Discourse and Death

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today caution us to avoid situations when we default to our self interest in decisions that may have been better considered through the guidance of the Spirit in Jesus Way.

Decisions for Life

The Prophet Jeremiah declares to the people the need to “gird up your loins”

i. [1:18] Jer 6:27; 15:20; Ez 3:8. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 71 is a Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help.

* [Psalm 71] A lament of an old person (Ps 71:9, 18) whose afflictions are interpreted by enemies as a divine judgment (Ps 71:11). The first part of the Psalm pleads for help (Ps 71:1–4) on the basis of a hope learned from a lifetime’s experience of God; the second part describes the menace (Ps 71:9–13) yet remains buoyant (Ps 71:14–16); the third develops the theme of hope and praise. (Psalms, PSALM 71 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark presents an account of the Death of John the Baptist.

* [6:17–29] Similarities are to be noted between Mark’s account of the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist in this pericope, and that of the passion of Jesus (Mk 15:1–47). Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death (Mk 6:26–27; 15:9–10, 14–15). The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them respectful burial (Mk 6:29; 15:45–46).

* [6:19] Herodias: see note on Mt 14:3. (Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Andy Alexander, S.J. (2019) comments that "dying to self" allows him to love those closest to him. It is the first step in allowing him to be better at loving the "neighbor" with mercy and compassion, and self-sacrificing love. Then, the inner fire of anger at so many people, fear of so much, and conflict with those who have different ideas than his, begins to change. Then, "What would Jesus do?" (WWJD?) become a challenging question to ask in very concrete situations.

All this is preparatory to public martyrdom - public witness to our faith in a culture that is not in harmony with our faith. To stand in solidarity with those who are the most rejected and marginalized in our culture, to work hard to act against the many ways we are hurting our planet and all those who are the first and worst to suffer, to act publicly and try to witness to a life of mercy and compassion, with put me at odds with very powerful forces. The forces which profit mightily to sustain systemic injustice will not surrender their power easily or kindly. I may not end up being beheaded, like John, but the backlash to living the way of Jesus will be strong and powerful. John's courage and integrity can be a great grace for us, individually, and as a faith community, as we chew the message of his martyrdom today. (Alexander, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Weakness of the Tyrant and the Power of the Beheaded,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help. As for John, he immediately inspired fear in Herod after his murder - for fear was disturbing Herod's conscience to such an extent that he believed John had been raised from the dead and was performing miracles (Mark 6:14-16)! In our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world, John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others. For each person repeatedly reading this Gospel says: 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother' (Mark 6:18). And even apart from reading the Gospel, in assemblies and meetings at home or in the market, in every place... even to the very ends of the earth, you will hear this voice and see that righteous man even now still crying out, resounding loudly, reproving the evil of the tyrant. He will never be silenced nor the reproof at all weakened by the passing of time." (excerpt from ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 22.8-9) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us comments that Paul’s advice to the Corinthians is as relevant to us as it was to them. As we read from this letter at Mass over the next three weeks, we can listen closely to his instructions to these early Christians and take them to heart.

So what might Paul tell you today? When differences arise between you and other believers, don’t be surprised or despair. Keep asking for the grace to be patient, and try to work out your differences. Pray for your fellow Christians who don’t think as you do or who may even oppose or malign you. And when you find yourself tempted to give up, stay focused on the Lord and persevere. He will “keep you firm to the end”!

“Father, I trust that you can help me work out my differences with my brothers and sisters in Christ.” (Daily Meditation, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the difficulty of teaching about Jesus and the Spirit that Paul encountered in Corinth where the Gnostics rejected Jesus' humanity. The martyrdom of John the Baptist occurs even though Herod feared John. Herod’s promise to Herodius creates a martyr for morality. Friar Jude notes that we can be aided in prayer at all the sacred sites that claim to have the head of John the Baptist.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes we can face reality with greater integrity and wisdom by embracing the gifts and limitations of our growth.

