Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Judges 11:29-39a; Matthew 2:1-14)
Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Judges 11:29-39a; Matthew 2:1-14)
Sometimes religious traditions cause inner turmoil. For example, non-Catholics will ask about the necessity of confessing sins to a priest, and Catholics want to know about the need for confession before receiving Holy Communion when one has been distant from the sacraments. The readings today address issues far more perplexing than these, but our answers to these questions should help resolve those issues.
Confessing to a priest as representative of both God and the community assures the humility necessary for contrition and accesses the sinner to spiritual guidance. The Church would say that it is the normal path to forgiveness; however, she realizes, of course, that God is to forgive by other means. What is important here is that we note the necessity of looking deeply into traditions before criticizing their value.
In the first reading a prominent Israelite sacrifices his daughter because of a vow he has made. We must be horrified by the act. Perhaps the man was imprudent to make the vow. Still, it should never have been carried out when the life of a human being was at stake. The passage comments on the dismal state of religious understanding during the period of the Judges. Reform was definitely called for.
The gospel tells of a situation that distresses us today, especially the young. “How could God punish people for coming casually to a banquet?” we ask. But everyone at the time knew the established custom of wearing proper attire at a wedding feast as today we know the need not to wear beach clothing in the company of the Pope or the President. What is more, it is said that at ancient wedding feasts the proper clothing was available at the door for anyone who needed it. All this, however, misses Jesus’ point. The wedding garment is but a symbol for good works which make us welcome in the kingdom of heaven. As Jesus indicates in his first public address and specifies in his last, we are to feed the hungry and visit the sick if we are to enter the heavenly kingdom. This kind of service is the wedding garment in Jesus’ parable.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Judges 9:6-15; Matthew 19:1-16)
“In the land where there are no eagles a grasshopper jumps and says, ‘I am an eagle.’” So runs an old Malay fable. Fables are stories which dramatize animals or other non-human entities in order to deliver a moral message. The reading from the Book of Judges today comprises a fable which approximates the one just mentioned. The issue is the appointment of a king over Israel. Useful trees like the olive and the fig refuse the honor of kingship so a buckthorn, which is no more than a bush, assumes the office. The buckthorn represents Abimelech, the cutthroat son of Gideon, who slaughtered seventy half-brothers to secure his throne. He proves consistent in maliciousness by burning alive the people of Migdal-shechem as the reading anticipates.
The moral offered by the story is that Israel should not seek a king but accept the kingship of God. Anything less will only bring heartache as the sequel of today’s passage shows. Jesus in the Gospel passage is preaching the kingship of God as well. He begins by the familiar statement, “The Kingdom of heaven is like ...,” and proceeds to tell the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some of the workers, he says, grumble at the end of the story because the landowner -- the God-figure -- chooses to pay all his workers the same salary. Although it may seem unfair, Jesus only relates the supreme justice of God which enables every worker to provide for his family. The grumblers, on the other hand, insist on a more exacting although, in the end, less beneficent form of justice.
We have every reason to be wary of theocracies – that is, governments supposedly ruled by divine law. We need civil government to regulate the material goods of a society. But we should not be deluded into thinking that governments can make everyone good. For that to happen the grace of God is essential.
(Judges 9:6-15; Matthew 19:1-16)
“In the land where there are no eagles a grasshopper jumps and says, ‘I am an eagle.’” So runs an old Malay fable. Fables are stories which dramatize animals or other non-human entities in order to deliver a moral message. The reading from the Book of Judges today comprises a fable which approximates the one just mentioned. The issue is the appointment of a king over Israel. Useful trees like the olive and the fig refuse the honor of kingship so a buckthorn, which is no more than a bush, assumes the office. The buckthorn represents Abimelech, the cutthroat son of Gideon, who slaughtered seventy half-brothers to secure his throne. He proves consistent in maliciousness by burning alive the people of Migdal-shechem as the reading anticipates.
