent and Inevitable.

* [2:1] For never again will destroyers invade you: prophets are not always absolutely accurate in the things they foresee. Nineveh was destroyed, as Nahum expected, but Judah was later invaded by the Babylonians and (much later) by the Romans. The prophets were convinced that Israel held a key place in God’s plan and looked for the people to survive all catastrophes, always blessed by the Lord, though the manner was not always as they expected; the “fallen hut of David” was not rebuilt as Am 9:11 suggests, except in the coming of Jesus, and in a way far different than the prophet expected. Often the prophet speaks in hyperbole, as when Second Isaiah speaks of the restored Jerusalem being built with precious stones (Is 54:12) as a way of indicating a glorious future. (Nahum, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

The response from the Book of Deuteronomy declares Israel’s ingratitude.

* [32:1–43] The whole song is a poetic sermon, having for its theme the Lord’s benefits to Israel (vv. 1–14) and Israel’s ingratitude and idolatry in turning to the gods of the nations; these sins will be punished by the nations themselves (vv. 15–29); in turn, the foolish pride of the nations will be punished, and the Lord’s honor will be vindicated (vv. 30–43). (Deuteronomy 32, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes the conditions of discipleship including the Cross and Self-Denial.

* [16:24–28] A readiness to follow Jesus even to giving up one’s life for him is the condition for true discipleship; this will be repaid by him at the final judgment.

* [16:24] Deny himself: to deny someone is to disown him (see Mt 10:33; 26:34–35) and to deny oneself is to disown oneself as the center of one’s existence.

* [16:25] See notes on Mt 10:38, 39.

* [16:27] The parousia and final judgment are described in Mt 25:31 in terms almost identical with these.

* [16:28] Coming in his kingdom: since the kingdom of the Son of Man has been described as “the world” and Jesus’ sovereignty precedes his final coming in glory (Mt 13:38, 41), the coming in this verse is not the parousia as in the preceding but the manifestation of Jesus’ rule after his resurrection; see notes on Mt 13:38, 41. (Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Kimberly Grassmeyer worried that any words she might write in response to the death and destruction noted in the first reading and response would be far from generous and uplifting.

Holding back, in frustration, serves no one - not others who need our gifts, and certainly not ourselves. Rather, giving of ourselves, in love to others, provides us the blessed opportunity to experience the fullest expression of ourselves. In that way, we live in Christ, and He in us. With this idea on my heart today, I simply offered my arm to an elderly woman shuffling into the Ace Hardware store that I was departing. She was surprised but pleased by the offer, then let me know I was a blessing to her. "Oh no, Ma'am: you are a blessing to me!" And she truly was. For just a brief moment, she gave me the opportunity to lose myself in Christ today, and I was grateful for it. Let's not let death win! Let's answer Christ's call, to 'lose' our lives for his sake. Amen. (Creighton's Online Ministries Home Page, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Walk as Christ has walked,” by Caesarius of Arles (470-543 AD).

"When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out. To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven; there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair - by ourselves we can do nothing, but we have Christ's promise... One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ's resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top - well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you - do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing." (excerpt from SERMONS 159, 1.4-6) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 16:24-28 comments that God doesn’t usually ask for something earth-shattering. Maybe he wants us to give up some time catching up on the news in the morning so that you meet him in prayer first. Maybe he is asking us to refrain from office gossip and use that time to listen to a colleague who is going through a hard time.

Spend some time today thinking about what you might need to “lose” in order to find more of your life in Christ. Even if it seems difficult, remember whom you are giving it up for. You can trust this great wonder-working God. He won’t ask you to give up something without giving you something much better in return. He is a good God, and he wants nothing but good for you!

“Jesus, help me to let go of anything in my life that leads me away from you.” (Meditation on Matthew 16:24-28, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out the details of the writing of the minor prophet Nathum on the defeat of the Assyrians by the Babylonians. The ultimate price to be paid by Israelites for being in opposition to the Roman occupiers was death by crucifixion. Friar Jude reminds us of Jesus' connection to Daniel 7 and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah as He prepares to enter His Kingdom on Easter morning.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares about the freedom we gain from “letting go” of any false images of ourselves as totally innocent or pure. We find the courage to be who we are in God and to join God in the flow of grace.

Letting go is different than denying or repressing. To let go of it, we have to admit it. We have to own it. Letting go is different than turning it against our self. Letting go is different than projecting onto others. Letting go means that the denied, repressed, rejected parts of our own self which are nonetheless true are seen for what they are, but not turned against self or against others, so letting go is not denial. It’s not pretend. The religious word for letting go is the word “forgiveness.” This is the positive way to deal with our own woundedness. We see it and we hand it over to God. We hand it over to history. . . .

The mode of weeping, of crying, is different than fixing. It’s different than understanding. That’s why we often cry when we forgive. . . . When we can’t fix it, when we can’t explain it, when we can’t control it, when we can’t even understand it, we can only forgive it. Let go of it, weep over it. It’s a different mode of being. . . .

I can see why forgiveness is almost the heart of the matter, and Jesus’ prerequisite for being forgiven by God is simply to forgive one another. . . . Jesus said we will receive the forgiveness of God to the degree that we can be conduits of forgiveness for one another. In other words, forgiveness is of one piece. Those who give it can receive it. Those who receive it can give it. If we’re in the conduit of love, if we’re in the ocean of mercy, frankly, it’s the only thing that makes sense. (Rohr, n.d.)

