Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 1:18-22; Matthew 5:13-16)

Former Peace Corps volunteers remember the time they visited an Iban family in upriver Sarawak.  Knowing that the people lacked food supplies, they gave them some canned foods that they brought along.  They were served back to them.  When they asked what the people ate with their rice, they were told “salt.”  They left amazed at how generous these simple people were.  The Ibans seemed like Jesus’ disciples, “the salt of the earth.”

Jesus calls his disciples “salt” because they are to make life savory for others.  They are not to live for themselves but to spread the joy of the gospel.  They engage others in conversation as a means to acknowledge the other’s humanity.  Their goal is not to convert others to Jesus but to love them.  If they lose this saltiness by becoming self-centered and arrogant, they render themselves as unfit for the kingdom of God.

Some of us to our peril might reject the idea of being considered something as common as salt. We would like to think of ourselves at least as sweet as sugar if not as exotic as an oriental spice.  But humility and respect for all wins friends for Jesus and promotes us in God’s eyes.   To be “the salt of the earth” is a worthy aspiration for anyone.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12)

“We’re number one! We’re number one!” college students love to brag when their team wins a game that thrusts it to the top of a football or basketball poll.  Losers are never so cheered.  They take consolation in that they played well, abided by all the rules, and emerge as better people in the much more important sojourn of life. In today’s first reading Paul describes such a consolation for the church at Corinth.

Because Christians in Corinth are a minority, they no doubt suffer the disdain of the powerful.  They also face interior division over beliefs and loyalties.  The letter does not spell out exactly the nature of these problems.  It could be that Jewish-Christian preachers from Palestine were preaching adherence to the Law.  Another possibility is that Greek charismatic preachers were giving divisive interpretations to the gifts of the Spirit.  In any case, Paul reminds his readers that in Christ’s sufferings they as well as he find comfort.  After all, Christ’ humiliating death on the cross led to his resurrection and glory.

None of us likes to suffer.  But we can bear with suffering if it has positive significance.  We will find that significance when we bind ourselves closely to Christ.  In him even the suffering brought about by our own faults redounds for our eternal benefit.  When we suffer, let us turn to the crucifix and offer our pain as an act of solidarity with him.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

(Tobit 11:5-17; Mark 12:35-37)

This has been a week of martyrs.  On Monday the Church celebrated the second century martyr, Justin; on Wednesday, the Ugandan martyrs Charles and companions; and today, the bishop-martyr Boniface.  All refused to either flee or rebel against persecution.  Rather they chose to offer their very lives as a witness to Christ’s love for the world.  Christian martyrs provide a key to understanding today’s gospel. 

One reputable New Testament scholar calls the passage a “puzzle.”  By citing Jesus as saying, “David himself calls him (the Messiah), ‘lord’; so how is he is son?” it seems to ridicule the position that the Messiah would be a descendent of David.  It is further noted that the Gospel of Mark does not even hint that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, David’s city, and that only Bartimaeus while blind calls him the “Son of David.”  But it is quite possible that the citation is meant to distance Jesus from David as a warrior-savior.  As the martyrs emulated him, Jesus saves the world by dying and not by killing others.

We may be tempted to either leave the scene or make threats in face of criticism of our faith in Jesus.  A response more in line with the Christian tradition would be to make a reasoned defense of our beliefs.  In the end selfless love, not hatred or indifference, moves the world toward greater good.  Furthermore, God’s revelation nowhere contradicts reason but affords us greater hope than imaginable by philosophy alone.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Tobit, 6:10-11.7:1bcde.9-17.8:4-9a; Mark 12:28-34)

In a classic philosophical debate Plato holds that knowledge of the good results in a desire to do it.  Aristotle disagrees claiming that weakness of the will can short-circuit the desire.  Most people given the choice between, say, chocolate fudge and an apple for dessert would agree with Aristotle.  What would Jesus say?

In the gospel today Jesus makes a telling comment to the scribe who congratulates him on his choice of the greatest commandments.  He says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”  One may interpret this statement as meaning that the scribe is not in the Kingdom because he does not profess faith in Jesus.  But it is more likely that Jesus too recognizes the difference between knowing something as good and actually doing it.  The scribe is not yet in the Kingdom because he only acknowledges the need to love God and neighbor.  He still must humble himself to care for the other.

Knowledge gets us started on the “good life.”  It pinpoints what we should do, provides viable options, and assesses the risks of each alternative.  But actually doing what is right – true morality – also requires will-power – the virtues of temperance, fortitude, and prudence.  For example, young adults know the need for pre-marital abstinence from sexual intimacy to live chastely.  But sitting alone with their partners on Saturday night, they require the virtues of the will to overcome being swamped by lustful desire.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs

(Tobit 3:1-11a.16-17a; Mark 12:18-27)

The sixteen year-old was in deep trouble.  He had broken a law and feared being punished.  Unfortunately, he had isolated himself from peers.  Although he sometimes talked with teachers, evidently they were not available during his crisis.  Rather than face up to what he did, he threw himself in front of a train.  Today’s long first reading describes Tobit and Sara as being similarly depressed.

Like the tragic youth, Tobit is liable to be pursued by the authorities.  Moreover, he has contracted a condition of blindness and in his misery has alienated his wife.  He will not kill himself but prays to God to end his life.  Sarah’s condition of having seven husbands expire on her marriage bed sounds far-fetched.  But certainly many forlorn lovers have contemplated suicide.  She too remembers the Lord in her distress.  The story unfolds as melodrama with God sending an angel to aid in response to their anguished pleas.

Perhaps when we are tried, we will not find an angel at the door to help us.  But our prayer will not go unheeded.  Like Tobit we will come to a better understanding of how our sinfulness has brought us to where we are.  More importantly, our world will not end.  We can count on God to resolve our predicament in His merciful love.