Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 42:15-25; Mark 10:46-52)
Ministers working in hospitals and prisons are accustomed to patients and inmates telling them that they will contact them after being released. However, such communication seldom takes place. It is not that they lied before or that they intentionally wish to avoid those who helped them, but that they lack the spiritual energy to revisit the place of confinement. Bartimaeus in the gospel today would be an exception to this observation. Jesus sends him away, but he steadfastly follows Jesus.
The passage is a healing story laced with irony. Bartimaeus does not see Jesus with his eyes but possesses faith in him, which is another way of seeing. He acknowledges Jesus as “’son of David’” meaning that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. By restoring his physical sight, Jesus confirms the efficacy of Bartimaeus’ faith. Although one might argue that in obedience to Jesus, Bartimaeus should have gone his own way, he is more coherent for following the one whom he believes will liberate Israel from bondage.
We are not being called to such a radical following since Jesus does not now humanly walk the earth. Nevertheless, if, like Bartimaeus, we acknowledge him as our savior, we should conform ourselves to him spiritually. This means not only that we accept the suffering that comes our way without grumbling, but also that we go out of our way to share the burden of those who may be hurting more than we.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday of the Eighth Week In Ordinary Time
(Sirach 36:1.4-5a.10-17; Mark 10:32-45)
In the last days of 1776 George Washington and the cause of American independence were having a rough time. The general had been routed in New York, and confidence in him was waning. The army was literally in tatters, and the winter was one of the worse in years. Added to all this, many of the soldiers’ inscriptions would expire on January 1. Then fortune suddenly blew the other way. On Christmas night the American army in a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison at Trenton took almost nine hundred prisoners with few casualties. Most of Washington’s soldiers reenlisted wanting to follow their commander to victory. Such a turnabout is what Ben Sirach seeks in the reading today.
In the second century before Christ, the people of Israel are almost completely suppressed. Long conquered, they are forced to see their holy places desecrated by their Greek rulers and the compromised Jewish elite. Ben Sirach, who lived in Jerusalem, wants to remind the people of their rich heritage. In the prayer that comprises today’s passage, he pleads God to give a demonstration of power to restore the people’s morale. He is coy about his reason, however, preferring to cajole the Lord with pretensions of worldly praise if He exalted His own.
God, of course, does not need public support. He seems to eschew it, in fact. In the gospel Jesus predicts that he will be defiled, whipped, and executed. He will rise from the dead as well but will appear only to a select few so that they might realize that the greatest grandeur lies in self-sacrificing love not acts of awe and wonder.
(Sirach 36:1.4-5a.10-17; Mark 10:32-45)
In the last days of 1776 George Washington and the cause of American independence were having a rough time. The general had been routed in New York, and confidence in him was waning. The army was literally in tatters, and the winter was one of the worse in years. Added to all this, many of the soldiers’ inscriptions would expire on January 1. Then fortune suddenly blew the other way. On Christmas night the American army in a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison at Trenton took almost nine hundred prisoners with few casualties. Most of Washington’s soldiers reenlisted wanting to follow their commander to victory. Such a turnabout is what Ben Sirach seeks in the reading today.
In the second century before Christ, the people of Israel are almost completely suppressed. Long conquered, they are forced to see their holy places desecrated by their Greek rulers and the compromised Jewish elite. Ben Sirach, who lived in Jerusalem, wants to remind the people of their rich heritage. In the prayer that comprises today’s passage, he pleads God to give a demonstration of power to restore the people’s morale. He is coy about his reason, however, preferring to cajole the Lord with pretensions of worldly praise if He exalted His own.
God, of course, does not need public support. He seems to eschew it, in fact. In the gospel Jesus predicts that he will be defiled, whipped, and executed. He will rise from the dead as well but will appear only to a select few so that they might realize that the greatest grandeur lies in self-sacrificing love not acts of awe and wonder.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 35:1-12; Mark 10:28-31)
What Jesus says is true. People who commit themselves to a vocation as a priest or religious often receive several times more than what they give up. Moving away from relatives as a young woman or man may be wrenching, but priests and religious typically find themselves in communities which becomes like a second family.
There are other blessings associated with religious life. Above all, religious and priests develop a closeness to the Lord. All Christians should pray, but those who publicly dedicate themselves to the Church have daily occasion to seek the Lord. By meditating on how God painstakingly prepared His people for His Son, how Jesus lovingly lived and died, and how the new People of God eagerly accepted him as Savior, priests and religious come to trust Christ as both Lord and brother.
