Shining treasure

Let’s face it. A veil is meant to cover things which are not to be seen. The texts today from the Roman CatholicLectionary explore the great value which is sometimes hidden by a veil. The text from the Book of Exodus describes the change in the appearance of the face of Moses which occurred after he was meeting with God on Mt Sinai and in the tent of meeting. We understand and may have experienced how intimate encounter with the Divine changes our attitude. Friar Jude Winkler notes that our encounter with God changes our heart. It promotes a change in attitude. This may be joy, peace, forgiveness and generosity. This change is visible on our face and in our action. It is our shining because of the great value we contain. Our life in the Spirit, which Paul presented in a particular way to the Corinthians as outshining the life of the Covenant with Moses (2 Cor 3:7-9) and which Friar Jude notes is marked by the tearing of the veil before the Holy of Holies in the Temple so that the full glory of God in Christ can be seen by all people at all times, is the visible witness which Paul declared to the Philippians (Philippians 3:8) made everything refuse by comparison. The Gospel of Matthew looks at two parables which compare the Kingdom of Heaven, our living in relationship with Jesus, to finding treasure and pearls. The action of the people who encounter such value in the parables and who sell everything to acquire that value is a difficult movement for modern people to contemplate when we are so connected to social economic activity which appears to be connected to our sustenance and which spreads our time and treasure over many areas. What do we sell? Friar Jude phrases the question in a way which we can better approach our attitude toward the value of our relationship with Jesus. What event in life would cause me to lose my faith? That death of a loved one, the loss of my employment, a natural disaster, humiliation or loss of prestige which would cause my loss of faith is something I value more than the treasure of relationship with the Divine.

Looking for a clear choice

How can we get a picture of God from the texts today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary? The obvious answer might be from simply reading the texts. There are apparent contradictions and paradox in these passages. FriarJude Winkler notes that the Exodus reading is two passages which have been pasted together and from which we are encouraged to be aware of signs around us of the Presence of God. Friar Jude notes the disagreement in Biblical text about seeing God face to face. We too often think that our understanding of God would be so much better if He, or His Prophets, or Jesus would just clearly define Him and tell us what He wants us to do to get the prize. The God who introduces Himself in the words in Exodus today declares, in the opinion of John Piper, five attributes or Five Expressions of God's Nature. We understand merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness and forgiveness as the attributes for which psalmists and prophets praise God. These attributes of Father are certainly part of the experience of many believers. The texts raise the question of how God deals with sin. Most people have internal sensitivity to the difference between good and evil. The nature of God is good. The relationship to which we are invited by God transcends human limitations. We, like the Israelites following Moses, are required to choose. The encounter of Moses with God presented today is his second visit toreceive the Ten Commandments. The people chose to reject the Law from God after the first visit. The Gospel from Matthew today underlines the difference between good seed and weeds. Those who chose to join Jesus living in the Kingdom of God today through charity, selflessness and service will be Good Seed and they will produce the fruit of the Love of God in society. Those who choose to ignore the invitation of God to live in service, selflessness and charity may become impediments to the spread of the Love of God. They choose to be weeds. The parable from Matthew and the long experience of the people of God since the time of Moses is that God is patient and prepared to accept the choice to be in relationship with Him at all times and places.

Martha time

One of the temptations which we confront in daily life as we journey in response to the invitation to be in relationship with God is “to get it done”. The Roman Catholic Lectionary today uses text from the Book of Exodus which describes the events of the creation of a golden calf by the Israelites in the desert while Moses was up the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments from God. Rabbinical commentary on this event often categorizes the sin of the people as being that of idolatry, replacing the worship of God with worship of a false god. Friar Jude Winkler notes that it is very human for us to want to shape God to be as we would like and for us to have some control over how God responds and acts in our lives. The impatience of the Israelites, who apparently did not know where Moses was, is present in our lives when getting on with the journey on our terms is chosen over the prayerful patience to take in our present situation and live in the life given us today. The Gospel from Luke tells of Jesus visit to the home of Mary and Martha. This unfolding of events during this visit may seem to be forcing a choice between service in hospitality of Martha and the study as a disciple shown by Mary. Friar Jude notes that in the Middle Ages, this passage was used to justify the superiority of the contemplative life over the life of action. Martha certainly is keen to “get it done” and Mary seems to be unaware that Jesus and probably many of His followers are gathered and will need to receive some basic hospitality from their hosts. We often live in tension between apparently opposing forces. The method of prayerful patience offers time to better appreciate the present and see the value on all sides of these tensions. We can act with service like the Sisters of St Martha of Antigonish and still offer time as Presence to others in the model of Mary, the disciple.

Words to reveal

Study of the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary using a mind map approach could show many different words which are connected to these passages. Chutzpah is a word which Friar Jude Winkler attaches to the nervy dialog of Abraham with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This walking and talking with God is a feature of the style of the Yahwist Source of the Book of Genesis. The theme of sin-punishment-grace in the revelation of God to His creatures is part of the style of this source. Father Larry Gillick SJ also finds revelation about God in the texts today through the acronym A.S.K. (Ask, Seek and Knock). He compares the Love of God to parental love and he identifies the tension between what we would ask, seek and knock in a selfish, independence seeking motivation with what a loving parent gives, that which is best for us, and which may reveal to us that we are children or creatures who are very dependent on God for Life. The Holy Father in Rio this week, on the occasion of the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, addressed the deeply important role of family love, particularly the love of grandparents for their grandchildren as a powerful and deeply human means to transmit faith, wisdom and confidence in the revelation of God to children. We add to the mind map of love words the forgiveness proclaimed by Paul from God for those who are baptized into the life of Jesus which gives us the Spirit to overcome the movement toward sin and as Friar Jude notes, the extinguishing of a part of the Life as Creatures of God. Perhaps all the words which come from the texts today lead us to the position of thanksgiving presented by the psalmist and in this attitude we are preparing well, comments Father Larry, for the Eucharist when thanksgiving centres around becoming what we are, the Body of Christ!

