Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 4:1-11; Mark 1:40-45)
After every human tragedy – earthquake, hurricane, defeat in war – humans ask themselves why it happened. Believing people will wonder why God permitted the evil to befall them. Is God being capricious, they wonder, or are they not responding properly to God’s initiatives? So the elders of the Israel in the first reading ask, “'Why has the Lord permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines?’” Apparently assuming that the problem lies with God’s supposed inattentiveness, the elders summon the Ark of the Covenant to be brought from its sanctuary in Shiloh to the battlefront. Surely the Lord will wake up to the people’s need need, the elders must be surmising, if He is among our troops.
Of course, the tactic fails. God knows quite well what their situation is yet chooses not to support the Israelis. God has His reasons which will always be obscure to humankind. We might speculate in this case that God is changing the center of human authority from judges to a king as well as the center of cultic worship from Shiloh to Jerusalem. But God’s reasons are in the end unfathomable. If we could figure them all out, we would sit on an equal level with God. This is not to say that God capriciously caresses and despises humans at whim. No, God has definitively shown his favorable disposition toward us in Jesus Christ. What Jesus suffered to liberate humans from sin manifests God’s love for us. And Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is our surest promise of God’s will for our well-being.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 3:1-10.19-20; Mark 1:29-39)
On Sunday Mark’s gospel read that “the heavens were opened” when Jesus was baptized. The evangelist seems to imply that such an occurrence does not often happen. In the first reading today we hear again that such revelation is extraordinary. It says that in an even more ancient time, when we might have expected that God regularly spoke to humans in extraordinary ways, “a revelation from the Lord was uncommon and (a) vision infrequent.”
The narrative regarding the birth and call of Samuel begins the story of God’s bringing to fruition His promise of making Israel a great nation. Samuel will eventually anoint both Saul and David kings of the tiny land. The former shows some hope but will prove himself lacking in trust. David is a fierce warrior and capable administrator, yet he also fails to exhibit the virtue requisite of a great people. He keeps a harem, commits adultery, and even murders a noble officer. The kingdom he establishes will not last two generations before it splits in two.
We might compare the origins of the kingdom of Israel as related in the Book of Samuel to those of the kingdom of God told by the evangelists. Of course, Jesus figures prominently in the latter. Even more descriptively than the Old Testament writers tell of Samuel’s birth, Matthew and Luke weave the story of Jesus’ beginnings. They show him as one so completely dominated by virtue that he is rightly called “son of God.” In today’s gospel Mark indicates the consistency of Jesus’ dedication to the kingdom of his Father. He tirelessly cures disease, casts out demons, and preaches good news to all people. In showing himself to be the fulfillment of God’s promise, Jesus provides for us a place in the new Israel through our relationship with him.
(I Samuel 3:1-10.19-20; Mark 1:29-39)
On Sunday Mark’s gospel read that “the heavens were opened” when Jesus was baptized. The evangelist seems to imply that such an occurrence does not often happen. In the first reading today we hear again that such revelation is extraordinary. It says that in an even more ancient time, when we might have expected that God regularly spoke to humans in extraordinary ways, “a revelation from the Lord was uncommon and (a) vision infrequent.”
The narrative regarding the birth and call of Samuel begins the story of God’s bringing to fruition His promise of making Israel a great nation. Samuel will eventually anoint both Saul and David kings of the tiny land. The former shows some hope but will prove himself lacking in trust. David is a fierce warrior and capable administrator, yet he also fails to exhibit the virtue requisite of a great people. He keeps a harem, commits adultery, and even murders a noble officer. The kingdom he establishes will not last two generations before it splits in two.
We might compare the origins of the kingdom of Israel as related in the Book of Samuel to those of the kingdom of God told by the evangelists. Of course, Jesus figures prominently in the latter. Even more descriptively than the Old Testament writers tell of Samuel’s birth, Matthew and Luke weave the story of Jesus’ beginnings. They show him as one so completely dominated by virtue that he is rightly called “son of God.” In today’s gospel Mark indicates the consistency of Jesus’ dedication to the kingdom of his Father. He tirelessly cures disease, casts out demons, and preaches good news to all people. In showing himself to be the fulfillment of God’s promise, Jesus provides for us a place in the new Israel through our relationship with him.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 2:1.4-5.6-7.8abcd; Mark 1:21-28)
What might be said of the pastoral approach of Eli to Hannah? He sounds accusatory when he tells the distraught woman that she is making “a drunken show of herself.” But at least he addresses the issue of her odd behavior. In fact, he does not call her a drunkard but only lets her know what seems obvious to him. The episode warns us to avoid hasty conclusions, but it should also encourage us to speak to those in obvious need rather than make it seem that we do not notice or care.
Whatever the justice of Eli’s approach, his addressing Hannah’s difficulty has marvelous effects. She can pour out her soul to the holy man and receive his counsel. Even more significantly, the encounter raises her spirits from desperation to peace with herself and her family. Although the hand of God always plays a part in these things, we might see the greater receptiveness of Hannah to the love of her husband Elkanah facilitating the conception of their son Samuel.
