Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings 8:1-7.9-13; Mark 6:53-56)
There’s an old story about a chicken and a pig planning the farmer’s birthday. The chicken says to the pig, “Why don’t we give the farmer a breakfast of bacon and eggs?” The pig responds, “Wait a minute. For you, it’s a small donation. For me it’s total sacrifice.”
Humans have always sacrificed animals to express their gratefulness to God. In the account of the dedication of Solomon’s temple today, “sheep and oxen too many to number or count” are offered to the Lord. Because animals are so vital for the welfare of the people, they actually represent the people themselves. The reading today is saying that the people are attempting to give themselves over fully to God in thanksgiving.
Perhaps as often as not, however, sacrifices of humans are imperfect. People do not present to God the best that they have, but the expendable. Their offerings do not represent a commitment of the heart but, like a lie, an artful deceit. This is why Jesus has to sacrifice himself. Representing all of humanity because he is its creator and flawless example, Jesus makes the perfect sacrifice to God the Father. Of course, Jesus does not immolate himself but thoroughly exhausts himself in bringing about his Father’s Kingdom. Because his efforts are too good for the egotism of the world to bear, he is condemned to death. Then, in determined resignation, the sacrifice is completed on the cross. Now humans are really given to God.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Memorial of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr
(Sirach 47:2-11; Mark 6:14-29)
The word enigma comes from a Greek word meaning riddle. An enigma is more than what meets the eye. Or, we might say, an enigma confounds the eye. To some people Senator Jesse Helms was an enigma. He seemed to oppose attempts by government to assist the needy, yet he and his wife adopted a child with a severe physical challenge. In the first half of the narratives of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus appears to observers as enigmatic. He works wonders like the prophet Elijah. He confronts hypocrites like Amos or other prophets. He announces the kingdom of God like John the Baptist. Demons know his true identity, but it is elusive to other humans.
Haunted by guilt, Herod Antipas supposes that Jesus must be the reincarnation of the Baptist whose head he capriciously had chopped off. A few chapters later in this gospel Peter will correctly name Jesus as the Messiah, but no one will understand what that term means until he dies on the cross. Then the Roman centurion, an objective witness, will proclaim Jesus the “son of God” after observing his innocence and faithfulness lived out to the last breath. On the third day Jesus will rise from the dead so that all doubts may clear away. Jesus is no longer an enigma but, indeed, the most sterling truth for one to grasp in life.
(Sirach 47:2-11; Mark 6:14-29)
The word enigma comes from a Greek word meaning riddle. An enigma is more than what meets the eye. Or, we might say, an enigma confounds the eye. To some people Senator Jesse Helms was an enigma. He seemed to oppose attempts by government to assist the needy, yet he and his wife adopted a child with a severe physical challenge. In the first half of the narratives of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus appears to observers as enigmatic. He works wonders like the prophet Elijah. He confronts hypocrites like Amos or other prophets. He announces the kingdom of God like John the Baptist. Demons know his true identity, but it is elusive to other humans.
Haunted by guilt, Herod Antipas supposes that Jesus must be the reincarnation of the Baptist whose head he capriciously had chopped off. A few chapters later in this gospel Peter will correctly name Jesus as the Messiah, but no one will understand what that term means until he dies on the cross. Then the Roman centurion, an objective witness, will proclaim Jesus the “son of God” after observing his innocence and faithfulness lived out to the last breath. On the third day Jesus will rise from the dead so that all doubts may clear away. Jesus is no longer an enigma but, indeed, the most sterling truth for one to grasp in life.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings 2:1-4.10-12; Mark 6:7-13)
St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers as a response to a missionary necessity. Many people, especially in southern France, were attracted to Catharism, a religion that taught the dualism of matter and spirit. What is spiritual, the Catharists believed, is good and what is material is evil. Fine food, drink, even sex between married partners were eschewed. Truth and goodness were to be embraced. For all the abuse that people make of material things we can see how Catharist ideas would have appeal among simple people.
Monks galloping on horses from well-endowed estates had little success in checking the Catharist distortion. Their near betrayal of poverty seemed only to confirm what the dualists were teaching. Dominic dreamed of a different tact. He would form a group of men who would beg for the food they ate and go on foot – two by two -- to preach truth to the people. Actually much of Dominic’s program is based on today’s gospel. Jesus sends his disciples out with the same scarcity of physical resources – “no food, no sack, no money in their belts.” However, they go forth with spiritual power to cast out demons and to cure the sick. Their effect, as we shall read in Saturday’s mass, is considerable.
These stories challenge us to re-examine our lives. They make us ask if our possessions might not give a counter-message concerning what we treasure most. More than that, they urge us to seek spiritual values – truth, beauty, and goodness -- before material goods and to find satisfaction in doing the Lord’s work.
(I Kings 2:1-4.10-12; Mark 6:7-13)
St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers as a response to a missionary necessity. Many people, especially in southern France, were attracted to Catharism, a religion that taught the dualism of matter and spirit. What is spiritual, the Catharists believed, is good and what is material is evil. Fine food, drink, even sex between married partners were eschewed. Truth and goodness were to be embraced. For all the abuse that people make of material things we can see how Catharist ideas would have appeal among simple people.
