Tuesday, June 28, 2022

 

Memorial of St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr

Amos 3:1-8.4:11-12; Matthew 8:23-27)

Perhaps it is because we dread the struggles that face us.  In any case, we often feel that the challenges ahead of us are more like mountains than hills.  We call them “crises” as if we doubt our ability to overcome them.  In the past twenty years the Church has experienced, among other setbacks, the “crises” of clerical abuse and the waning of faith.  These challenges are real, but they are not going to bring down the Church.  The reason for hope appears in today’s gospel

The boat containing Jesus and his disciples can be taken as a metaphor for the Church.  A storm, symbolizing a great challenge, arises.  With Jesus asleep the disciples feel doomed.  But all they have to do is to call upon him.  He is always ready to help.

St. Irenaeus, who lived in the last part of the second century, faced many challenges.  One was the theological error of Docetism.  This errant teaching claimed that Christianity amounted to a formula to get through life.  An excellent biblical theologian, Irenaeus answered the challenge by reaffirming the doctrine of the incarnation.  God becoming human has provided not a formula or belief but a new way of living.  Imitating Christ, we will go beyond surmounting crises to achieving life’s goal of eternity.

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