Thursday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 7)
We may think of Jesus as unfriendly toward all Pharisees, but this is not the case. True, he does chastise some in the gospels, but he also eats with others. He really has a lot in common with Pharisees. Like them Jesus is a layman, learned in the Law, who teaches in synagogues and exerts every effort to live righteously. Nothing should seem peculiar, therefore, in Jesus’ entering a Pharisee’s home in the gospel today.
Simon, the Pharisee, becomes scandalized when Jesus allows a notoriously sinful woman to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. Although he is too proper to say it out loud, Simon sees Jesus’ indulgence as evidence that he is not a true prophet. A prophet, he thinks, would see into a person’s heart to know if she or he is worthy. But Simon is dead wrong. Jesus shows himself to be a prophet on two counts. First, he knows the woman to be repentant and thus receptive of God’s grace. Second, he reads the hypocrisy of Simon’s heart that criticizes too much and loves too little.
Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy as he forgives the woman of her sins and enlightens Simon of his. He is not too proper to call Simon to task for hypocrisy, but he does not indignantly walk away from him. We pray with complete confidence that he will treat us as graciously. As church-goers, we are susceptible to the sin of hypocrisy. When we criticize others unjustly, may Christ remind us of the sin that we commit and may he then offer us opportunities to show our love for him.
Homilette for Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Wednesday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 7)
The movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner appeared in the 1960s when interracial couples were a rarity. The dinner guest was an African-American who wanted to marry his white hosts’ daughter. The plot moves around the father’s resistance to the marriage. Today we would admonish people who disapprove of a marriage solely because the couple belongs to different races. And we would condemn outright the refusal to eat with members of different races. Nevertheless, we should understand that such social conventions as the separation of the races in the past were based on more than prejudice and hatred. In the gospel today we see Jesus trying to break through the social conventions of his time to bring his people to a greater wisdom.
Jesus chastises the people for not accepting either John the Baptist who ate with no one or himself who seemed willing to eat with anyone. These people are Jews, of course, who are particularly attentive to table fellowship. They are supposed to share table with Jews in good standing as a matter of communal fellowship. The fact that John does not eat or drink like regular Jews makes his prophecy questionable in their eyes. The people question Jesus’ prophetic legitimacy as well for eating and drinking seemingly to an excess with sinners, people considered outside the pale of table fellowship.
But both John and Jesus possess a wisdom that runs deeper than social conventions. John’s austerity is a prophet’s call of the people to God’s holiness. It is an extreme position that is meant to witness how great the need is for reform. Jesus’ extension of himself to outcasts shows God’s special concern for sinners. Jesus does not conform to their ways but invites them to return to God’s. His words at the end of the passage “wisdom is vindicated by all her children” tell us that those who can appreciate what John and Jesus are doing will move beyond social conventions to true righteousness.
(Luke 7)
The movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner appeared in the 1960s when interracial couples were a rarity. The dinner guest was an African-American who wanted to marry his white hosts’ daughter. The plot moves around the father’s resistance to the marriage. Today we would admonish people who disapprove of a marriage solely because the couple belongs to different races. And we would condemn outright the refusal to eat with members of different races. Nevertheless, we should understand that such social conventions as the separation of the races in the past were based on more than prejudice and hatred. In the gospel today we see Jesus trying to break through the social conventions of his time to bring his people to a greater wisdom.
Jesus chastises the people for not accepting either John the Baptist who ate with no one or himself who seemed willing to eat with anyone. These people are Jews, of course, who are particularly attentive to table fellowship. They are supposed to share table with Jews in good standing as a matter of communal fellowship. The fact that John does not eat or drink like regular Jews makes his prophecy questionable in their eyes. The people question Jesus’ prophetic legitimacy as well for eating and drinking seemingly to an excess with sinners, people considered outside the pale of table fellowship.
But both John and Jesus possess a wisdom that runs deeper than social conventions. John’s austerity is a prophet’s call of the people to God’s holiness. It is an extreme position that is meant to witness how great the need is for reform. Jesus’ extension of himself to outcasts shows God’s special concern for sinners. Jesus does not conform to their ways but invites them to return to God’s. His words at the end of the passage “wisdom is vindicated by all her children” tell us that those who can appreciate what John and Jesus are doing will move beyond social conventions to true righteousness.
Homilette for Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tuesday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time
(I Timothy 3)
Pope John Paul II raised the ire of many when he judged that the Church cannot ordain women to the priesthood. His call that the question not be discussed seemed to salt the newly opened wounds of those who see the issue as a matter of human rights. He probably only wanted to limit everyone’s frustration, but significantly he never said that ordaining women deacons is out of the question. Proponents of women deacons will find some support in today’s first reading.
