Thursday, September 11, 2014

Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 8:1b-7.11-13; Luke 6: 27-38)

Both St. Paul in the epistle and Jesus in the gospel today speak of love.  Neither makes the claim that it is easy, much less delightful.  Paul would have his readers sacrifice what they have a right to for the sake of a skittish soul.  He suggests that they fast from meat if one in their numbers is an animal lover.  Jesus typically goes a mile farther.  His followers are to allow others to take from them without making compensation!

Something should be said about the precise meaning of these passages.  The Church has people who are scandalized over small things like buying milk on Sunday.  Following Jesus literally, one might conclude that she should leave her house unlocked.  But there can be no doubt that love tries the soul.  As Dorothy Day both pointed out and lived: “…(L)ove in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams.”  

It would be a worthy exercise for us to list the people whom we know.  Then next to each name we should write what sacrifices we made for that person.  If the sacrifices are costly, we can say that we are fulfilling today’s gospel mandate.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 7:25-31; Luke 6:20-26)

The man could not stop gambling.  He had been in the casino some while.  He lost all that he could afford to lose and much more.  Then he dipped into his savings.  Soon the money reserved for taxes was bet and lost.  He felt he could still beat the system.  Of course, it beat him.  He went home broke, worried, and angry at himself.  This scenario holds for other kinds of compulsions as well as gambling.  People often lose what is very important in attempt to achieve some elusive satisfaction. In the first reading today St. Paul warns the Corinthians not to allow sex to be their downfall.

Paul knows that sex is not intrinsically evil.  He does not condemn it, but he expresses his reservations about it candidly.  If one can live without it, the apostle advises, he will probably be happier in the end.  Believing that Christ is to return soon, Paul does not mention having children.  All that really matters is to prepare oneself for that great event by living righteously.  It is paramount that the person not lose herself in the pursuit of pleasure.

Although even yet Christ has not returned, we still will experience a shortage of time if we spend it profligately in vain pursuits.  Sex, of course, is a prime suspect.  Other potential pitfalls are alcohol, gambling, and even acquiring electronic gadgets.  These pursuits need not be judged as evil in themselves.  But if they take control of good judgment, they will detour us from Christ.  That would be a pity because Christ brings the lasting happiness that our hearts desire. 

Tuesday, September 10, 2014

Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, priest

(I Corinthians 6:1-11; Luke 6:1-11)

You’re poor and in jail.  You did not commit the crime you are accused of.  But you are hardly perfect.  The district attorney tells you to confess to the crime.  He says that you’ll be given a reduced sentence – ten years with the possibility of parole in seven.   Otherwise, he threatens, he’ll put you away for twenty-five.  Without money to hire an effective lawyer, you accept the offer.  Believe it or not, such a scenario is not unusual in America today.  Evidently something similar took place in St. Paul’s Corinth.

Paul writes the Corinthians not to take their cases to public court. He knows that many corrupt officials adjudicate there.  Better, he says, to have a hearing among the community where one can expect fairness.  After all, these are people who have repented of any previous wrong-doing.  They not only know right from wrong but have a sense of the heart yearning for justice.

Some wise people believe that the American penal system is broken.  It penalizes excessively the poor and allows the rich to get away with murder.  They advise a radical restructuring.  To contribute to a solution we should be honest in everything that we do.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:1-16.18-23)

Did you ever have to pinch yourself to make sure you were not dreaming?  Sometimes things happen that are so incredible that we think we are imagining them.  Perhaps we see a person that we presumed to be dead.  “Can it be so?” we ask ourselves.  The other day an Iraqi Shiite soldier survived the massacre of fellow Shiite prisoners by ISIS militia.  He had a terrible ordeal but still may have had to pinch himself to know that he was alive.  We celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary for a similar reason.

It is almost incredible that God would become human.  Why would the Almighty reduce himself to the fragility of humankind?  Perhaps it can be compared to one of us becoming an ant!  Who would want to be the smallest of animals that carries cargo all day long?  No one would, yet God became human.  Today in recognizing the birth of Mary, we acknowledge that her son, divine by conception of the Holy Spirit, was through her a human being.

We must ask ourselves, why did God become human if it was such a come down?  The answer, of course, is that He loves us.  God saw in human beings a faint likeness to Himself that He wanted us to share in His eternal life.  But that required that we become as caring as He.  For this reason Christ died on the cross.  By his life and death we are rid of our selfishness and filled with his love.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 4:1-5; Luke 5:33-39)

As Americans wait for the fourth Thursday of November, the French get excited around the third Tuesday of that month.  No, the French haven’t adopted Thanksgiving, their celebration is typically unique.  On “Beaujolais Day,” as it is called, the latest vintage of Beaujolais wine goes on market.  Not only does the wine have a tasty fruity quality, it also indicates the caliber of that year’s vintage when the wines mature.  In grape-producing regions like France and Palestine wine serves as a symbol of joy.  For this reason Jesus compares his mission with a new wine in today’s gospel.

Interestingly, Jesus shows no contempt for the old wine, Judaism, when he proclaims his message of God’s kingdom as the new.  He says that some people prefer old wine as, indeed, it has a mellowness to be savored.  But there is no mixing of new wine and old.  Accepting Jesus’ messages means stepping away from Judaic law into the more challenging and more promising realm of gospel love.

 Church history is soiled by anti-Semitic outbursts.  Most likely the cause for of the prejudice has been envy given how successful Jews have been in commerce and the professions.  Certainly the anger against the Jewish faith is misplaced.  Jews, as Luke’s gospel consistently shows, are Jesus’ forbearers always worthy of respect and dialogue.