Thursday, March 15, 2018

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47)

In his innovative call for evangelization, Pope Paul VI wrote of the incomparable value of sterling witness to the gospel.  “Modern man,” he said, “listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”  In today’s gospel Jesus offers witnesses to his working on God’s behalf.

Jewish authorities have been hassling Jesus for curing a paralytic on the Sabbath.  Jesus has defended the action as a work of life that God performs every day of the week.  Now he concludes his defense with three witnesses.    First, he claims that John the Baptist testified on his behalf.  John spoke of Jesus as the one on whom he saw the Spirit of God come down from heaven.  Jesus also says that Moses gave testimony to him.  He may have in mind here the passage from Deuteronomy which tells of a prophet in whose mouth God will put His very words.  Most of all, Jesus offers his own deeds as witness to his working on God’s behalf.  These deeds are not so much the great signs that he has performed but the way he does everything with love.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “’…God so loved the world that he gave His only Son.’”  This love is most tellingly shown when Jesus dies on the cross to redeem the world of sin.  That event centers history.  We have to go back to it continually to begin to appreciate its meaning.  It is what we will be doing in two short weeks.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Feast of Saint Andrew, apostle

(Romans 10:9-18; Matthew 4:18-22)

In his seminal exhortation on evangelization, Pope Paul VI wrote: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” Little is said about the apostle Andrew in the gospels outside of the stories of his being called by Jesus. But as Paul VI said, the witness that he gives in those calls speaks forcefully through the ages.

Peter and Andrew are probably like most fishermen. They love the sea not only as the source of food for the table but also for the freedom it brings. But the call of Jesus is more powerful than the attraction of the sea. They tarry not a minute but respond to the call at once. More than any kind of curiosity on their part, such witness indicates Jesus' charisma that he will fulfill their deepest longings.

We need to give witness as well. It starts with how we present ourselves. Do our homes feature a cross identifying Jesus as he who brings peace to our lives? Do we mention Jesus as the source of our success or do we talk about ourselves as all important? Exhibiting a cross and invoking Jesus’ name tells other of his importance and provides us standards according to which we should pattern our lives.