Wheat witness

The relationship we have with God is not one sided. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary emphasize that we choose to live in relationship with God and we demonstrate by our life the reality of our acceptance of His invitation. In the passage from the Book of Exodus, we read a description of the memorial built by Moses to witness to the Covenant which would be demonstrated by the adherence of the people of Israel to the Commandments which God had delivered to them through Moses. The ritual of the cutting of the Covenant is explained by Friar Jude Winkler as witness and acceptance and understanding of the people about the choice they are making between life and death. The psalmist praises the Covenant of the people with God with brings Life. The Gospel from Matthew is the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. The parable form of teaching is very much in the style of the rabbi of Jesus time. We are attracted by the story. We need to be aware that there may be an illogical or paradoxical proposition in the text with which we need to dialogue and dispute. Some commentators note that there are weeds which we want to remove from the wheat of our lives. The life style which pursues power, privilege, pride and pleasure will contain weeds of selfish habits which can and should be plucked from our lives. The struggle of faithful believers against some of the weeds in their lives is a long battle. This parable is interpreted by Friar Jude as containing the message that God is extremely patient and gives us time to work these weeds from our lives. The Evangelist may have been, as we often seem to be, impatient with the inaction of God to clear out the “bad” influences from the community of faithful. Let the relationship we have with God open our eyes to the weeds and give us the wisdom to work with God to bring our lives to be witness to our relationship with the Divine.

Parents Provide Promise

The parents of Mary, Mother of Jesus, are celebrated today in the liturgy for which the texts in the Roman CatholicLectionary are chosen. The texts today for Canada are different from those in the United States about which Friar Jude Winkler has prepared his reflection. Honouring our parents is a way of following the Will of God. This is a command of the Law which is in the Ten Commandments. It is a deep cultural component of life for many people of the earth. We are genetically tied to our parents. We learn how to live in family and community from our parents. The life of Mary prior to her ``Yes`` to God, which is the Incarnation, was under the guidance of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. The learning of parenthood is grounded in our experience of parenting from our family. The life of Jesus until He began His Public Ministry was in the family of Mary and Joseph. The promise to David for which the psalmist praises God today would be fulfilled by Jesus. The action of Jesus described by Matthew, to an audience with a Jewish culture, in Chapter 13 of his Gospel, presents a teacher who uses parables to bring deep truths about God to people who come to learn from Him. This image of Jesus fits the action of the rabbi who taught Jewish students in His time. The development of a rabbi inJesus time was a process which according to some scholars was most devotedly followed in Galilee. The establishment of the Holy Family in Nazareth exposed them to an environment which it is argued was quite different than the world of the Jews in Jerusalem and Judah. In this community, the skills of being mother which Mary brought from her home, the ancestry of Joseph which called for faith in the Promise to David and an environment which encouraged the development of people prepared as rabbi would form the humanity of Jesus. The text from Matthew has Jesus celebrate the insight which those who are His disciples have through His Life and the Holy Spirit into His Mission to fulfill the Promise.

Strength in earthen vessels

A powerful paradox of living in the Kingdom is that strength comes so often from weakness. The Roman Catholic Lectionary today is chosen for the feast of James martyr and Apostle. The feast day of this saint is particularly important for the suffering people today in Santiago de Compostela who are attempting to cope with the tragic death of 77 people in a high speed train accident on the evening before the feast of Santiago (Saint James). The nature of believers is proclaimed by Paul to the Corinthians as fragile earthen vessels who show the life of Christ within their lives by the service and love they give to others in the midst of suffering and human failure. The message of our relationship with Jesus is that we are conduits of the great things that God does to free and sustain us which are raised today in praise by the psalmist. The stories of the weak and fragile carrying hope and life to others abound in the history of the recovery program of Doctor Bob and Bill W known as Alcoholics Anonymous. Pope Francesco is shown in press reports today listening to earthen vessels at a Brazilian Addiction Recovery Center speak to him of change and the triumph of Life over death in their lives. The death to self which opens our lives to serve and radiate the Life of Christ is the Christian mission which Jesus explains to the Jewish Mother of the sons of Zebedee as she intervenes for the placing of her sons in places of importance in the coming Kingdom of Jesus. Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Gospel of Matthew is more respectful of the Apostles than the Gospel of Mark where the request to Jesus is made by James and John themselves. The leadership to Life is through becoming a slave, like Paul to the Will of God to be the conduit of life and, as Pope Francesco proclaims, joy to all. Saint James is credited with the wisdom that “prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective”. The tension between God Present and God apparently absent in the wake of great personal tragedy among believers in Santiago and the tension between tradition and reform living in the person of the “Pope of the poor” presents suffering today for earthen vessels who will know the prayer of the Living Body of Christ as they shine with His Love today.

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