Tuesday of Holy Week
(Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33.36-38)
In a NBA playoff gave a few years ago, Cleveland Cavalier star LeBron James gave an especially memorable performance. He was all over the court – shooting, dribbling, and rebounding – to give his team the margin of victory. Somewhat similarly Jesus controls the action in the Gospel according to John.
In today’s passage, Jesus not only predicts that Judas will betray him but gives him the cue to act. Likewise, he foretells Peter’s denial. Earlier in the gospel Jesus said, “No one takes (my life) from me… I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again” (John 10:18). Throughout the passion narrative we see Jesus fulfilling this prophecy.
Hearing the gospel, we can be assured that Jesus will enable us to overcome any difficulty that we face. Whether it be finding a job in a troubled economy or coping with cancer, if we stay close to the Lord Jesus, he will provide us the grace to overcome any obstacle in our path.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday of Holy Week
(Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11)
In one of last week’s gospel passages, the Jews become indignant to think of themselves as slaves of anyone. Their rejection of the term is ironic mostly because the Jews indeed lived as a subjugated people for swaths of history but also because they have seen themselves as the corporate Servant of the Lord as pictured by Isaiah in the first reading. Christians have not been reluctant to see Jesus and themselves as slaves in a metaphorical sense, at least.
In our minds we may distinguish servant from slave but in Hebrew the same word serves for both. A servant in ancient society was not a free person who hires him or herself out for domestic work but a person owned by a household. It was a degrading position as countless witnesses of American slavery attest. Yet Jesus put himself in the position in as much as he did the dirty work for the salvation of the world. In the gospel Jesus does not flinch from being anointed with costly oil because he knows that he is about to suffer in a worse way than the most abused slave and also because he is aware of the good intentions of the person who anoints him.
As much as Jews since the Holocaust see themselves as God’s corporate Servant of the Lord, the Church identifies with Jesus, whose life and death clearly reflect the description in Isaiah. We serve the world by deeds of justice and charity. When we support a poor child in Honduras or campaign for worker rights in Mexican maquiladoras, we add further testimony that Jesus brings justice to the nations.
(Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11)
In one of last week’s gospel passages, the Jews become indignant to think of themselves as slaves of anyone. Their rejection of the term is ironic mostly because the Jews indeed lived as a subjugated people for swaths of history but also because they have seen themselves as the corporate Servant of the Lord as pictured by Isaiah in the first reading. Christians have not been reluctant to see Jesus and themselves as slaves in a metaphorical sense, at least.
In our minds we may distinguish servant from slave but in Hebrew the same word serves for both. A servant in ancient society was not a free person who hires him or herself out for domestic work but a person owned by a household. It was a degrading position as countless witnesses of American slavery attest. Yet Jesus put himself in the position in as much as he did the dirty work for the salvation of the world. In the gospel Jesus does not flinch from being anointed with costly oil because he knows that he is about to suffer in a worse way than the most abused slave and also because he is aware of the good intentions of the person who anoints him.
As much as Jews since the Holocaust see themselves as God’s corporate Servant of the Lord, the Church identifies with Jesus, whose life and death clearly reflect the description in Isaiah. We serve the world by deeds of justice and charity. When we support a poor child in Honduras or campaign for worker rights in Mexican maquiladoras, we add further testimony that Jesus brings justice to the nations.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(Jeremiah 20:10-13; John 10:31-42)
Cell telephone numbers may help us understand the prohibition of blasphemy mentioned in the gospel today. If you know your boss’s cell number, you are not likely to use it without good reason. Nor would you share it with everyone who may ask you for it. God’s name -- certainly in the ancient world and still so today -- serves a purpose similar purpose. It invokes God’s immediate presence. Blasphemy, the flagrant use of God’s name, includes more than making light of it. Taking a false oath incurs the charge of blasphemy as does prophesying without due authorization and arrogating to oneself the place of God.
In the gospel the Jews accuse Jesus of blasphemy for calling himself the “Son of God.” The incident takes place outside evidently near an open field where the Jews can find rocks to stone Jesus for the well-attested Old Testament crime. Nevertheless, we must understand the charge as more serious than that of a few zealous thugs taking the execution of the Law into their own hands. John’s gospel lacks a trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (ruling council) of the Jews. Especially the Gospels of Matthew and Mark show Jesus in this much formal setting responding to the same charge. If Jesus were not the person he claims to be, he would justly be found guilty of a very serious crime.
When we pray “hallowed be thy name,” we give testimony to the seriousness of blasphemy. For good reason, we do not penalize everyone today who curses, takes a false oath, or acts as if s/he were God Almighty. Yet we must take care not to betray the reverence we have for God’s name and for Jesus’ by blaspheming ourselves or by allowing tolerance for such barbarity to melt into acceptance.
(Jeremiah 20:10-13; John 10:31-42)
Cell telephone numbers may help us understand the prohibition of blasphemy mentioned in the gospel today. If you know your boss’s cell number, you are not likely to use it without good reason. Nor would you share it with everyone who may ask you for it. God’s name -- certainly in the ancient world and still so today -- serves a purpose similar purpose. It invokes God’s immediate presence. Blasphemy, the flagrant use of God’s name, includes more than making light of it. Taking a false oath incurs the charge of blasphemy as does prophesying without due authorization and arrogating to oneself the place of God.