Given the prevalence of this pattern, it must now be considered culpable ignorance that most people still consider Disorder somewhat of a surprise, a scandal, a mystery, or something to be avoided or overcome by an easy jump from Order to Reorder. This is human hubris and illusion. Progress is never a straight and uninterrupted line, but we have all been formed by the Western philosophy of progress that tells us it is, leaving us despairing and cynical.  

So, what does this demand of humanity, especially those who are leaders and teachers? More than anything else—humility and creativity! These virtues offer the detachment and patience that allow history to move forward because they keep our absolutes, our certitudes, and our obstinacy out of the way. Even God submits to mercy and forgiveness toward “what used to be.” Apparently, God enjoys doing this because it never stops happening: Every original Order learns to include an initially threatening Disorder, which morphs into and creates a new Reordering, and we begin all over again. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit to avoid decisions and actions that are the consequence of the breakdown of humility, creativity, and impulsive reactions to people and events.

References

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082924.html 

Daily Meditation. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/29/1062552/ 

Jeremiah, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/1 

Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?17 

Psalms, PSALM 71 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/71?0 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Include and Transcend. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/include-and-transcend/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Herod Feared John - a Righteous and Holy Man. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug29a 

Work and Woes

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to assess our work in the light of the benefit it brings to the fullness of life of the people on our journey.

Working for Life

The reading from Second Thessalonians is a warning against Idleness.

* [3:1–18] The final chapter urges the Thessalonians to pray for Paul and his colleagues (2 Thes 3:1–2) and reiterates confidence in the Thessalonians (2 Thes 3:3–5), while admonishing them about a specific problem in their community that has grown out of the intense eschatological speculation, namely, not to work but to become instead disorderly busybodies (2 Thes 3:6–15). A benediction (2 Thes 3:16) and postscript in Paul’s own hand round out the letter. On 2 Thes 3:17–18, cf. note on 2 Thes 2:2.

* [3:6] Some members of the community, probably because they regarded the parousia as imminent or the new age of the Lord to be already here (2 Thes 2:2), had apparently ceased to work for a living. The disciplinary problem they posed could be rooted in distorted thinking about Paul’s own teaching (cf. 1 Thes 2:16; 3:3–4; 5:4–5) or, more likely, in a forged letter (2 Thes 2:2) and the type of teaching dealt with in 2 Thes 2:1–15. The apostle’s own moral teaching, reflected in his selfless labors for others, was rooted in a deep doctrinal concern for the gospel message (cf. 1 Thes 2:3–10). (2 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 128 praises the Happy Home of the Faithful.

* [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Ps 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Ps 128:2–4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Ps 128:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 128 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus continues the Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees.

* [23:27–28] The sixth woe, like the preceding one, deals with concern for externals and neglect of what is inside. Since contact with dead bodies, even when one was unaware of it, caused ritual impurity (Nm 19:11–22), tombs were whitewashed so that no one would contract such impurity inadvertently.

* [23:29–36] The final woe is the most serious indictment of all. It portrays the scribes and Pharisees as standing in the same line as their ancestors who murdered the prophets and the righteous.

* [23:29–32] In spite of honoring the slain dead by building their tombs and adorning their memorials, and claiming that they would not have joined in their ancestors’ crimes if they had lived in their days, the scribes and Pharisees are true children of their ancestors and are defiantly ordered by Jesus to fill up what those ancestors measured out. This order reflects the Jewish notion that there was an allotted measure of suffering that had to be completed before God’s final judgment would take place. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)

Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that it is so tempting to pick and choose what we prefer to believe or follow. It is easy to be "religious" like the scribes and Pharisees, focusing on the external things of practice, without growing in the interior transformation that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus.