The Holy Spirit invites us to let go of our attachments to self aggrandizing and satisfaction as we move to the humility and charity that emulates Jesus.

References

Creighton's Online Ministries Home Page. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html 

Deuteronomy 32. (n.d.). Deuteronomy. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/32?35 

Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?24 

Meditation on Matthew 16:24-28. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/05/462321/ 

Nahum, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/nahum/2?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Letting Go of Our Innocence. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/letting-go-of-our-innocence-2022-08-05/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Loses His Life for My Sake Will Find It. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug5 

Recognize God with Us

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the direction our journey takes when we realize how the Spirit reveals the Presence of God close to us in our thoughts and encounters with others.

Encounter the Divine

The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah reveals a New Covenant.

* [31:31–34] The new covenant is an occasional prophetic theme, beginning with Hosea. According to Jeremiah, (a) it lasts forever; (b) its law (torah) is written in human hearts; (c) it gives everyone true knowledge of God, making additional instruction (torah) unnecessary. The Dead Sea Scroll community claimed they were partners in a “new covenant.” The New Testament presents the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as inaugurating a new covenant open to anyone who professes faith in Jesus the Christ. Cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8:8–12. Know the LORD: cf. note on 22:15–16. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 31 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 51 is a prayer for cleansing and pardon.

* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents Peter’s declaration about Jesus and Jesus foretells His death and resurrection.

* [16:13–20] The Marcan confession of Jesus as Messiah, made by Peter as spokesman for the other disciples (Mk 8:27–29; cf. also Lk 9:18–20), is modified significantly here. The confession is of Jesus both as Messiah and as Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). Jesus’ response, drawn principally from material peculiar to Matthew, attributes the confession to a divine revelation granted to Peter alone (Mt 16:17) and makes him the rock on which Jesus will build his church (Mt 16:18) and the disciple whose authority in the church on earth will be confirmed in heaven, i.e., by God (Mt 16:19). (Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Vivian Amu comments that when most of us visualize Jesus in prayer, our image of Jesus tends to look like one of the depictions from art or the movies, or we might even find ourselves redesigning the face of Jesus to look like someone we like, so we might listen better or approve.

The problem is that when Jesus then shows up as someone we don’t recognize, or someone we don’t think has anything to tell us, like a five years old child, a homeless man begging on a street corner, or a person whom we don't find physically attractive, we resist the message.  We decide how the conversation will go.  We get in the way of God's work instead of fully investing in it and being open to whatever gets revealed in the process.  We lose sight of the unexpected message revealed by God; we lose sight of who Jesus is.  To me, Jesus is not just the Son of the living God and the Christ; Jesus is a profound message of love, and the message opened says, "I love you to death." These days, that message is all I need.  May we have the faith to see and know Jesus and also the courage to accept what comes along with following him and being loved. (Amu, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Only by hope,” by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.

"'Turn, O my soul, into your rest: for the Lord has been bountiful to you' (Psalm 114:7). The brave contestant applies to himself the consoling words, very much like to Paul, when he says: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice.' These things the prophet also says to himself: Since you have fulfilled sufficiently the course of this life, turn then to your rest, 'for the Lord has been bountiful to you.' For, eternal rest lies before those who have struggled through the present life observant of the laws, a rest not given in payment for a debt owed for their works but provided as a grace of the munificent God for those who have hoped in him." (excerpt from HOMILIES 22) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 16:13-23 comments that we might wonder how the Lord could expect Peter, a human being, to think like God. But Jesus knew that Peter would need to adopt a heavenly perspective if he was going to spread the gospel and lead the Church. For Peter, this call would involve suffering and ultimately death.

Because we are human, we will always struggle to think as God does. But that doesn’t mean we should just throw up our hands. As we follow the Lord and stay close to him, God will help us overcome our blind spots. Over time, he will reveal more of himself and his plan to us. His perspective is so much wider and broader than our own. As Peter ultimately discovered, it’s a gift to see things God’s way!

“Jesus, open my mind and heart to think and see as you do.” (Meditation on Matthew 16:13-23, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the role of the Holy Spirit to inform us about God as he reflects on the understanding of the New Covenant described by Jeremiah. The pagan worship at Caesarea Philippi and the renaming of Peter as “rock” connect with the mention of “Church” in Jesus' response to Peter’s confession. Friar Judes reminds us that, like Peter, God develops what he sees in us to build the Church.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Benedictine sister Joan Chittister who reflects on a wisdom teaching from the Desert Fathers. This teaching from Abba Mateos is on the illusion of innocence and the humbling truth that we all are wounded.

Contemplation breaks us open to ourselves. The fruit of contemplation is self-knowledge, not self-justification. “The nearer we draw to God,” Abba Mateos said, “the more we see ourselves as sinners.” We see ourselves as we really are, and knowing ourselves we cannot condemn the other. We remember with a blush the public sin that made us mortal. We recognize with dismay the private sin that curls within us in fear of exposure. Then the whole world changes when we know ourselves. We gentle it. The fruit of self-knowledge is kindness. Broken ourselves, we bind tenderly the wounds of the other. . . . (Rohr, n.d.)

We find in our humanity the experiences that may be illuminated by the Spirit to draw us closer to recognition of the Love of God within our being.

References

Amu, V. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080422.html 

Jeremiah, CHAPTER 31 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/31?31 

Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?13 

Meditation on Matthew 16:13-23. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/04/461685/ 

Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?12 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Contemplation Reveals Our Wounds. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/contemplation-reveals-our-wounds-2022-08-04/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug4