Faith that trusts beyond the senses

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today give accounts of the deep faith which believers are invited to live through the intimate communion of the indwelling Spirit with the Divine. Job retains the trust beyond the evidence of his eyes and senses that he will experience, in his words “in my flesh I shall see God”. This faith proclamation of Job and the praise of the psalmist are often part of the Resurrection Liturgy (funeral) in the Catholic tradition. The disciples are set out to bring the Good News in the passage from Luke. The faith to follow the prescribed and inspired instructions regardless of the human effort expended or the “pay-back” expected is the invitation to the disciples. The trust, faith and obedience work together in formation of the person to surrender, openness and freedom from pride and ego.

Awesome Wonders and the continuing Battle

There are at least two aspects of a relationship with the Divine which are eluded to by the texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The Divine is the source of the awe and wonder which stops humans in their tracks and causes great cognitive dissonance and often physical response from emotions and locations as ancient as Creation. We are linked through the in dwelling Spirit to the awe of the mega and micro all around us. As we live the tension between Divine child and human ego we know the struggle between good and evil. We are conscious of those actions and movements which are towards others and which use Jesus as model. We also know the movements that are solely for personal gratification and preservation of our pride. The texts remind us that the victors have no self interest and have willing given all, including human life, to ensure the will of the Father is accomplished. The eternal questions are not easily resolved.

Reject the rejection

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invoke thoughts of the situation of rejection and how we handle it. Luke relates that Jesus disciples are enraged by the rejection of Jesus in Samaria as he heads to Jerusalem. The suggestion that the wrath of heaven be brought to bear is refused by Jesus who moves on to the next town. Job, a man with a deep relationship with the Divine finds himself at the point of despair for his very life. The complete story of Job is important. The despair is real and deep. Job too moves on and the message encourages us to put one foot in front of the other if that is all we can do.

Many phrases to ponder

There are many phrases in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary which provide seeds for reflection on the nature of the relationships between the Divine and humanity and the relationships between people. At the conclusion of the 1^st chapter of the Book of Job, after losing everything, Job proclaims ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ The texts in the Christian prayer, Liturgy of the Hours pose the paradox that we thank God for good things, should we not also thank Him for the bad? The thought that our total existence, good or bad is the gift of Divine love is a difficult meditation. Our ego centric nature often is blind to all the evidence that contradicts our presumption that “man created God” and somehow we are the master’s of our destiny. The apostles seek to control the healing power that is ministered through humans but is the power of the Spirit of God in communion with the sacred seed in all creatures.

Look around

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today contain advice to avoid being complacent concerning our welfare particularly in a spiritual sense. Amos accepted the mission from God to speak to the powerful in Israel to exhort them to attend to the life of the people in the face of the threats from neighbouring peoples. The consequence became that they were taken in exile by the conquering army. The psalmist proclaims the preference of God for the widow and the orphan. As Luke shows in the Gospel account of Lazarus and the Rich Man, the poor and the people who live the real life have insight and wisdom to share. The wealthy are not aware of the needs they have to develop the spiritual self which delights in all as the indwelling Spirit reveals the world through Divine eyes

Youth Life and a Stumbling Block

The author of Ecclesiastes in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary writes “the breath returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:8). The end of life for Jesus, particularly, as the result of being betrayed into the hands of His enemies was difficult for His disciples to understand. The psalmist proclaims the understanding of the devote that the Almighty could “sweep them away... like a dream” The paradox, stumbling block, mystery of the temporal and the infinite, the human and the Divine coexisting while being in communion through the indwelling Spirit is are the questions which stumped the Apostles. They are still the questions which we try to answer today.

A Season for Everything

A Season for Everything


The Roman Catholic Lectionary brings some reflection on the cycles which people seem to repeat over and over again. People are like the seasons as the passage from Ecclesiastes reminds us. Tension is also part of the human experience. Cognitive dissonance describes that situation where there is a difference between what we understand and what we experience or attempt to input about an event or a situation. The apparent contradiction of a God of Love and the psalmist’s praise of the protector of Israel who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle encourages reflection. One option is to walk away from the tension and paradox. Peter faced the situation where the person who was the “Messiah” of Israel declares that He must suffer and die. The strong arm and mighty hand which had caused exodus from slavery in Moses time was to die as a human? The contradictions are not resolved by walking away. Peter stayed with the struggle.