Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Showing posts with label Hebrews 2:14-18. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hebrews 2:14-18. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
(Hebrews
2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39))
In
the 1940’s and 1950’s several priests in France set out early in the morning to
work in factories. Seeing that many laborers
had stopped coming to church, these “worker-priests” decided to bring the
gospel to them. It became a contentious
experiment, however. Worker-priests supported
union organizing, which was opposed by managers, who did go to church. Eventually, the worker-priests were told by
the hierarchy to leave their jobs.
The
worker-priest movement might have found its inspiration in today’s first reading. As Jesus Christ experienced the human
condition, worker-priests worked side-by-side with laborers. The reading is quite explicit. Jesus was tried by suffering so that he might
help others who suffer. No doubt,
worker-priests suffered as well. They went
to work before dawn when they might have slept until the hour of daily mass. They also had to face rejection for their
attempt to preach the gospel.
Suffering
is part of every human life, but especially the Christian life. Jesus tells his disciples to take up their
cross and follow him. He means that we
are not to shun but to embrace suffering as a way of serving him. When we are sick, we can bear with the
discomfort as an offering to God for others’ sake. When we are well but find it distasteful to
visit the sick, we should not shirk that service.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Wednesday of the
First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39)
Theologians often think of suffering as a test. In this way they avoid liking God to a harsh judge
much less to a capricious ogre. If God
tests humans through suffering, He arouses their natural desire to do
well. Eternal life then becomes a prize for
which humans are proved worthy. The
gifted theologian who composed the Letter to the Hebrews certainly considered
suffering in this way.
What is truly remarkable about the Letter to the Hebrews,
however, is its balanced way of seeing Christ.
He is both human and divine who comes to help his siblings in need. He realizes that some will struggle mightily
to endure suffering. So he prays his Father God will show them mercy.
We also should consider Jesus as one of us. He knows our pain and is ready to respond to
our call for help. We need to follow his
example so that we never forget that he loves us.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39)
For centuries the Church believed that St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. There were a few dissenters in early times, but only in the sixteenth century did the great Erasmus begin to persuade the majority of scholars that Paul could not have authored the document. As an enlightened theologian of the third century put it, “Everyone who is able to discern differences in style” would know that the letter did not come directly from the pen of Paul. The actual identity of the author, however, remains unknown.
Determining authorship is only one of the difficulties in studying the Letter to the Hebrews. It is also full of obscure terms and ideas that challenge the modern mind. In today’s passage, for example, we may scratch our heads wondering how humans “through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.” Is the letter trying to say that humans are coerced into being good by the fear of death?
No, that is not the case. Although such a servile fear falls short of the freedom of God’s children, it at least encourages us to do what is right. The fear to which the letter refers is a deeper anxiety that would paralyze us from doing any good at all. It is a fear that would so preoccupy us with the terror of death that we could not love God or assist our neighbor. The letter tells us, however, that Christ has eliminated this kind of fear by his resurrection from the dead. Now we can, in the words of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, “befriend death” because it only unites us securely with Christ in eternal life.
(Hebrews 2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39)
For centuries the Church believed that St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. There were a few dissenters in early times, but only in the sixteenth century did the great Erasmus begin to persuade the majority of scholars that Paul could not have authored the document. As an enlightened theologian of the third century put it, “Everyone who is able to discern differences in style” would know that the letter did not come directly from the pen of Paul. The actual identity of the author, however, remains unknown.
Determining authorship is only one of the difficulties in studying the Letter to the Hebrews. It is also full of obscure terms and ideas that challenge the modern mind. In today’s passage, for example, we may scratch our heads wondering how humans “through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.” Is the letter trying to say that humans are coerced into being good by the fear of death?
No, that is not the case. Although such a servile fear falls short of the freedom of God’s children, it at least encourages us to do what is right. The fear to which the letter refers is a deeper anxiety that would paralyze us from doing any good at all. It is a fear that would so preoccupy us with the terror of death that we could not love God or assist our neighbor. The letter tells us, however, that Christ has eliminated this kind of fear by his resurrection from the dead. Now we can, in the words of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, “befriend death” because it only unites us securely with Christ in eternal life.
Homilette for Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39)
For centuries the Church believed that St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. There were a few dissenters in early times, but only in the sixteenth century did the great Erasmus begin to persuade the majority of scholars that Paul could not have authored the document. As a preeminent theologian of the third century put it, “everyone who is able to discern differences in style” would know that the letter did not come directly from the pen of Paul. The identity of the author remains unknown today.
Determining authorship is only one of the difficulties in studying the Letter to the Hebrews. It is also full of obscure terms that challenge the modern mind. In today’s passage, for example, we scratch our heads trying to interpret the meaning of how humans “through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.” Is the letter trying to say, like Prince Hamlet in his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, that humans are not free to do what they want because they fear death?
No, it is not that. Such a fear would at least have us doing what is right. The fear to which the letter refers is a deeper anxiety that would paralyze us from doing any good at all. It is a fear that would so preoccupy us with the terror of death that we could not love God or neighbor. The letter tells us, however, that Christ has eliminated this kind of fear by his resurrection from the dead. Now we can, in the words of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, “befriend death” because it only unites us securely with God, the object of our living.
(Hebrews 2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39)
For centuries the Church believed that St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. There were a few dissenters in early times, but only in the sixteenth century did the great Erasmus begin to persuade the majority of scholars that Paul could not have authored the document. As a preeminent theologian of the third century put it, “everyone who is able to discern differences in style” would know that the letter did not come directly from the pen of Paul. The identity of the author remains unknown today.
Determining authorship is only one of the difficulties in studying the Letter to the Hebrews. It is also full of obscure terms that challenge the modern mind. In today’s passage, for example, we scratch our heads trying to interpret the meaning of how humans “through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.” Is the letter trying to say, like Prince Hamlet in his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, that humans are not free to do what they want because they fear death?
No, it is not that. Such a fear would at least have us doing what is right. The fear to which the letter refers is a deeper anxiety that would paralyze us from doing any good at all. It is a fear that would so preoccupy us with the terror of death that we could not love God or neighbor. The letter tells us, however, that Christ has eliminated this kind of fear by his resurrection from the dead. Now we can, in the words of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, “befriend death” because it only unites us securely with God, the object of our living.
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