In the gospel the Jews accuse Jesus of blasphemy for calling himself the “Son of God.” The incident takes place outside evidently near an open field where the Jews can find rocks to stone Jesus for the well-attested Old Testament crime. Nevertheless, we must understand the charge as more serious than that of a few zealous thugs taking the execution of the Law into their own hands. John’s gospel lacks a trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (ruling council) of the Jews. Especially the Gospels of Matthew and Mark show Jesus in this much formal setting responding to the same charge. If Jesus were not the person he claims to be, he would justly be found guilty of a very serious crime.
When we pray “hallowed be thy name,” we give testimony to the seriousness of blasphemy. For good reason, we do not penalize everyone today who curses, takes a false oath, or acts as if s/he were God Almighty. Yet we must take care not to betray the reverence we have for God’s name and for Jesus’ by blaspheming ourselves or by allowing tolerance for such barbarity to melt into acceptance.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent
(Genesis 17:3-9; John 8:51-59)
It’s ten o’clock Saturday morning, and your eldest son Bobby is bouncing down the stairs for breakfast. He has slept through the promise he made his younger brother to take him to soccer practice. You ask coolly, “Have you had enough sleep, Robert?” Of course, you are not really concerned about his health. Your question ironically intends to make your son aware that he has failed to keep his promise. The Gospel of John frequently uses such irony.
It is ironic for the Jews in the gospel today to say, “Abraham died as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’” They lack understanding that Jesus is speaking of eternal life whose fullness comes with the resurrection at the end of time.
We need not be hard on the Jews in the gospel for not appreciating eternal life. Its significance escapes many of us as well. It is not merely life without end. Nor is it spiritual life as some envisage a colony of ghosts in heaven. Eternal life is new, extraordinary, challenging to the imagination. At the same time recalling glimpses of the resurrected Jesus, we can say that it is conscious, corporal, and joyous. We might compare it to witnessing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with a finale of fireworks, but it is really beyond ourselves to comprehend. We can only wait in hope to experience it.
(Genesis 17:3-9; John 8:51-59)
It’s ten o’clock Saturday morning, and your eldest son Bobby is bouncing down the stairs for breakfast. He has slept through the promise he made his younger brother to take him to soccer practice. You ask coolly, “Have you had enough sleep, Robert?” Of course, you are not really concerned about his health. Your question ironically intends to make your son aware that he has failed to keep his promise. The Gospel of John frequently uses such irony.
It is ironic for the Jews in the gospel today to say, “Abraham died as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’” They lack understanding that Jesus is speaking of eternal life whose fullness comes with the resurrection at the end of time.
We need not be hard on the Jews in the gospel for not appreciating eternal life. Its significance escapes many of us as well. It is not merely life without end. Nor is it spiritual life as some envisage a colony of ghosts in heaven. Eternal life is new, extraordinary, challenging to the imagination. At the same time recalling glimpses of the resurrected Jesus, we can say that it is conscious, corporal, and joyous. We might compare it to witnessing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with a finale of fireworks, but it is really beyond ourselves to comprehend. We can only wait in hope to experience it.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Lent
(Daniel 3:14-20.91-92.95; John 8:31-42)
A woman recently published an article in the Christian Science Monitor with the intriguing title, “Do brothels and bikinis mark progress for Arab women?” The author believes that the revolutions shaking the Arab world would be counter-productive if they bring to power chauvinists who allow women to be exploited in the name of freedom. In a sense she takes a position not far from Jesus’ in his debate with the Jews about true freedom.
Jesus speaks of freedom as a quality of the soul that shuns sinful desires when he tells the Jews, “If you remain in my word…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We see as captive the addict who cannot “say no to drugs.” Equally un-free, although there may be no civil crime impugning him or her, is the habitual liar or blasphemer. The Jews, on the other hand, are using the popular notion of freedom when they say that they have never been enslaved to anyone. This statement not only misses Jesus’ point; it also denies history as the Jews were enslaved to the Babylonians (as the first reading indicates) and even in Jesus’ time are under Roman rule.
Learning the truth by becoming Jesus’ disciples, we are set free from those inner impulses that can dominate us. He teaches us humility to check pride, simplicity to counter greed, gentleness to curb anger, and much more. We should not make the mistake of saying that these virtues contribute little to happiness. They enable us to do what we most deeply desire and, thus, lead us to our most cherished goal in life.
(Daniel 3:14-20.91-92.95; John 8:31-42)
A woman recently published an article in the Christian Science Monitor with the intriguing title, “Do brothels and bikinis mark progress for Arab women?” The author believes that the revolutions shaking the Arab world would be counter-productive if they bring to power chauvinists who allow women to be exploited in the name of freedom. In a sense she takes a position not far from Jesus’ in his debate with the Jews about true freedom.
Jesus speaks of freedom as a quality of the soul that shuns sinful desires when he tells the Jews, “If you remain in my word…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We see as captive the addict who cannot “say no to drugs.” Equally un-free, although there may be no civil crime impugning him or her, is the habitual liar or blasphemer. The Jews, on the other hand, are using the popular notion of freedom when they say that they have never been enslaved to anyone. This statement not only misses Jesus’ point; it also denies history as the Jews were enslaved to the Babylonians (as the first reading indicates) and even in Jesus’ time are under Roman rule.
Learning the truth by becoming Jesus’ disciples, we are set free from those inner impulses that can dominate us. He teaches us humility to check pride, simplicity to counter greed, gentleness to curb anger, and much more. We should not make the mistake of saying that these virtues contribute little to happiness. They enable us to do what we most deeply desire and, thus, lead us to our most cherished goal in life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)