Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Samuel16:1-13; Mark 2:23-28)

Orthodox Jews celebrate every Sabbath as if it were Christmas Day for Christians.  No one does any work.  People go to the synagogue to hear the word of God with comments by a well-educated rabbi. Families come together to talk, eat, perhaps sing, and play together. It is a day to imagine what heaven will be like.

Jesus, a good Jew, also celebrated the Sabbath.  By no means did he want to forbid its rituals, joys, and demands.  But he does see the need at times to dispense with some of the rules.  In today’s gospel he tells the Pharisees that because his disciples need to eat, he gives them permission to pick grain on the Sabbath.

Christians have transferred the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week.  But we are urged not to let go of the religious, celebrative, or communal nature of the day.  For us Sunday is the day of the new creation.  We have been remade, free from sin and destined for eternal life.  Contemplating what this means is an activity worthy of the Sabbath.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

(Hebrews 6:10-10; Mark 2:23-28)

The “law of the jungle” merely acknowledges  that people with power get their way.  As a society develops, it makes laws to protect weaker members.  There is a law against robbery which protects people from being held up by ruffians.  Likewise, a law protects a debtor from being forced into prison or, worse, slavery.  For the same reason a mature society has laws to protect the unborn.  These innocent human beings require protection just to survive.  In striking down virtually all laws prohibiting abortion the Supreme Court betrayed this nation’s heritage of protecting the weak from brute force.

Today’s gospel speaks of the Sabbath law, which we know as the Third Commandment.  God established it to protect people from overwork.  In fact, all just laws are for the good of the people.  For this reason the Supreme Court decision’s forty-six years ago has been so distressing.  It ignores the good of the people.  In fact, it disregards the need of society’s weakest members for survival.

From its beginnings the Church has condemned abortion.  It will not stop doing so today.  It asks its members to pray for legal protection of the unborn.  It also encourages them to do more than pray.  We might join a march protesting the Supreme Court decision.  We might donate to organizations that are working to establish laws protecting different categories of the unborn.  We should tell our children about the evil of abortion.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Memorial of Saint Anthony, abbot

(Hebrews 6:10-20; Mark 2:23-28)

When Fr. Dan gave retreats for priests, he insisted that they take seriously the “Sabbath.”  He explained that God designated one day of the week for complete rest.  Jewish Law designates the seventh day – Saturday – as the Sabbath.  In this way it conforms the practice of the people to the Book of Genesis where God rests after six days of creation.  Christians have transferred the Sabbath to the eighth day -- Sunday – on which Christ’s resurrection recreated the universe.  Fr. Dan recognized that priests work on Sunday in performing their ministry.  So he told them to find and stick to another day for rest.  He was applying the same kind of flexibility that Jesus shows in today’s gospel passage.

The Pharisees perform an invaluable service when they promote fulfillment of the Sabbath Law.  Too often people abuse their own good and do not give God His due by foregoing Sabbath ritual.  But the Pharisees were too strict in their interpretation.  They were unable to see exceptions even in the case of extreme need.  Jesus is more flexible.  He admits that in the case of hunger one might pick grain to eat: “’The Sabbath,” he says, “’was made for man.’”  He makes another crucial point when he says, “’…the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.’”  This indicates his divinity.  Since God instituted the Sabbath law, only He might alter it.

The Sabbath principle, as observing one day of worship and rest each week is sometimes called, causes difficulty today.  We want to take weekends off with no concern about attending mass.  We also have work obligations every day, including Sundays. We should follow Jesus’ pointers in today’s gospel.  Some slack may be given for work because the Sabbath is made for human good.  But we should make a reasonable attempt to attend mass as a way to give due praise to “’the lord of the Sabbath.’” 

Tuesday, January 19, 2015

Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Samuel 16:1-13; Mark 2:23-28)

To appreciate today’s gospel requires a proper understanding of the Jewish notion of Sabbath.  It was certainly more than a long weekend as it has become in contemporary times.  Rather it was a gift from God to escape the drudgery of work.  Indeed, observing the Sabbath by desisting from all work imitated God’s own action after completing the work of creation.  In Jesus’ time Sabbath observance was indicative of one’s faithfulness to the Covenant which God contracted with the people of Israel.

