Wednesday, July 25, 2017

Saint James, apostle

(II Corinthians 4:7-15; Matthew 20:20-28)

As gruesome statistics testify, women are often abused by the men in their lives.  Despite its affront to human dignity, domestic violence too often goes unreported and, consequently, unaddressed.  Domestic violence comprises the proverbial “elephant in the room” of which everyone is aware, but no one wants to talk about.  Sometimes, however, someone breaks the stifling silence to report the crime.  That person acts prophetically like, it is easy to imagine, James the Apostle whose feast we are celebrating today.

The gospel pictures James as the son of Zebedee who, along with his brother John, boldly answers that he can drink from the chalice that Jesus is about to take.  The Acts of the Apostles testifies that James did indeed suffer martyrdom. In fact, it appears that he was the first of the Twelve to do so.  Perhaps he spoke up boldly again when Herod Agrippa’s henchmen started looking for Jesus’ followers.  In any case he gave witness to the Lord with his life.

Probably more often than we want to admit we too should speak up in Christ’s name.  When we see hints of domestic violence, for example, we should at least ask questions.  Giving witness to Christ is more than dying at the hands of people who hate him.  It includes raising our voices, as Jesus did, on behalf of the oppressed.

Monday, July 24, 2017

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 14:5-18; Matthew 12:28-32)

When I was a young man discerning a vocation to the priesthood, someone advised me to look for a sign.  It sounded like a good idea, but I never found one.  I entered the Dominican Order with questions that were resolved only years later.  Signs are problematic.  They are difficult to read and the demand for them may attest to a faulty faith.

The Pharisees and scribes want a sign from Jesus.  He has already given them indications that he is God’s messenger.  But they insist on a sign on demand which amounts to testing God.  Jesus spurns the request.  In time – he tells his inquisitors – they will have their sign, but even then they will not believe.

We should not blame others for not believing in Jesus.  Full acceptance of his teaching requires the gift of faith.  But we continue to believe that he is the Son of God who has won for us eternal life because of the signs that surround us.  Everyday we see selfless acts of love performed by people who have committed themselves to him.  We also perform such acts so that those around us may believe in Jesus as well.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 11:10-12:14; Matthew 12:1-8)

The name April comes from the Latin aprilis which is derived from the word meaning to open.  It is thought that the month was called April because it was the time when flowers began to open (bloom).  Because the Passover feast is usually celebrated during April as are Good Friday and Easter Sunday, another sense of opening is indicated.  The events associated with these days mark the opening or beginning of human liberation.

Viewing the gospel through the lens of today’s passage from Exodus deepens one’s appreciation of Christ’s mission.  Like the wool of an unblemished lamb, his life is not tainted by sin.  Moreover, its purity is infinitely richer because he performs works of love.  As the blood of the lamb spread on the lintel of every house saved the people from the judgment of God on Egypt, the blood of Jesus shed on the cross saves his followers from the judgment their sins merit.  And as the roasted flesh of the lamb provides the Israelites with food for the journey to freedom, so Christ’s flesh gives Christians the freedom to live imitating his goodness.

At times in the history of the Church some have considered the Old Testament extraneous and dispensable.  Fortunately, wiser minds have always prevailed.  As we see today, the Old Testament gives needed perspective to understand the depth of Jesus’ victory on our behalf.  Indeed, the Old Testament enables us to understand who he is.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 3:13-20; Matthew 11:28-30)

“Call me whatever you like,” people used to kid, “just don’t call me late for dinner.” Did they really mean that?  Is it all right to be called anything whatsoever as long as one has three squares a day? The first reading today indicates something different.

When Moses asks God for a name, God responds enigmatically. It is not easy to interpret what “I am who am” means.  Some philologists find the term a way to conceal one’s identity.  For them it means “I am what I am (and that’s enough for you to know).”  They understand God as saying that He is a mystery who remains beyond human comprehension.  Others find the term more revelatory.  They would say that God is declaring Himself to have all Being as His essence.  For them God is the source and horizon of all that is.

In any case the purpose of God giving His name here is to tell the people of Israel that He is on call to help them.  They now know where to look when troubles pile up.  In time God will come even closer to His people.  He will present Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.  Perhaps today’s gospel passage indicates God’s readiness to help us as well as any.  Jesus invites us to go to him when we find life burdensome.  He assures us that we will find our relief in him.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 3:1-6.9-12; Matthew 11:25-27)

The other day a woman left a picture of her five-year old grandson Luke in the sacristy.  She asked for prayers for the boy who had a brain tumor.  After mass she explained that the surgeons operated on him once but couldn’t tell if they were the tumor or his brain.  Now they were operating again.  How, people ask, could God allow a child to be stricken so?  As terrible as Luke’s cancer is, there are certainly other more perplexing calamities taking place all the time.  Why, we might as well ask, does humanity continue to suffer so much from poverty, disease, natural calamity, and war?

We believers often put the question another way.  If God is as good and as powerful as we claim, why does He not halt the violence, end the disease, and stem the disaster?  These are ancient questions that resist definitive answers.  But there are multiple attestations in Scripture showing how God takes note of human suffering and acts to relieve its conditions.  In today’s first reading we hear of God coming to the rescue of Israel trapped in an intolerably unjust situation.

God not only will deliver the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt but will also form them according to His law.  Looking back on the history of Israel, we Christians recognize that the Israelites’ unique covenant with God will not be enough to stem the tide of evil.  A more powerful solution will be required.  This will be God’s sending in time His son to save humanity.  But even that will not end suffering on earth.  Evil is no weed easy to uproot.  Still victory belongs to those who conform themselves to Christ.  He will relocate them in a new world where war, disease, and disaster are eternally void.