Friday, June 26, 2015

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 17:1.9-10.15-22; Matthew 8:1-4)

As a newly ordained priest, the biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown told his pastor on January 1 that he intended to preach on the circumcision.  “Ah, you’re not going to do that, are you?” the pastor replied as if even the circumcision of Jesus was a sordid subject.  “I most certainly am,” Fr. Brown asserted.  What he said that day would no doubt be helpful in interpreting today’s first reading.

Circumcision is a custom older than Abraham.  Pagan societies circumcised young men as a sign of sexual potency and the coming of age.   But when Abraham and his descendants circumcise their infants, a very different meaning is conveyed.  The principal characters are the father and mother of the circumcised, not the boy himself.  They demonstrate how carrying out a rite mandated by God does not flaunt sexual prowess but restricts it.  The act indicates their intention of raising the child in every way that the Lord commands.  Indeed, circumcision implies that the parents do not own their son but that he is a gift from God entrusted to their care. 

It may not seem fair that this sacred rite is reserved for males.  However, we need to take note that the Bible is not concerned about equality in the same way as western humanity.  The sad fact is that men need this reminder of duty and chastity much more than woman since nature allows them to distance themselves from the actual birthing of children.  Perhaps it is significant that Baptism, which functions socially in ways similar to circumcision, is obligatory for female as well as male Christians.  We recognize the tendency to sin in everyone and the way out of sin’s morass is not primarily by reminding a person of his or her duty.  Rather it comes through the work of the Spirit given through the water and the profession of faith.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 16:1-12.15-16; Matthew 7:21-29)

At the end of today’s gospel passage the crowds are described as “astonished.”  It is not what Jesus says that amazes them but how he speaks.  He teaches with authority; that is with both truth and conviction.  He boldly condemns those who call him Lord but do not do his will.  He artfully compares them to a fool who builds a house on sand that will be swept away in a flood.

The passage ends the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ initial discourse in the Gospel of Matthew.  The evangelist has presented him as no less than a divine figure who may be called for now the Son of God.  Of course, this identity was already revealed in the infancy narrative at the beginning of the gospel.  But now its meaning is more defined.  Jesus comes to teach true righteousness that comes to pass only with the grace of God on one who turns her mind to perfection.

The end of the section gives us a pause to take stock.  Are we willing to follow the blueprint to holiness that Jesus has just drawn in the Sermon?  In many ways it runs counter to both our culture and our desires.  But it leads to the happiness that Jesus proclaimed at the beginning of the discourse – the Kingdom of heaven.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

(Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Lucas 1:56-66.80)

Where will we be in six months?  Usually we have to plan a bit before responding to such a question.  But in this case even now we can be relatively sure.  For six months from today is Christmas Eve, December 24.  We probably have a custom of spending Christmas Eve with our families.  Or maybe this year – undoubtedly we have thought about it already – we plan to do something different.

We celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist six months before the birth of Christ because in the Gospel according to Luke the angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary when her cousin Elizabeth is six months pregnant.  Then how do we determine that the birth of John occurs in June and the birth of Jesus in December?  The gospels never say directly, but in the Gospel of John Jesus is described as “the light shining in darkness” (1:5).  Certainly there is no greater darkness that at the winter solstice, at the end of December.  Also, in that gospel John says, “I must decrease; he must increase.”  The Church has symbolized these references by placing the feast of John’s birth on June 24 when the daylight starts decreasing in length and Christmas on December 25 when the length of days starts increasing.

Today’s gospel tells of the naming of the Baptist.  His father gives him the name John despite the fact that neither he nor any family member has that name.  John literally means the Lord has shown favor. Certainly both Zachariah and Elizabeth feel favored for having been made able to give birth to a son in their old age.  But the fact that John has a fitting name does not explain the wonder of the moment.  The people are overcome with awe because all of a sudden Zachariah finds his voice.  He could not speak after failing to believe the angel Gabriel who told him that Elizabeth would give birth.  Now he shows genuine faith in God by obeying the instructions given by the angel concerning the name of his son.

We should not have to celebrate Christmas in June to think of the poor now.  Often the poor are barraged with food in December, but food pantries turn barren at midyear.  To inquire whether the poor are having their basic needs met now and to act to accordingly would provide a fitting tribute to John.  After all, he is the one who first proclaimed for us the nearness of the Lord.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 13:2.5-18; Matthew 7:6.12-14)

In a debate before the year 2000 presidential election George W. Bush famously said that he was “not into nation-building.” He meant that he would not involve the United States in foreign countries so much that it would be responsible for their development.  Eventually, when the U.S. invaded Iraq, he had to eat those words.  In any case God is “into nation-building” as both readings today testify.

Abram shows qualities that are characteristic of a wise leader.  When troubles erupt between his kinsmen and those of Lot, he keeps his clan together.  He is also willing to make a strategic sacrifice of better land for assured peace.  Noting Abram’s capacity, God promises that he will be father of countless descendants.  Jesus is laying the blueprint for the Church when he tells his disciples to "enter through the narrow gate.’”  Great nations are not developed through self-indulgence.  Rather if they are to reach an exalted status, their leaders must be honest and their peoples hardworking.

Perhaps we don’t want to think of ourselves as nation-builders.  We would rather devote ourselves to providing for our families or to saving our souls.  However, if our children and grandchildren are going to be virtuous, living in a society that respects human dignity and rejects dishonesty provides a significant head start on the road to excellence.

Monday, June 22, 2015

(Optional) Memorial of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, martyrs

(Genesis 12:1-9; Matthew 7:1-5)

The English sixteenth century martyrs, John Fisher and Thomas More, were noted public figures and brilliant scholars.  The first was the theologian-bishop of Rochester, England, and the second, King Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor.  Both achieved some measure of greatness in these roles, but they are remembered today for reaching beyond their natural abilities.  They became saints when they sacrificed their lives along with the worldly rewards of their natural ability for the love of Christ their savior.  Looking carefully, we may find similar divine activity in the story of Abraham which begins in today’s first reading.

The Lord tells Abraham that he will be the source of a great nation.  God does not mean simply that Abraham’s descendants will be numerous.  Rather He intends that they will be praised and emulated by all who seek true wisdom.  The development will not come about naturally.  No, God will instruct Abraham and his descendants with difficult lessons of self-control, care for one’s family, justice toward neighbors, and love for God.  The end of the instruction will be the nation which gives birth to Jesus Christ, God’s own son.

We should aspire to a similar greatness.  This does not mean that we want to be the envy of the world.  Rather we want to develop the virtues exhibited in the gospels by Jesus.  The task will move us beyond our natural abilities but certainly not beyond God’s.  Taking instruction from Him, we will become truly caring people, His daughters and sons.