Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 9:1-13; Mark 8:27-33)
The woman had an inoperable brain tumor. The doctor had just told her that he could do nothing more for her. Most likely, he said, she would die soon. Of course, the news troubled the woman and her family. They wondered how the doctor could be so sure. “Should he not have held out some hope?” they asked themselves. Disbelieving the doctor’s prognosis, the family resembled Peter in the gospel today. The chief apostle refuses to accept Jesus’ prediction of the suffering he faces.
We can imagine the thoughts racing through Peter’s mind when he refutes Jesus. He may be thinking that Jesus has power to lay his enemies in the dust. Or possibly that he and the other disciples will defend Jesus if anyone lifts a finger against him. Or even that all the Jews will soon come to recognize Jesus as the Christ. If, as Jesus says, Peter thinks as human beings do and not like God, then Jesus knows all too well how human beings think. He realizes that when push comes to shove, his disciples will fold like a house of cards. Likewise, he perceives the Jewish religious establishment in Jerusalem as too settled to acknowledge a preacher and healer from Galilee as God’s chosen one. Most of all, Jesus knows that human thoughts concentrate on the bread that lasts but a day without considering seriously the eternal banquet which God has promised.
“Human kind cannot bear very much reality,” T.S. Eliot once wrote. By “reality” he was referring to both the trauma of death and the stiff price Jesus paid to remedy that affliction. And so, like Peter we think that we might circumvent tragedy by good genes or right living. Added to that, we fail to grasp the intense and unremitting love that moves Jesus to die for us. Like Peter, we must be shaken out of our fantasies in order to follow Jesus.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 8:6-13.20-22; Mark 8:22-26)
In the reading from Genesis Noah, after saving all types of animals, abruptly kills some for sacrifice. For this reason God pronounces the judgment, “…the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start.” However, if killing and eating animal flesh indicates human wickedness (it was not done before Adam and Eve’s sin), it at least will be controlled. Noah does not slaughter animals wholesale to make a sacrifice ever more pleasing to God.
When God establishes His covenant with Noah, about which we will read tomorrow at Mass, He will allow humans to eat the flesh of other animals, but always within limits. Humans will not be allowed to eat the blood of animals. Noah here is seeking a new relationship with the Lord through sacrifice as a sign of dependence while the justice ordained by the law will be God’s terms for a new relationship with humans.
Despite their sacrifices humans will have difficulty bowing their spirits to the Lord. They may even keep the law in practice, but they will deny its intent. Finally, however, the sacrifice of Jesus, the God-human, will gain for humans a lasting relationship with God. And the new law, which he gives as nothing less than the Holy Spirit working in human hearts, will produce true justice.
(Genesis 8:6-13.20-22; Mark 8:22-26)
In the reading from Genesis Noah, after saving all types of animals, abruptly kills some for sacrifice. For this reason God pronounces the judgment, “…the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start.” However, if killing and eating animal flesh indicates human wickedness (it was not done before Adam and Eve’s sin), it at least will be controlled. Noah does not slaughter animals wholesale to make a sacrifice ever more pleasing to God.
When God establishes His covenant with Noah, about which we will read tomorrow at Mass, He will allow humans to eat the flesh of other animals, but always within limits. Humans will not be allowed to eat the blood of animals. Noah here is seeking a new relationship with the Lord through sacrifice as a sign of dependence while the justice ordained by the law will be God’s terms for a new relationship with humans.
Despite their sacrifices humans will have difficulty bowing their spirits to the Lord. They may even keep the law in practice, but they will deny its intent. Finally, however, the sacrifice of Jesus, the God-human, will gain for humans a lasting relationship with God. And the new law, which he gives as nothing less than the Holy Spirit working in human hearts, will produce true justice.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 5:5-8.7:1-5.10; Mark 8:14-21)
We should view Genesis as telling the human story from a philosophical and theological, not a historical, point of view if we are to garner its wisdom. Where today’s passage speaks of human wickedness, it means to decry the state of life without laws to guide people. We might wonder why God, who is supposedly omniscient, did not know beforehand that humans would turn out corrupted, but that is not allowing the story to unfold in its artistic way.
There is one man, however, who does not perpetrate evil. Noah finds favor with the Lord because, as is soon shown, he does exactly what the Lord commands him. He is unlike all the other men and women of his age. Because of him God will try again. But the next time humans are allowed to flourish they will have covenantal laws for guidance. More than one covenant, however, will be necessary to finally put humans firmly on the path of righteousness.
Some have belittled Genesis’ flood story as a mere retelling of part of the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh epic. Although it is more than likely that some borrowing went on, there are still critical distinctions between the two which highlight the biblical conception of life. Succinctly put, these differences amount to God being in complete control of the reestablishment of human society. The ark only preserves life which God will reshape. It does not attempt, as the ship in the Gilgamesh epic, to save a vestige of human civilization which has proved to be entirely wanting.
(Genesis 5:5-8.7:1-5.10; Mark 8:14-21)
We should view Genesis as telling the human story from a philosophical and theological, not a historical, point of view if we are to garner its wisdom. Where today’s passage speaks of human wickedness, it means to decry the state of life without laws to guide people. We might wonder why God, who is supposedly omniscient, did not know beforehand that humans would turn out corrupted, but that is not allowing the story to unfold in its artistic way.
There is one man, however, who does not perpetrate evil. Noah finds favor with the Lord because, as is soon shown, he does exactly what the Lord commands him. He is unlike all the other men and women of his age. Because of him God will try again. But the next time humans are allowed to flourish they will have covenantal laws for guidance. More than one covenant, however, will be necessary to finally put humans firmly on the path of righteousness.
