Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 17:7-16; Matthew 5:13-16)

Pope Francis frequently criticizes the cult of money in the world today.  People, he would say, pursue money when they should look to God for salvation.  No few “straddle the issue,” as the prophet Elijah accuses the Israelites in today’s first reading, by making appearances in church while they skirt morality in their quest to increase their wealth. 

Elijah calls the people’s bet.  He challenges the prophets of Baal, the local god, to evoke the god’s participation in a sacrifice.  Despite the prophets’ pleadings, however, no sign is perceived from Baal’s heaven.  When Elijah calls down Israel’s Lord to consume his sacrifice, however, lightening immolates the carnage. 

What is it about the God of Israel that shows him to be real?  Why do we believe in Him?  After all, if someone tried to duplicate Elijah’s feat today, he would be branded a fool.  We still call on God for assistance, but perhaps more wonderfully he calls on us to treat others justly.  Our Creator has established laws by which we are to act in conformity with what we know in our nature to be right.  Thus, he shows Himself today to be the true God.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 17:7-16; Matthew 5:13-16)

People like to think of themselves as good.  Yet they find themselves giving in to selfishness and other vices.  How can they live with the contradiction?  They mix and match self-perceptions and actions in the endeavor to keep themselves on the positive side of the moral ledger.  For example, a man may try to justify looking at pornography by buying his wife a bouquet of roses on their anniversary.  Such deceptive bookkeeping hardly approaches what Jesus has in mind in the gospel today.

Jesus wants his disciples to shine with goodness.  They are to be as common as salt by mixing among others.  And they are to be as helpful as light showing the way to moral righteousness.  Indeed, they are to live in such exemplary ways that their neighbors will thank God for having them in their midst. 

We should never justify an immoral act by saying, “Everyone does it.”  The statement is patently false; everyone does not look at pornography or take a bribe when offered.  In any case such actions do not meet Jesus’ expectations of us.  As his disciples Jesus is calling us to give perfect example to all those whom we encounter.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

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

It was said that Fr. John Powell, S.J., could keep a church basement full of people sitting on metal chairs attentive to his talk for two hours.  The marvelous communicator wrote about Jesus’ beatitudes as the “Be Attitudes” -- dispositions that promised the fullness of being human.  We hear them today as the first lesson from Matthew’s gospel which will be read on weekdays until September.

Although most enumerations give only eight beatitudes in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, there are actually nine.  The first four (blessed are the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek, and those desiring righteousness) speak of passive attitudes necessary to align one with God.  The second four (the merciful, the clean of heart, peacemakers, and those who suffer persecution) indicate one’s actively carrying out the divine will.  The long ninth beatitude reiterates what is said in the previous one but gives a new motive for behaving righteously, Jesus himself.  It conveys Matthew’s belief that the Kingdom of God has arrived in Jesus.

The beatitudes are so countercultural that most people do not understand them, let alone imitate them.  They rile, for example, at the thought of being “poor in spirit.”  This does not mean that we should have a negative attitude, but that we should live first and foremost for God and not for ourselves.  Jesus is saying that when we live by such faith, we end with abundance not deprivation.

Friday, June 3, 2106

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

(Ezekiel 34:11-16; Romans 5:5b-11; Luke 15:3-7)

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy today’s feast takes on special prominence.  The Sacred Heart of Jesus has universally symbolized God’s mercy.  It is found on the famous portrait of Divine Mercy that was envisioned by Saint Faustina.  In another popular artistic representation the Sacred Heart is burning with love for whoever comes to the Lord.

In the second reading St. Paul expresses the principal sense of God’s mercy.  He says that God shows his love by dying on behalf of sinners.  This action has justified humans so that they no longer need to hang their heads in guilt.  But Paul does not limit his vision of mercy to justification.  He sees the grace of Christ working within the saved to produce merciful acts that merit salvation.  It is as if men and women were once like unruly teens that went through basic Marine Corps training and rendered not only capable of defending their country but also of modeling proper respect for all.

We thank God for the many ways that He has shown us His mercy.  He has given us powerful images that remind us of His love.  He has given us the Scriptures in which we encounter Christ, our Savior.  Most of all, He has imparted to us His Holy Spirit so that we might love others with similar self-sacrifice.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

                                                                                          

(II Timothy 2:8-15; Mark 12:28-34)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church judges agnosticism with benign toleration.  It admits that agnostics sometimes search sincerely for God although they may refrain from acknowledging God’s existence.  The scribe who approaches Jesus in today’s gospel in a way is similar to these agnostics.

Unlike others who have approached Jesus since he has entered Jerusalem, the scribe does not appear to have a hidden agenda.  He really wants to know what Jesus, the famous rabbi from Galilee, believes to be the greatest commandment.  Jesus not only tells him that to love God is most important but adds that to love one’s neighbor has almost equal urgency.  When the scribe accepts what Jesus offers, Jesus tells him that he is not far from God’s kingdom.  He is not there yet because being in the kingdom is a matter of living love not just talking about it.

We will find God when we search for Him in loving our neighbors.  Perhaps it is more accurate to say that God finds us as we deny ourselves for the sake of others.  He eases our consciences and gives rest to our hearts so that we feel His mercy.