Interior freedom, which leads to greater sensitivity to the needs of others, ultimately to mercy and self-sacrificing love, is a gift. We can't earn it or "do" things to get there. We can, however, ask for it. We can ask our Lord to open our hearts to receive the gift of his love so that we might fall in love with him in return. The more we experience his love for us - messy as we are - the more attracted we are to him. And, the more attracted we are to him the more we will hear his word in ways that draw us closer to him, in affection. Affection for our Lord alone frees our hearts from the patterns, habits, addictions which hold us enslaved and keep us from being free. (Alexander, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Good deeds done for God”, author unknown, from the 5th century A.D.

"Every good deed that is done for God is universally good for everything and everyone. Deeds that are not seen to benefit everything and everyone, however, are done on account of man, as the present matter itself demonstrates. For example, those who build reliquaries and adorn churches seem to be doing good. If they imitate the justice of God, if the poor benefit from their goods and if they do not acquire their goods through violence against others, it is clear that they are building for the glory of God. If they fail to observe God's justice... and if the poor never benefit from their goods and if they acquire their goods from others by means of violence or fraud, who is so foolish not to understand that they are building for human respect rather than for the glory of God? Those who build reliquaries in a just manner ensure that the poor do not suffer as a result of it. For the martyrs do not rejoice when they are honored by gifts for which the poor paid with their tears. What kind of justice is it to give gifts to the dead and to despoil the living or to drain blood from the poor and offer it to God? To do such things is not to offer sacrifice to God but to attempt to make God an accomplice in violence, since whoever knowingly accepts a gift which was acquired by sinful means participates in the sin." (excerpt from an incomplete Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, HOMILY 45) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 comments that the Church is still growing today because of the witness of everyday believers like each one of us. It will continue to grow as you ask the Spirit to help you maintain a joyful, peaceful attitude today, even if your day is filled with “toil and drudgery” (2 Thessalonians 3:8). It will grow as you avoid the near occasion of sin so that you don’t “act in a disorderly way” and give a poor witness to the gospel (3:7). And if you should fall to temptation, the Church can still grow—as you humbly confess your sin and seek the forgiveness of anyone you might have hurt.

Yes, the Church grows because of God’s grace and not only because of our hard work and dedication. But that grace has to show itself somehow, and that’s where you come in. By the witness of your life, you can show the world what that looks like!

“Lord, help me to imitate you in holiness today.” (Meditation on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the author of 2 Thessalonians needs to address the dissolute and disorderly behaviour of people who have allowed the thought of the end at hand has led to mooching off others. By the end of the First Century Christian authors addressed the reality that the end was not coming quickly. Friar Jude reminds us of the impurity associated with sepulchers in first century Judaism that Jesus connects to hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author Sarah Bessey who writes of an evolving faith as one that can sustain disruptions and thrive in what she calls “the wilderness.” 

To me, an evolving faith … has proven to be about the questions, the curiosity, and the ongoing reckoning of a robust, honest faith. An evolving faith brings the new ideas and ancient paths together. It’s about rebuilding and reimagining a faith that works not only for ourselves but for the whole messy, wide, beautiful world. For me, this has proven to be deeply centered in the Good News of Jesus. An evolving faith is sacramental, ecumenical, embodied, generous, spirit-filled, truthful, and rooted in the unconditional, never-ending love of God…. An evolving faith is a resilient and stubborn form of faithfulness that is well acquainted with the presence of God in our loneliest places and deepest questions. And an evolving faith has room for all the paths you may navigate….  

Anyone who gets to the end of their life with the exact same beliefs and opinions they had at the beginning is doing it wrong. Because if we don’t change and evolve over our lifetime, then I have to wonder if we’re paying attention to the invitation of the Holy Spirit that is your life. (Rohr, n.d.)

We ponder our contribution to building the awareness and faith of the people on our journey and seek the guidance of the Spirit to direct our actions in love and compassion.

References

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Archive/2018/082818.html 

Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?27 

Meditation on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/28/1062034/ 

Psalms, PSALM 128 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Evolving Faith. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/evolving-faith/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). True Beauty and Goodness Come from Within. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug28 

2 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2thessalonians/3?6