The moral offered by the story is that Israel should not seek a king but accept the kingship of God. Anything less will only bring heartache as the sequel of today’s passage shows. Jesus in the Gospel passage is preaching the kingship of God as well. He begins by the familiar statement, “The Kingdom of heaven is like ...,” and proceeds to tell the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some of the workers, he says, grumble at the end of the story because the landowner -- the God-figure -- chooses to pay all his workers the same salary. Although it may seem unfair, Jesus only relates the supreme justice of God which enables every worker to provide for his family. The grumblers, on the other hand, insist on a more exacting although, in the end, less beneficent form of justice.
We have every reason to be wary of theocracies – that is, governments supposedly ruled by divine law. We need civil government to regulate the material goods of a society. But we should not be deluded into thinking that governments can make everyone good. For that to happen the grace of God is essential.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)
The casual talk between Gideon and the angel sounds something like “Saturday Night Live.” When the angel assures Gideon that the Lord stands with His people, Gideon retorts cynically. “If the Lord is with us,” he asks, “then why has all this (humiliation) happened to us?” The answer to the query, however, should be obvious to Gideon. The reason for the lack of Israelite success against the Midianites is their infidelity to their Covenant with God. Compromising their integrity as a people, they become easy prey to enemies.
Gideon may be talking flippantly because he is not sure whether the stranger before him is really the Lord. He asks for a sign which is soon given when fire consumes Gideon’s sacrificial offering. Knowing that he is in the Lord’s presence, Gideon begins to wonder if he will suffer for his impertinence However, God assures him not to worry.
We should not hesitate to open our hearts to God in prayer like Gideon. But humility is called for in such awesome company. God is, after all, our Creator and not our buddy. He befriends us out of love but does not share our tendencies to complain and gossip. We should speak with Him as with a revered professor who has deigned to give us his time. That is, we are wise to be attentive to His correction and appreciative of His encouragement.
(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)
The casual talk between Gideon and the angel sounds something like “Saturday Night Live.” When the angel assures Gideon that the Lord stands with His people, Gideon retorts cynically. “If the Lord is with us,” he asks, “then why has all this (humiliation) happened to us?” The answer to the query, however, should be obvious to Gideon. The reason for the lack of Israelite success against the Midianites is their infidelity to their Covenant with God. Compromising their integrity as a people, they become easy prey to enemies.
Gideon may be talking flippantly because he is not sure whether the stranger before him is really the Lord. He asks for a sign which is soon given when fire consumes Gideon’s sacrificial offering. Knowing that he is in the Lord’s presence, Gideon begins to wonder if he will suffer for his impertinence However, God assures him not to worry.
We should not hesitate to open our hearts to God in prayer like Gideon. But humility is called for in such awesome company. God is, after all, our Creator and not our buddy. He befriends us out of love but does not share our tendencies to complain and gossip. We should speak with Him as with a revered professor who has deigned to give us his time. That is, we are wise to be attentive to His correction and appreciative of His encouragement.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Revelation 19a.12:1-6a.10ab; I Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56)
Biblical scholar Fr. Raymond E. Brown, being concerned about ecumenical relations, tried to reassure his Protestant colleagues that Catholic traditions are not as unbiblical as detractors claim. Regarding Catholic teachings about Mary, he pointed out that what the Church professes of Mary, she generally envisions for all Christians. With this perspective we can say that although extraordinary, the dogma of Mary’s Assumption - body and soul - into heaven is essentially the destiny of all the faithful at the end of time. The reading from First Corinthians hints at a progression. It states that Christ was raised as the first fruits of redemption. The “proper order” to which St. Paul alludes then may be interpreted as Mary, the mother of Christ, being raised after him and before all others.
