Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In a television drama, a detective is asked if he believes in God. He answers that he used to and hints that he lost his faith when his wife was killed in a hit and run accident. The vignette demonstrates what Jesus means in the gospel by saying that some seed falls on rocky ground.
Feast of
Saint Mary Magdalene
(II
Corinthians 5: 14-17; John 20:1-2.11-18)
A man
writes of his former aversion to jigsaw puzzles. He thought of them as vain pursuits. It seemed to him that too much time was being
wasted on the amorphous background. In
contrast relatively little time was spent piecing together the central
images. Then watching his daughter one
day working on a puzzle, he had an inspiration.
The jigsaw puzzle, he thought, is like God’s creation of human
beings. Everyone has their
importance. Just as without the
background the central figures would lose perspective, so it is with God’s children. Everyone is a piece of the puzzle that adds
to the panorama. For the writer it was a
new way of seeing. It is like Mary’s
inspiration in today’s gospel and Paul’s revelation in the first reading.
Paul writes
of how he sees no one according to the flesh anymore but according to the
Spirit. He means that he regards no one
as a rival or an enemy any longer.
Gifted with the Holy Spirit, Paul can see in others a true image of God
to be respected, even loved. Mary
Magdalene comes to a similar realization as she discerns Jesus in one who looks
like the gardener. Graced with the
Spirit, she sees that Jesus has risen from the dead.
Grace enables us to see in a new way. It allows us to recognize a sister or brother in the homeless and even in the arrogant. It bids us to help the stranger and to be patient with critics. Grace is more than heightened consciousness. It actually moves us interiorly to love without worry or regret. It changes our lives as it did for both Paul and the Magdalene.
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Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 16:1-5.9-15; Mathew 13:1-9)
Those old enough to have experienced the gas shortages of
the 1970s may remember how people reacted by hoarding the gas that was
available. A cartel of oil producers
reduced its output so that there was less gas available on the American
market. Gas became more expensive, but
people did not buy less. It was a sorry
sight. People lined up sometimes for
hours every day to hoard the gas that was available. In today’s first reading God wants to see a
different kind of response to shortage.
Not long after the exodus from Egypt the people’s food
supply runs low. Many start to worry
that they would starve and complain that they should never have left captivity. God hears their cries and plans to provide
food. But He wants to test the people’s
trust. He demands that they do not hoard
the bread-like manna that He will send. They
are to take only enough bread for their daily ration although twice as much is to
be allowed on the sixth day of the week so that they would not have to gather
food on the Sabbath.
Fear of not having enough can move people to act
greedily. Hoarding is not being prudent
but selfish. In times of shortages we need to be especially conscious of the
common good. Hopefully, government
officials will provide prudent guidelines for how we should act. In any case we have to trust that God will
provide for us as we consider the welfare of others.
If you want to continue receiving homilettes by email, please send me your name and email address. (If you have already done so, there is no need to repeat.) I have been having difficulty adopting another mailing service. However, Google seems to be sending the homilettes out for the time being at least. When it stops, I will send out the homilettes to all whose email addresses if the email service problem is not resolved by then. Thank you for your readership. cm
Tuesday of the
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Micah 7:14-15.10; Matthew 12:46-50)
Robert Kennedy was President’s John Kennedy’s closest advisor. He had a Harvard education and considerable experience. But the president confided in him for other reasons as well. They shared the same family and background. Robert couldn’t betray John without betraying himself. More importantly, Robert understood John’s way of thinking and could confidently tell him when he believed that he was mistaken. In today’s gospel Jesus recognizes his disciples as having a similar relationship with him.
When Jesus is informed that his parents wish to speak to him, he surprisingly does not stop his presentation to see them. Rather, he acknowledges that he is establishing a new family precisely with his preaching. Those who heed his words by doing the will of God, his Father, he considers true family. To the extent that his own blood relatives love others, they too become his “brother and sister and mother.”
We should see in Jesus’ statement here an offer to know him intimately. He has come to share with us his intimate thoughts and desires. We won’t have to correct any of his ideas. We only can profit by feeling his love for us and following his wisdom.
If you want to continue receiving homilettes by email, please send me your name and email address. (If you have already done so, there is no need to repeat.) I have been having difficulty adopting another mailing service. However, Google seems to be sending the homilettes out for the time being at least. When it stops, I will send out the homilettes to all whose email addresses if the email service problem is not resolved by then. Thank you for your readership. cm
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 14:5-18; Matthew 12:38-42)
Perhaps all of us have sought signs of the Lord’s will. We have asked that God reveal to us how we
are faring or what we should do in a particular situation. The readings today show that requests for
signs are not fitting for faithful people.
In the first reading the children of Israel it between Pharaoh's
army and the sea. When Moses tells them that
the Lord will act on their behalf, he is reprimanded. God says to him, “’Why are you crying out to
me? Tell the people to go forward. And
you, lift up your staff…’” He means that
they should act and not wait for God to do something for them. When Pharisees in today’s gospel ask for a
sign from Jesus, he also rebukes the request.
He says that there will eventually be a sign, but it will not be given
to satisfy their doubt. The people must
believe in Jesus’ divine mission.
We cannot allow our faith to be dependent upon God fulfilling our wishes. He has already given us more than we can even desire with the Incarnation and Paschal Mystery of His Son. However, we should not be surprised to experience supernatural help as we act with prudence. Nor should we desist to ask God’s help in our endeavors.
