Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, bishop and martyr
(II Kings 24:8-17; Matthew 7:21-29)
A few years ago a man owning a two hundred year-old house in New England visited Rome. He was bragging a bit about his historic home in the States when it occurred to him that the building in which he was standing went back five hundred years!
In the gospel today Jesus names the condition for a house to remain standing in perpetuity. He says that it must be built upon rock and not upon sand. Of course, he is not concerned about buildings but about people. He means to tell us that if people seek fulfillment in eternal life -- or a fulfilling regular life for that matter -- then they should base their lives upon his words. Doing all that he commands in the Sermon on the Mount, which he completes in today’s reading, will assure his assistance in weathering any storm.
The first reading offers a demonstration of what Jesus is getting at. The dynasty to which Jehoiachin belongs falls because of lack of attention to the word of God. As the reading says, Jehoiachin and his forbears “did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Interestingly, dynasties are frequently called “houses” probably because the accumulated wealth is passed along from ancestor to descendant as if it were stored in a house. Anyway, if dynasties are to survive, just as if individuals are to find fulfillment, their inheritors must practice justice.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
(II Kings 22:8-13.23:1-3; Matthew 7:15-20)
A covenant is a sacred contract in which both sides pledge loyalty to another. In Old Testament times they are made with stated imprecations against the party that breaks the agreements. For this reason in the first reading today the king takes serious the news his people have been lacking in their covenantal agreement with the Lord
The king in the passage is curiously never mentioned by name. He is Josiah who reigned in Judah from 640 – 609 B.C. Josiah tries to reform the people according to God’s law but is either killed in battle or assassinated (the record is unclear) before fulfilling his mission. The prophet Jeremiah praises Josiah as a model king who, in the words of one commentator, “lived simply, acted justly….and defended the poor.”
It is hard but not impossible to act righteously in times when people do not seem to care. King Josiah provides a model for us today when greed is rife and non-marital sexual gratification is considered as normal as eating chocolate mousse.
(II Kings 22:8-13.23:1-3; Matthew 7:15-20)
A covenant is a sacred contract in which both sides pledge loyalty to another. In Old Testament times they are made with stated imprecations against the party that breaks the agreements. For this reason in the first reading today the king takes serious the news his people have been lacking in their covenantal agreement with the Lord
The king in the passage is curiously never mentioned by name. He is Josiah who reigned in Judah from 640 – 609 B.C. Josiah tries to reform the people according to God’s law but is either killed in battle or assassinated (the record is unclear) before fulfilling his mission. The prophet Jeremiah praises Josiah as a model king who, in the words of one commentator, “lived simply, acted justly….and defended the poor.”
It is hard but not impossible to act righteously in times when people do not seem to care. King Josiah provides a model for us today when greed is rife and non-marital sexual gratification is considered as normal as eating chocolate mousse.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
(II Kings 19:9b-11.14-21.31-35a.36; Matthew 7:6.12-14)
Presidents of the United States these days like to mention God, but they don’t dwell at length about Him. They find it politically expedient to say something like, “God bless America,” but they are not likely to express anything near Abraham Lincoln’s sense of God’s involvement in national affairs. The sixteenth president said in his second inaugural address, “If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?” We might, however, find a Lincolnesque quality to Hezekiah’s dire prayer in the first reading today.
Judah is being besieged by the mighty army of Sennacherib of Assyria. Its cause seems hopeless, but somehow the king realizes that Israel’s only real hope has always been God. So he prays, “Therefore, O Lord our God, save us from the power of this man…” Quite astonishingly Judah is spared being overrun. Assyria’s forces are stricken by disease and withdraw.
Like Lincoln we are wise to remember that God does punish offenses. But it is even more urgent that we remember God’s care for His people like Hezekiah. We should pray regularly that we may be spared the severest consequences of our sins and that we may become more loving like God.
(II Kings 19:9b-11.14-21.31-35a.36; Matthew 7:6.12-14)
Presidents of the United States these days like to mention God, but they don’t dwell at length about Him. They find it politically expedient to say something like, “God bless America,” but they are not likely to express anything near Abraham Lincoln’s sense of God’s involvement in national affairs. The sixteenth president said in his second inaugural address, “If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?” We might, however, find a Lincolnesque quality to Hezekiah’s dire prayer in the first reading today.
Judah is being besieged by the mighty army of Sennacherib of Assyria. Its cause seems hopeless, but somehow the king realizes that Israel’s only real hope has always been God. So he prays, “Therefore, O Lord our God, save us from the power of this man…” Quite astonishingly Judah is spared being overrun. Assyria’s forces are stricken by disease and withdraw.
