Thursday, February 20, 2020

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(James 2:1-9; Mark 8:27-33)

In a disturbing book published a few years ago sociologist Charles Murray wrote that the rich are more likely to have Christian values than the poor.  That is, they are more likely to go to church, to get married, and to work than their poor counterparts.  The report raises the question about how to respond to James’ assertion in today’s first reading that the poor, not the rich, deserve praise.

James is making a sweeping but not inherently unfair generalization.  Indeed, the poor are often ignored while the rich receive most people’s admiration.  As everyone knows, the rich usually have plenty of money that might be employed for any purpose.  The poor on the other are likely to have problems that are hard to deal with.  Still the poor are not only created in the image of God, but they also represent Christ, the poor one.  James urges that Christians concern themselves with poor people’s needs at least as much as they court the rich for possible favors.

For decades faith based community organizing linked church-goers from well-to-do areas with the inner-city faithful in alliances working for the common good.  The results were both tangible and spiritual.  Laws were passed that improved community life, and people of all stripes knew one another as colleagues.  Sadly many of these coalitions fell apart from the lack of a coherent political vision.  Somehow the spirit of the community organizations must be revived to allow the poor to thrive along with the rich in the sight of God.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(James 1:19-27; Mark 8:22-26)

Our mothers used to chide us that what they said to us “goes in one ear and out the other.”  In other words, we did not pay attention to what they were saying.  We did what we wanted and ignored what they were telling us.  This is the gist of what James’ warning in today’s first reading.

James uses a parable to explain what he means.  He says that hearers and not doers of the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror and then go off.  Because they do not keep the mirror before their faces, they forget what they look like.  In the same way those who only listen to the word of God promptly forget it.  But those who practice it will not only remember it but live and profit by it.

The Letter of James contains practical advice. Sometimes it is considered more a Jewish than a Christian Scripture.  However, the advice obviously reflects Christ’s teaching.  We do well to hold it regularly “before our faces.”

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(James 1:12-18; Mark 8:14-21)

A short story tells of a couple who church hopped.  They began as members of a Methodist church.  As their social status increased, they joined the Episcopal Church.  By the end of the story they weren’t going to church at all.  In one sense the couple is like the disciples in the Gospel of Mark.  They do not understand the meaning of knowing Jesus.

Although the disciples eagerly answered Jesus’ call, they cannot grasp what he teaches them.  Jesus has shown that God provides for those who trust is in Him.  Yet they worry about bread when Jesus, God’s anointed son, accompanies them.  The couple of the story find Christ aiding their upward social mobility.  Although their motive is not apparent here, the disciples see him as their ticket to fame and fortune.  For this reason Jesus warns them about become inflated like leaven in dough.

We too must take care that we go to church for the right reason.  We believe that there we encounter Jesus, our creator and redeemer.  He is the only one worthy of our full attention.  Furthermore, following his way of humility and love leads us to eternal life.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(James 1:1-11; Mark 8:11-13)

The person was distraught.  She said that she prayed for a long time for something that she never received.  She also prayed with faith which today’s first reading finds requisite for obtaining favors.  What could be the problem?

Perhaps it is her perspective.  She called on God not unlike the Pharisees call on Jesus in today’s gospel.  They request a sign as a test of his divine commission.  But did they not hear of the massive feeding he has just made?  Is not the person in our case aware that the universe and especially humans are testimony to God’s goodness? 

God wants us to trust in Him.  This may seem naïve or perhaps irrational.  It is difficult for those who have been bitten by human deception.    Yet God is unlike humans even though He became one of us.  Trust goes beyond faith or at least includes within it the sense that God will not fail to bring us happiness.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Memorial of Saints Cyril, monk, and Methodius, bishop

(I Kings 11:29-32.12:19; Mark 7:31-37)

Although today, Valentine’s Day, is commonly associated with erotic love, the feast has saintly origins.  There are several versions of the story of the ancient martyr, St. Valentine, and probably for this reason the Church has dropped the feast from its calendar and has reassigned the day to the less primitive Saints Cyril and Methodius.  In Latin countries the day is frequently called Día de Amistad, or Day of Friendship, celebrating the love between friends as much as the love between paramours.  Here we may see a link between the legendary martyr(s) of old and the two official saints of the day.

Cyril and Methodius were brothers who ventured from their native Greece to the Slavic nations of the Ukraine and Moravia in the ninth century.  They had positions in teaching and government before becoming missionaries.  Why did they leave their careers to preach the gospel in foreign lands?  Could it have been anything other than love of Christ?  Sure, missionaries have a sense of adventure, but there is much more to their stories.  They make a new home in a new place among new people because they sense Jesus urging them on.  As any good friend, Jesus inspires, invigorates, and cares for those who leave home and kin for him.

Jesus is our friend as well.  He might be whispering in our ear to become foreign missionaries, but more likely he wants us to preach to those who surround us today.  Of course, he does not want us to harangue anyone, quite the contrary.  He asks us to share his joy, his peace, and his love.