Monday, May 28, 2018

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Memorial Day)

(I Peter 1:3-9; Mark 10:17-27)

Today the United States celebrates Memorial Day.  For generations Americans have isolated a day at the end of May to pray for their war dead.  These primarily include young men who died in wars fought to defend their country.  Because they were young, they tended to rashly follow their hearts’ desires.  The prayer is that God will forgive them any sins and reward them for serving their country.  In this way they too will partake of the rich inheritance promised in today’s reading from I Peter.

The Letter of Peter is written for Christians who suffer persecution.  The suffering may stem from friends whose corrupt pleasures the disciples of Christ no longer share.  Or it may come from authorities who cannot tolerate their abandoning the ancient gods.  The letter exhorts those Christians to carry on the struggle.  It holds up as a reward the prize of heaven.  It also suggests as an even more basic reason to resist temptation in their relationship with Jesus.  He will one day be revealed as savior of the whole world.

As well as our war dead we should pray today for those who are being persecuted for their faith.  Whether they are Christians in Pakistan, Muslims in Myanmar, or Baha’is in Iran, we pray that they will realize the promise of Jesus Christ.  Having tried, as they did, to serve others, we pray that God will welcome them into eternal life.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Peter 1:3-9; Mark 10:17-27)

Scholars doubt whether St. Peter the Apostle actually wrote the letter from which today’s first reading is drawn.  As always, they provide multiple reasons for making such a shocking charge.  First, they ask if a fisherman from Galilee could have written the eloquent Greek of the letter.  Then, they wonder why Peter would write to the churches in Asia Minor where Paul was the principal evangelizer.  Also, they note that the continual reference to persecution bespeaks a time after Peter’s own martyrdom when persecution in Asia Minor was more likely.

Today’s passage demonstrates both the eloquent argumentation of the author and the reference to persecution.  It speaks of “a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus” which is a sophisticated reference to Baptism.  It also refers to the “trials” which the addressees are experiencing as ways to prove their love for Christ.

We should not hastily conclude that a biblical author is not the one purported in the work itself.  At the same time we must recognize that such a charge does not undermine our faith.  The use of a false name as the author of a religious document did not create the scandal in the early Church that it does today.  Writers frequently used the name of a famous personage when they tried to faithfully reflect the ideas of the celebrity.  In any case we are reminded by the Second Vatican Council that Biblical inerrancy does not guarantee the historical accuracy of every detail but the general truth that God has revealed for our salvation.  We see in First Peter an inspiring testimony that we must cling to the promise of salvation which faith in Christ holds.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (Memorial Day)

(I Peter 1:3-9; Mark 10:17-27)

“Where have all the flowers gone?” asks a popular folk song of the 1960s. It answers its own question: flowers have gone to young girls, who have gone to soldiers, who have gone to graveyards, from which have sprouted more flowers. And so the world never seems to learn that war terribly wastes human life. Today the United States remembers its war dead, mostly young men who were killed in military actions instigated by others. Many will pray that all those who have given their lives in defense of their country will receive the inheritance afforded by Christ as the reading from the first letter of Peter states.

The letter is obviously meant to shore up the hope of early Christians suffering persecution. The author reminds them that faith has eternal salvation as its goal. He assures them that whatever trial they experience will be richly rewarded if they can, like their brother Jesus, love those who oppose them even when their enemies’ swords are raised against them.

Since expecting soldiers in battle to love their enemies means more self-denial than most people can muster, we pray that God will be merciful to the dead ones. We hope that He will examine their lives to find one selfless deed reminiscent of His Son and for that allow them a dwelling place in His kingdom.