The Pharisees criticize Jesus’ disciples for two reasons.  They see them working on the Sabbath by picking grain to eat.  Their complaint includes as well that the disciples are walking farther than was allowed as a restriction of one’s physical effort.

Jesus responds to the Pharisees by referring to the story of David sharing consecrated bread with his hungry companions.  His disciples may have been similarly hungry, but that is not the main issue here.  What is more important is that Jesus assumes the authority of David, God’s anointed.  As the Messiah, Jesus is claiming the right to dispense Sabbath obligations.

We want to follow Jesus by first worshipping him on Sunday, the new Sabbath.  We also follow Jesus by using Sunday as a time to recuperate our energy spent in work during the week.  Finally, we follow Jesus by being slow to criticize others who don’t seem to comply with ever law and social custom.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr

(I Samuel 16:1-13; Mark 2:23-28)

St. Agnes was such a beautiful girl that many young men wanted to marry her, but she was determined to consecrate her virginity to God.  In the midst of the Diocletian persecution at the beginning of the fourth century she was denounced to the authorities and beheaded.  There can be little doubt that she considered herself wedded to Christ – the only one worthy of such sacrifice.

In the struggle against hardness of heart Jesus demonstrates his worthiness as today’s gospel shows.  The Pharisees want to criticize Jesus’ disciples for picking grain to eat on the Sabbath.  Evidently the latter were hungry with no ready food available.  If they were to celebrate the Sabbath at all, they had to find something to eat.  Jesus amply defends them by saying that the Sabbath was made for people to enjoy. 

Today people go to the opposite extreme.  They often turn the Sabbath into a day of total recreation.  Although rest and renewal are certainly integral to the celebration, we must not forget that it is the Lord’s Day.  Like St. Agnes we remember him foremost by attending mass if at all possible.  Then we can recreate with family and friends.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

(Hebrews 6:10-20; Mark 2:23-28)

The famous South Rim of Big Bend National Park used to have sections cordoned off so hikers could not pass. The park curators wanted to create sanctuaries so that eagle hens might successfully hatch their offspring. Unfortunately our society does not insist on the same treatment for its human offspring.

Today is the fortieth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s infamous decision to allow abortion on demand. For some inchoate reason the majority decided that a woman’s choice to have or dump her already conceived offspring trumps that baby’s right to life. We can see Jesus in the gospel today as protecting that right against the lesser claim. His defense of his disciples’ picking grain to eat on the Sabbath preserves their right to food against the charge of the Pharisees that absolutely no work should be done on the Sabbath.

The leadership of the Church in the United States has asked all Catholics to pray today for an end to abortion on demand. Of course, such a prayer would be in vain if we do not at the same time nurture an ethic of life. We should refrain from harsh judgment and action. Let us also take care of those in need especially by assisting those women with troubled pregnancies.

Homilette for Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 6:10-20; Mark 2:23-28)

Many years ago, when the school year went considerably longer than the institutional requirement, an old pastor, Monsignor Joseph, declared the feast of his patron saint a holiday in his parochial school. No doubt he acted out of love for his spiritual children. Although he was denying them a small opportunity to learn, he was showing how Christ gives us great cause to celebrate. Not anyone could proclaim such a holiday, but the pastor then had the authority.

In the same way Jesus demonstrates his authority over the law governing the Sabbath in today’s gospel. He permits the disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath not because they are hungry but simply as a benefit of accompanying him. As the anointed son of God, Jesus possesses the authority to dispense the Law as he sees fit.

However, individuals have no such authority. We must take care not to alter God’s law according to our preferences. But the more important lesson here is that we look to Jesus as his disciples surely do after he grants them the indulgence of picking grain. We too should find in him the joy of our lives.