Monks galloping on horses from well-endowed estates had little success in checking the Catharist distortion. Their near betrayal of poverty seemed only to confirm what the dualists were teaching. Dominic dreamed of a different tact. He would form a group of men who would beg for the food they ate and go on foot – two by two -- to preach truth to the people. Actually much of Dominic’s program is based on today’s gospel. Jesus sends his disciples out with the same scarcity of physical resources – “no food, no sack, no money in their belts.” However, they go forth with spiritual power to cast out demons and to cure the sick. Their effect, as we shall read in Saturday’s mass, is considerable.
These stories challenge us to re-examine our lives. They make us ask if our possessions might not give a counter-message concerning what we treasure most. More than that, they urge us to seek spiritual values – truth, beauty, and goodness -- before material goods and to find satisfaction in doing the Lord’s work.
Wedensday, February 3. 2010
Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(II Samuel 24:2.9-17; Mark 6:1-6)
Once when he was President, Ronald Reagan’s entourage brought bottled water from the United States to Mexico on a diplomatic mission. The Mexicans were insulted. They thought something like, “Could the President’s staff not trust us to supply our distinguished guests with safe drinking water?” Perhaps this anecdote illumines David’s offense against God in taking a census of his people. At first hearing we may ask, “Is it not prudent for a king to know how many troops he has to fight with and how many people he must protect?” Maybe, but Israel has always been God’s trusteeship. So, God perceives the census as a display of distrust in His providence and knows that David, of all people, realizes this.
Significantly, David recognizes his error and repents. Putting himself at God’s mercy and not human capriciousness shows that he does trust God more than any man or woman. Wisdom dictates that we, as well, make God our first and last refuge. Before we calculate how we are to meet the challenges we face, we should turn to God for assistance. Hopefully, we will beseech Him also on our last day saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
(II Samuel 24:2.9-17; Mark 6:1-6)
Once when he was President, Ronald Reagan’s entourage brought bottled water from the United States to Mexico on a diplomatic mission. The Mexicans were insulted. They thought something like, “Could the President’s staff not trust us to supply our distinguished guests with safe drinking water?” Perhaps this anecdote illumines David’s offense against God in taking a census of his people. At first hearing we may ask, “Is it not prudent for a king to know how many troops he has to fight with and how many people he must protect?” Maybe, but Israel has always been God’s trusteeship. So, God perceives the census as a display of distrust in His providence and knows that David, of all people, realizes this.
Significantly, David recognizes his error and repents. Putting himself at God’s mercy and not human capriciousness shows that he does trust God more than any man or woman. Wisdom dictates that we, as well, make God our first and last refuge. Before we calculate how we are to meet the challenges we face, we should turn to God for assistance. Hopefully, we will beseech Him also on our last day saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
(Malachi3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40)
We will find the gospel today as typically Lucan in at least three ways. First, it highlights the Jewish background of Jesus. Not only are Mary and Joseph observing Jewish religious law, but also Simeon and Anna seem to be lifted off the pages of the Old Testament. With Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus is destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel, we see a narrative featuring both the Law and the Prophets.
Second, a small but significant characteristic of Luke is his gender inclusiveness. He cannot help include Elizabeth along with Zachariah in his birth account of John the Baptist. Later on, he will tell of the women disciples (although he does not use that term) of Jesus. When the Lucan Jesus tells the parable of the happiness of the shepherd who discovers the lost sheep, he will also tell of the joy of the housewife who finds the lost coin in her house. In the passage today Luke pairs the prophetess Anna with the holy man Simeon as similarly jubilant to witness the coming of the redemption of Israel.
But most important, of course, is the way Luke sees Jesus. He embodies the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel being a light to the nations. Likewise, he brings peace wherever he goes, in this case to the faithful Simeon who has waited for decades for the Messiah. But the light and peace that Jesus brings does not come without great cost. Jesus is “a sign that will be contradicted,” that is, he will be opposed and indeed martyred in the completion of his mission.
(Malachi3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40)
We will find the gospel today as typically Lucan in at least three ways. First, it highlights the Jewish background of Jesus. Not only are Mary and Joseph observing Jewish religious law, but also Simeon and Anna seem to be lifted off the pages of the Old Testament. With Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus is destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel, we see a narrative featuring both the Law and the Prophets.
Second, a small but significant characteristic of Luke is his gender inclusiveness. He cannot help include Elizabeth along with Zachariah in his birth account of John the Baptist. Later on, he will tell of the women disciples (although he does not use that term) of Jesus. When the Lucan Jesus tells the parable of the happiness of the shepherd who discovers the lost sheep, he will also tell of the joy of the housewife who finds the lost coin in her house. In the passage today Luke pairs the prophetess Anna with the holy man Simeon as similarly jubilant to witness the coming of the redemption of Israel.
But most important, of course, is the way Luke sees Jesus. He embodies the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel being a light to the nations. Likewise, he brings peace wherever he goes, in this case to the faithful Simeon who has waited for decades for the Messiah. But the light and peace that Jesus brings does not come without great cost. Jesus is “a sign that will be contradicted,” that is, he will be opposed and indeed martyred in the completion of his mission.
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