Thursday, September 24, 2020

 Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Luke 9:7-9)

Nothing belies the first reading today more than the second.  The preacher Qoheleth says, “There is nothing new under the sun,” but Herod is startled by what he hears of Jesus.  Since Jesus, things have not been like they used to be nor can they ever be so again.  He has changed the world uniquely.

Once on Christmas Eve it started to snow.  The white flakes were falling gently to the earth in the dusk of the evening.  People were rightly worrying about traffic jams as they hurried home and then to services.  But the snow was a reminder of the wonder of the birth of Christ.  Heaven was coming to earth in beauty and peace.

Christ has renewed our hearts.  Because of him, we know – despite appearances to the contrary – that we have an eternal destiny.  We want to let his words and example form our lives.  We want them to root out the egotism that makes it seem like things will never change.

 

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Luke 9:7-9)

The IPhone 7 premiered last week.  You can take it under water, and it works faster than previous generations.  But don’t expect it to satisfy all you needs.  More than likely you will find yourself with similar problems to the ones you have always had.  IPhone 7 won’t make you more prompt or more attentive. As Qoheleth testifies in today’s first reading, there is “(n)othing new under the sun.”

What might change our lives, however, is a fresh relationship.  A new friend can give us insight into other’s lives and our own.  Talk with a new African-American friend about racial harassment, and you probably will learn how much it still hurts.  Or talk with a new teacher friend, and you may be surprised at how educators find testing interfering with learning.  One friendship that we definitely want to cultivate is that with Jesus.

Today’s gospel says that Herod the tetrarch wanted to visit with Jesus.  We should be doubly eager to do so.  He will move us from a preoccupation with IPhones to a sincere concern about the people around us.  He will also show us how to change our unhelpful habits.  Qoheleth could not have had friendship with Jesus in mind when he said nothing is new.