Where the First Letter to Timothy speaks of deacons, it first refers to males but their role is indeterminate. Are they ordained to administer the sacraments as we have in the Church today? Or are they principally table servers as the word “deacon” implies? The text is not clear either in its reference to women. Are they the deacons’ wives, or are they women who share equally in the ministry of the diaconate with the men? At least one biblical authority believes that the latter is the more probable case.
So this reading may refer to ordained or non-ordained deacons and to women who are deacons or deacons’ wives. It will take far more than these few lines to determine whether women should be ordained to the diaconate. We trust that the pope will decide on the issue in truth, and we pray that the people will accept that decision in faith. We might also add that whether as deacons or in some other capacity women’s visibility and audibility in church should enhance everyone’s appreciation for the glory of God.
(I Timothy 3)
Pope John Paul II raised the ire of many when he judged that the Church cannot ordain women to the priesthood. His call that the question not be discussed seemed to salt the newly opened wounds of those who see the issue as a matter of human rights. He probably only wanted to limit everyone’s frustration, but significantly he never said that ordaining women deacons is out of the question. Proponents of women deacons will find some support in today’s first reading.
Where the First Letter to Timothy speaks of deacons, it first refers to males but their role is indeterminate. Are they ordained to administer the sacraments as we have in the Church today? Or are they principally table servers as the word “deacon” implies? The text is not clear either in its reference to women. Are they the deacons’ wives, or are they women who share equally in the ministry of the diaconate with the men? At least one biblical authority believes that the latter is the more probable case.
So this reading may refer to ordained or non-ordained deacons and to women who are deacons or deacons’ wives. It will take far more than these few lines to determine whether women should be ordained to the diaconate. We trust that the pope will decide on the issue in truth, and we pray that the people will accept that decision in faith. We might also add that whether as deacons or in some other capacity women’s visibility and audibility in church should enhance everyone’s appreciation for the glory of God.
Homilette for Monday, September 17, 2007
Monday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 7)
Have you ever wished you could meet Jesus? Perhaps we hear ourselves saying, “If I only could meet him face to face, then I would not have any doubt.” Certainly having a personal encounter with Jesus would lift our spirits. In a fantasy entitled A Day with a Perfect Stranger a woman takes a seat on an airplane between two men one of whom is Jesus. The companion by the window chides her for not supporting her husband’s newly found faith. The man in the aisle seat leaves the armrest for the woman to use. Which of the two men do you suppose is Jesus?
In the gospel passage the centurion remarkably never meets the Lord. He sends Jewish elders to make his request for the healing of his servant. It is not that he considers himself more important than Jesus. As a matter of fact, his reasoning is quite the opposite. He does not want to bother Jesus with having to make the necessary courtesies to greet a foreign official. Yet the centurion believes in Jesus’ saving power, even from a distance. Jesus, of course, grants the centurion’s request as faith assures.
We may not have the personal encounter with Jesus that our hearts desire. But we do have his blessing as surely as the centurion in the gospel. In this Mass we listen to his words encouraging us to trust in him. We also touch him and hold him inside ourselves in the reception of the Eucharist. Jesus does more than let us use an armrest. He gives himself for us to lean on.
(Luke 7)
Have you ever wished you could meet Jesus? Perhaps we hear ourselves saying, “If I only could meet him face to face, then I would not have any doubt.” Certainly having a personal encounter with Jesus would lift our spirits. In a fantasy entitled A Day with a Perfect Stranger a woman takes a seat on an airplane between two men one of whom is Jesus. The companion by the window chides her for not supporting her husband’s newly found faith. The man in the aisle seat leaves the armrest for the woman to use. Which of the two men do you suppose is Jesus?
In the gospel passage the centurion remarkably never meets the Lord. He sends Jewish elders to make his request for the healing of his servant. It is not that he considers himself more important than Jesus. As a matter of fact, his reasoning is quite the opposite. He does not want to bother Jesus with having to make the necessary courtesies to greet a foreign official. Yet the centurion believes in Jesus’ saving power, even from a distance. Jesus, of course, grants the centurion’s request as faith assures.
We may not have the personal encounter with Jesus that our hearts desire. But we do have his blessing as surely as the centurion in the gospel. In this Mass we listen to his words encouraging us to trust in him. We also touch him and hold him inside ourselves in the reception of the Eucharist. Jesus does more than let us use an armrest. He gives himself for us to lean on.
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