The doctrine of the immortal soul has clouded appreciation of the resurrection of the body which we believe awaits us. Although the soul or life’s breath somehow has existence outside the body, it originates with the body and depends on the body for development. The body is not just a container for the soul as a pitcher for water so that any body might contain my soul. No, my soul needs my body to be who it is. When I die, my body will yearn until the end of time for reunification with my body. The doctrine of the Assumption reassures us that this is bound to happen.
(Revelation 19a.12:1-6a.10ab; I Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56)
Biblical scholar Fr. Raymond E. Brown, being concerned about ecumenical relations, tried to reassure his Protestant colleagues that Catholic traditions are not as unbiblical as detractors claim. Regarding Catholic teachings about Mary, he pointed out that what the Church professes of Mary, she generally envisions for all Christians. With this perspective we can say that although extraordinary, the dogma of Mary’s Assumption - body and soul - into heaven is essentially the destiny of all the faithful at the end of time. The reading from First Corinthians hints at a progression. It states that Christ was raised as the first fruits of redemption. The “proper order” to which St. Paul alludes then may be interpreted as Mary, the mother of Christ, being raised after him and before all others.
The doctrine of the immortal soul has clouded appreciation of the resurrection of the body which we believe awaits us. Although the soul or life’s breath somehow has existence outside the body, it originates with the body and depends on the body for development. The body is not just a container for the soul as a pitcher for water so that any body might contain my soul. No, my soul needs my body to be who it is. When I die, my body will yearn until the end of time for reunification with my body. The doctrine of the Assumption reassures us that this is bound to happen.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Joshua 24:1-13; Matthew 19:3-12)
A story was told of Andrew Carnegie, one’s of America’s richest men and leading philanthropists. One day a beggar asked Carnegie to share his wealth with him. Carnegie reached in his pocket, pulled out a few coins worth perhaps seven cents, and handed them to the man. The beggar was taken aback, but Carnegie explained that it was the beggar’s portion of all Carnegie’s wealth divided by the number of people in the world.
As Carnegie tried to impress on the beggar that his wealth was for everyone, Joshua reminds the Israelites that their fortune was not their own doing. Indeed, God has been their benefactor at every point in their illustrious saga. But Joshua indicates that it has not only been the Lord who provided for their needs, countless humans – Amorites, Perrezites, Canaanites, et al. -- were God’s immediate instruments leaving their prosperity to the people of Israel. His point is that the people should be grateful to God and to heed His commands which are in good part directed to social solidarity.
We must beware that selfishness and greed does not allow us to forget God and neighbor. All of us, as Joshua says, are beneficiaries of land that we did not till and cities that we did not build. Richly endowed by our forebears, we are not so much to pay back as to pay forward. That is, we are to thank God by generosity contributing to efforts which shape a society where everyone can live, grow, and prosper.
(Joshua 24:1-13; Matthew 19:3-12)
A story was told of Andrew Carnegie, one’s of America’s richest men and leading philanthropists. One day a beggar asked Carnegie to share his wealth with him. Carnegie reached in his pocket, pulled out a few coins worth perhaps seven cents, and handed them to the man. The beggar was taken aback, but Carnegie explained that it was the beggar’s portion of all Carnegie’s wealth divided by the number of people in the world.
As Carnegie tried to impress on the beggar that his wealth was for everyone, Joshua reminds the Israelites that their fortune was not their own doing. Indeed, God has been their benefactor at every point in their illustrious saga. But Joshua indicates that it has not only been the Lord who provided for their needs, countless humans – Amorites, Perrezites, Canaanites, et al. -- were God’s immediate instruments leaving their prosperity to the people of Israel. His point is that the people should be grateful to God and to heed His commands which are in good part directed to social solidarity.
We must beware that selfishness and greed does not allow us to forget God and neighbor. All of us, as Joshua says, are beneficiaries of land that we did not till and cities that we did not build. Richly endowed by our forebears, we are not so much to pay back as to pay forward. That is, we are to thank God by generosity contributing to efforts which shape a society where everyone can live, grow, and prosper.
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