Thursday, June 10, 2021

 Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 3:15-4:1.3-6; Matthew 5:20-26)

David Hume, a Scottish eighteenth century thinker, started a radical trend in philosophy.  He doubted all knowledge except the most elementary truisms like “all balls are round.”  He also denied religious knowledge as having no basis in experience.  In today’s first reading St. Paul seems to face similar doubters and deniers seventeen centuries earlier.

Paul describes skeptics of Christianity as having veils over their eyes.  He sees them as blind to the truth of the gospel.  If they could lift the veil – Paul would conclude – they could not help but give assent.  Perhaps the gospel illustrates this assertion as well as any passage from Scripture.  Jesus is demanding his followers to reconcile themselves with those who have caused them difficulty.  Such effort makes Christians children of God and brothers and sisters to all.  It is the best way to live and, when the time comes, to die.

A wise person once said that to hold a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die.  We do better in this world and get a foothold in the next by reconciling with those who offend us.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Kings 24:8-17; Matthew 7:21-29)

The philosopher David Hume taught the modern era to distrust anything spiritual.  The scientist Charles Darwin showed how life in the natural world has evolved from one form to another.  The writings of these great thinkers among others have led to a rejection of core spiritual beliefs.  Everything seems physical and changeable to the contemporary human.  For this reason many reject Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” which he completes in today’s gospel.

Jesus exhorts his followers not just to hear the sermon but to base their lives on it.  He tells them that only by doing so will they be able to withstand the storms that threaten every life.  Without hope of the kingdom of God they will likely leave the track of personal justice.  Without the Father’s grace they will never be able to live up to the demands that the Sermon makes. 

Jesus has drawn a line in the sand with this great discourse.  He wants us to commit ourselves to him by living what he has just taught.  To do so, we must buck much of modern intellectual thinking.  It may be a scary venture for some.  But we know from the saints that following Jesus leads to true peace.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Kings 24:8-17; Matthew 7:21-29)

The philosopher David Hume taught the modern era to distrust anything spiritual.  The scientist Charles Darwin showed how life in the natural world has evolved from one form to another.  The writings of these great thinkers among others have led to a rejection of core spiritual beliefs.  Everything seems physical and changeable to the contemporary human.  For this reason many reject Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” which he completes in today’s gospel.

Jesus exhorts his followers not just to hear the sermon but to base their lives on it.  He tells them that only by doing so will they be able to withstand the storms that threaten every life.  Without hope of the kingdom of God they will likely leave the track of personal justice.  Without the Father’s grace they will never be able to live up to the demands that the Sermon makes. 

Jesus has drawn a line in the sand with this great discourse.  He wants us to commit ourselves to him by living what he has just taught.  To do so, we must buck much of modern intellectual thinking.  It may be a scary venture for some.  But we know from the saints that following Jesus leads to true peace.