Like Lincoln we are wise to remember that God does punish offenses. But it is even more urgent that we remember God’s care for His people like Hezekiah. We should pray regularly that we may be spared the severest consequences of our sins and that we may become more loving like God.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
(II Kings 17:5-8.13-15a.18; Matthew 7:1-5)
Historian Paul Kennedy thinks that great powers fall because their military campaigns overstretch their economic resources. In contemporary times Kennedy’s theory has successfully predicted the fall of Russia and the rise of China. He warns the United States that it should better balance its military expenditures with economic investment if it is going to maintain a leadership position in the world. The first reading summarizes the story of the downfall of a power twenty-seven hundred years ago. The causes are not the same which Paul Kennedy gives, but a correspondence is noted.
The Kingdom of Israel (or Samaria), long separated from its sister kingdom of Judah, fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Biblical writers ascribe the downfall to the sinfulness of the people. According to today’s passage, Israel worshipped the gods of the land’s original settlers and refused to abide by the covenant made with the Lord. They became undisciplined and divided – an easy prey for their powerful neighbors.
Seeing God’s hand in history is by nature a humble effort. Nations demonstrating righteousness do not always triumph. Others with sinister aims sometimes succeed. But we no longer consider God working through nations such as Israel or the United States. His promise to Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars of night has been transformed from that of a nation to that of a tradition of peoples professing a common faith. To be sure, it is far from fulfilled, but Christianity is gaining momentum in places. It possesses a coherent theological and moral basis that will continue to attract people.
(II Kings 17:5-8.13-15a.18; Matthew 7:1-5)
Historian Paul Kennedy thinks that great powers fall because their military campaigns overstretch their economic resources. In contemporary times Kennedy’s theory has successfully predicted the fall of Russia and the rise of China. He warns the United States that it should better balance its military expenditures with economic investment if it is going to maintain a leadership position in the world. The first reading summarizes the story of the downfall of a power twenty-seven hundred years ago. The causes are not the same which Paul Kennedy gives, but a correspondence is noted.
The Kingdom of Israel (or Samaria), long separated from its sister kingdom of Judah, fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Biblical writers ascribe the downfall to the sinfulness of the people. According to today’s passage, Israel worshipped the gods of the land’s original settlers and refused to abide by the covenant made with the Lord. They became undisciplined and divided – an easy prey for their powerful neighbors.
Seeing God’s hand in history is by nature a humble effort. Nations demonstrating righteousness do not always triumph. Others with sinister aims sometimes succeed. But we no longer consider God working through nations such as Israel or the United States. His promise to Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars of night has been transformed from that of a nation to that of a tradition of peoples professing a common faith. To be sure, it is far from fulfilled, but Christianity is gaining momentum in places. It possesses a coherent theological and moral basis that will continue to attract people.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Kings 11:1-4.9-18.20; Matthew 6:19-23)
Today’s first reading sounds like an episode of I, Claudius, the British television series exploring the intrigues of Roman emperors. The story tells of a woman’s revenge for the death of her son and the weaving of a plot to kill her husband’s other heirs. From a religious viewpoint, the evil is compounded by the woman’s pagan practices.
Athaliah is the daughter of the wicked Ahab and Jezebel of Samaria (Israel), and wife of Jeroram, king of Judah. When her husband and son are killed, Athaliah attempts to have all Jeroram’s other children slain so that she can rule Judah as queen. The scheme fails, however, when prince Joash, Ahaziah’s son, is rescued. Athaliah does rule Judah for six years, but eventually Joash is anointed king by the high priest Jehoiada, who has Athaliah killed. Zeal for the Lord with the attendant desire to have Judah rid of the idols moves Jehoiada to act ruthlessly with Athaliah.
The complicated story clashes with contemporary sensibility. We are astounded by the blatant disregard for human life. But the writers of Judah’s history are moved more by the supreme priority of maintaining the covenant with the Lord. It is incumbent upon us to see both values in tandem. We value human life so highly because of our devotion to God in whose image each human is made.
(II Kings 11:1-4.9-18.20; Matthew 6:19-23)
Today’s first reading sounds like an episode of I, Claudius, the British television series exploring the intrigues of Roman emperors. The story tells of a woman’s revenge for the death of her son and the weaving of a plot to kill her husband’s other heirs. From a religious viewpoint, the evil is compounded by the woman’s pagan practices.
Athaliah is the daughter of the wicked Ahab and Jezebel of Samaria (Israel), and wife of Jeroram, king of Judah. When her husband and son are killed, Athaliah attempts to have all Jeroram’s other children slain so that she can rule Judah as queen. The scheme fails, however, when prince Joash, Ahaziah’s son, is rescued. Athaliah does rule Judah for six years, but eventually Joash is anointed king by the high priest Jehoiada, who has Athaliah killed. Zeal for the Lord with the attendant desire to have Judah rid of the idols moves Jehoiada to act ruthlessly with Athaliah.
The complicated story clashes with contemporary sensibility. We are astounded by the blatant disregard for human life. But the writers of Judah’s history are moved more by the supreme priority of maintaining the covenant with the Lord. It is incumbent upon us to see both values in tandem. We value human life so highly because of our devotion to God in whose image each human is made.
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