Some have belittled Genesis’ flood story as a mere retelling of part of the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh epic. Although it is more than likely that some borrowing went on, there are still critical distinctions between the two which highlight the biblical conception of life. Succinctly put, these differences amount to God being in complete control of the reestablishment of human society. The ark only preserves life which God will reshape. It does not attempt, as the ship in the Gilgamesh epic, to save a vestige of human civilization which has proved to be entirely wanting.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Memorial of Saint Cyril, monk, and Saint Methodius, bishop
(Genesis 4:1-15.25; Mark 8:11-13)
What is wrong with Cain’s offering that God does not look favorably upon it? Genesis does not specify. We might have heard as children that Cain presented rotten vegetables, but that is not likely. More in line with the biblical tradition is that nothing is wrong with the sacrifice per se, but with the presenter. Through the prophets the Lord frequently tells the people that their sacrifices are wanting because they are not made sincerely. A sacrifice should symbolize the person’s dedication of self to God, but in the case of Cain he is not ready to give himself over. It is like the unfaithful husband who tries to appease his wife with a diamond.
But how does God know that Cain is up to no good? After all, the reading does not tell us that he has done anything wrong until he murders Abel. Another axiom of Scripture, however, is that God does not judge by appearances; He knows the hearts of people. For this reason He can say to Cain, “…sin is lurking at your door.” Of course, Cain is free not to sin. God even tells him that he may overcome any malicious desire. Obviously, though, that is not Cain’s will.
The passage also intimates God’s everlasting mercy. Even without repenting of his sin but only for bewailing his punishment, God is ready to act on Cain’s behalf. Of what exactly God’s “mark on Cain” consists the Scripture does not say. However, we can be assured, precisely becomes it comes from the Almighty, that it does protect Cain, like a Red Cross flag, from enemy attack.
(Genesis 4:1-15.25; Mark 8:11-13)
What is wrong with Cain’s offering that God does not look favorably upon it? Genesis does not specify. We might have heard as children that Cain presented rotten vegetables, but that is not likely. More in line with the biblical tradition is that nothing is wrong with the sacrifice per se, but with the presenter. Through the prophets the Lord frequently tells the people that their sacrifices are wanting because they are not made sincerely. A sacrifice should symbolize the person’s dedication of self to God, but in the case of Cain he is not ready to give himself over. It is like the unfaithful husband who tries to appease his wife with a diamond.
But how does God know that Cain is up to no good? After all, the reading does not tell us that he has done anything wrong until he murders Abel. Another axiom of Scripture, however, is that God does not judge by appearances; He knows the hearts of people. For this reason He can say to Cain, “…sin is lurking at your door.” Of course, Cain is free not to sin. God even tells him that he may overcome any malicious desire. Obviously, though, that is not Cain’s will.
The passage also intimates God’s everlasting mercy. Even without repenting of his sin but only for bewailing his punishment, God is ready to act on Cain’s behalf. Of what exactly God’s “mark on Cain” consists the Scripture does not say. However, we can be assured, precisely becomes it comes from the Almighty, that it does protect Cain, like a Red Cross flag, from enemy attack.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes
(Genesis 3:1-8; Mark 7:31-37)
The surgeon came to see the patient with a broken femur. He brusquely maneuvered the injured leg and asked if the patient felt any pain. There wasn’t any. The doctor knew his craft. His colleague would mend the bone with a metal plate. The patient would be told that he would never have to look at the scar to determine which leg had been broken, but that did not turn out to be the case. Within two years he could feel no difference between his two legs.
Jesus acts like the surgeon in the gospel reading. He fingers the deaf man’s ears and spits on his hampered tongue as a kind of therapy. Perhaps he entreats his Father when he looks up to heaven, but there is a sense that he has mastered the art of healing. In any event, the man’s defects are corrected; he can hear Jesus’ voice and thank him for the act of mercy.
Because of the many cures witnessed at Lourdes over the last century and a half, sick Catholics flock there for healing around the anniversary of the first appearance of our Lady. It is said that a communal faith is felt among the pilgrims that overshadows personal desire for relief. Most people return home with their ailments unassuaged but at the same time supremely uplifted. Jesus has touched them. They can now endure the pains of illness and even face the terror of death. He has made them all right.
(Genesis 3:1-8; Mark 7:31-37)
The surgeon came to see the patient with a broken femur. He brusquely maneuvered the injured leg and asked if the patient felt any pain. There wasn’t any. The doctor knew his craft. His colleague would mend the bone with a metal plate. The patient would be told that he would never have to look at the scar to determine which leg had been broken, but that did not turn out to be the case. Within two years he could feel no difference between his two legs.
Jesus acts like the surgeon in the gospel reading. He fingers the deaf man’s ears and spits on his hampered tongue as a kind of therapy. Perhaps he entreats his Father when he looks up to heaven, but there is a sense that he has mastered the art of healing. In any event, the man’s defects are corrected; he can hear Jesus’ voice and thank him for the act of mercy.
Because of the many cures witnessed at Lourdes over the last century and a half, sick Catholics flock there for healing around the anniversary of the first appearance of our Lady. It is said that a communal faith is felt among the pilgrims that overshadows personal desire for relief. Most people return home with their ailments unassuaged but at the same time supremely uplifted. Jesus has touched them. They can now endure the pains of illness and even face the terror of death. He has made them all right.
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