(I Samuel 2:1.4-5.6-7.8abcd; Mark 1:21-28)
What might be said of the pastoral approach of Eli to Hannah? He sounds accusatory when he tells the distraught woman that she is making “a drunken show of herself.” But at least he addresses the issue of her odd behavior. In fact, he does not call her a drunkard but only lets her know what seems obvious to him. The episode warns us to avoid hasty conclusions, but it should also encourage us to speak to those in obvious need rather than make it seem that we do not notice or care.
Whatever the justice of Eli’s approach, his addressing Hannah’s difficulty has marvelous effects. She can pour out her soul to the holy man and receive his counsel. Even more significantly, the encounter raises her spirits from desperation to peace with herself and her family. Although the hand of God always plays a part in these things, we might see the greater receptiveness of Hannah to the love of her husband Elkanah facilitating the conception of their son Samuel.
Monday, January 11, 2020
Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 1:1-8; Mark 1:14-20)
It is, of course, easy to criticize characters of the Bible according to contemporary mores. We could wave a finger at Elkanah in the first reading today for having two wives. Is not marriage an exclusive covenant between two people? Why can’t Elkanah, a seemingly pious man, be satisfied with one woman? Hannah, also, from today’s morality seems petulant. “Sure, it’s disappointing not to have children,” we might tell her, “but it is not the end of the world. Why not dedicate yourselves to some of the orphans that lived in your time.”
Such criticisms not only are made without an appreciation of biblical conditions; they also miss what the biblical author means to tell us. God is about to act in this couple’s life just as He gave the aged Sara a son bringing hope that the promise made to Abraham would be fulfilled. We should also hear in Elkanah’s gentle plea to Hannah an echo of God’s call to each of us when we feel ignored or disliked by others. God implores us in our consciences not to dwell on the rejection because we have Him, who is not just ten but ten thousand times better than anyone else (actually infinitely better). Laying our burdens in His hands by faithful prayer we will find our sorrow turning to joy.
(I Samuel 1:1-8; Mark 1:14-20)
It is, of course, easy to criticize characters of the Bible according to contemporary mores. We could wave a finger at Elkanah in the first reading today for having two wives. Is not marriage an exclusive covenant between two people? Why can’t Elkanah, a seemingly pious man, be satisfied with one woman? Hannah, also, from today’s morality seems petulant. “Sure, it’s disappointing not to have children,” we might tell her, “but it is not the end of the world. Why not dedicate yourselves to some of the orphans that lived in your time.”
Such criticisms not only are made without an appreciation of biblical conditions; they also miss what the biblical author means to tell us. God is about to act in this couple’s life just as He gave the aged Sara a son bringing hope that the promise made to Abraham would be fulfilled. We should also hear in Elkanah’s gentle plea to Hannah an echo of God’s call to each of us when we feel ignored or disliked by others. God implores us in our consciences not to dwell on the rejection because we have Him, who is not just ten but ten thousand times better than anyone else (actually infinitely better). Laying our burdens in His hands by faithful prayer we will find our sorrow turning to joy.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Christmas Weekday
(I John 5:5-13; Luke 5:12-16)
There is a story about a young man who told his girlfriend that he would do anything for her. He said he would climb a mountain or swim a sea if she asked him. The young woman then requested that he accompany her to the library Friday night because she had to study. He responded that he would do it but that he was busy at that time.
Like the young woman, God does not expect us to do momentous things for Him. He only wants us to believe in His son Jesus Christ. Of course, it seems very difficult to believe when others belittle faith -- when, for example, a professor speaks of religion as myth and the whole class nods their heads or when life’s sorrows make us want to abandon faith rather than conform to the Church’s moral doctrine.
The reading from the First Letter of John gives us reasons for believing. The apostle tells us that the water of Baptism that we undergo to enter the Church, the Blood of the Eucharist that we receive at Mass, and the Spirit of truth which we perceive everyday in the love Christians show all testify to our belief that Jesus is our Lord and God. Perhaps these witnesses will not convince rationalists of our beliefs, but they carry us through the struggles we face in a secular world.
(I John 5:5-13; Luke 5:12-16)
There is a story about a young man who told his girlfriend that he would do anything for her. He said he would climb a mountain or swim a sea if she asked him. The young woman then requested that he accompany her to the library Friday night because she had to study. He responded that he would do it but that he was busy at that time.
Like the young woman, God does not expect us to do momentous things for Him. He only wants us to believe in His son Jesus Christ. Of course, it seems very difficult to believe when others belittle faith -- when, for example, a professor speaks of religion as myth and the whole class nods their heads or when life’s sorrows make us want to abandon faith rather than conform to the Church’s moral doctrine.
The reading from the First Letter of John gives us reasons for believing. The apostle tells us that the water of Baptism that we undergo to enter the Church, the Blood of the Eucharist that we receive at Mass, and the Spirit of truth which we perceive everyday in the love Christians show all testify to our belief that Jesus is our Lord and God. Perhaps these witnesses will not convince rationalists of our beliefs, but they carry us through the struggles we face in a secular world.
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