Ministry for priests and religious can also be particularly meaningful. They usually assist well-intentioned people needing guidance in the quest for holiness. Speaking about Jesus brings great satisfaction as they are describing one whom they love. Finally, Jesus assures his disciples that those who serve him faithfully will receive eternal life. He means that not even death will separate them from the joy of his companionship.
(Sirach 35:1-12; Mark 10:28-31)
What Jesus says is true. People who commit themselves to a vocation as a priest or religious often receive several times more than what they give up. Moving away from relatives as a young woman or man may be wrenching, but priests and religious typically find themselves in communities which becomes like a second family.
There are other blessings associated with religious life. Above all, religious and priests develop a closeness to the Lord. All Christians should pray, but those who publicly dedicate themselves to the Church have daily occasion to seek the Lord. By meditating on how God painstakingly prepared His people for His Son, how Jesus lovingly lived and died, and how the new People of God eagerly accepted him as Savior, priests and religious come to trust Christ as both Lord and brother.
Ministry for priests and religious can also be particularly meaningful. They usually assist well-intentioned people needing guidance in the quest for holiness. Speaking about Jesus brings great satisfaction as they are describing one whom they love. Finally, Jesus assures his disciples that those who serve him faithfully will receive eternal life. He means that not even death will separate them from the joy of his companionship.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 17:20-24; Mark 10:17-27)
The reading from Sirach today may serve to remind us that Lent is approaching. Its line, “Return to him and give up sin” anticipates the alternate admonition for the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Many of us, I suspect, listen to these words with all the attention of a stone-deaf person at a piano recital; that is, they just don’t register.
The problem is not that we are bad people. As a matter of fact, we are like the man in the gospel who can say to Jesus that he has kept all the commandments since his youth. We do not understand nor do we care to understand that Jesus is calling us beyond standard conventions of morality to saintliness. He means for us to stop talking about others, to stop looking with lustful eyes, to stop doing good so that others may take notice.
A very good moral theologian once compared himself to the great Reinhold Niebuhr. He said that Niebuhr was a thorough perfectionist where he just wanted to be “a little bit better.” We suffer the same pathology. We don’t care to be saints but satisfy ourselves thinking that we are “a little bit better” than most of the rest. It is no wonder that Jesus concludes today’s gospel saying that salvation is impossible for humans without God’s help.
(Sirach 17:20-24; Mark 10:17-27)
The reading from Sirach today may serve to remind us that Lent is approaching. Its line, “Return to him and give up sin” anticipates the alternate admonition for the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Many of us, I suspect, listen to these words with all the attention of a stone-deaf person at a piano recital; that is, they just don’t register.
The problem is not that we are bad people. As a matter of fact, we are like the man in the gospel who can say to Jesus that he has kept all the commandments since his youth. We do not understand nor do we care to understand that Jesus is calling us beyond standard conventions of morality to saintliness. He means for us to stop talking about others, to stop looking with lustful eyes, to stop doing good so that others may take notice.
A very good moral theologian once compared himself to the great Reinhold Niebuhr. He said that Niebuhr was a thorough perfectionist where he just wanted to be “a little bit better.” We suffer the same pathology. We don’t care to be saints but satisfy ourselves thinking that we are “a little bit better” than most of the rest. It is no wonder that Jesus concludes today’s gospel saying that salvation is impossible for humans without God’s help.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 6:5-17; Mark 10:1-12)
In the gospel Jesus not only crimps the male prerogative to divorce in accord with the original intent of creation, he also reverses the consequence of original sin. At their judgment God tells Eve that she will be dominated by Adam. Now, Jesus indicates, there will be equality again between the two. Behind this audacious move Jesus intends both to save women from the ignominy and poverty of being divorced and to urge husband and wife to become the best of friends.
The reading from Sirach indicates the value of such a relationship. A “best friend” listens to our venting to help us tolerate life’s vagaries. She or he also protects us from the consequences of rash action by proffering wisdom when we are angry or confused. Other friendships may be as deep as water on a tabletop. They only coax us to avoid responsibility and then offer platitudes in distress.
We want to encourage our young to look for a spouse who will be a true friend. Too often men marry women more from sexual attraction than from virtue. And women look for men for much the same reason as well as their capacity to provide life’s comforts. These values are out of line with the Kingdom Jesus preaches. If our young are to live as Jesus would have them, they will take as much care in finding a spouse as a Fortune 500 corporation in choosing a CFO. They will search for a person who is -- most of all – faithful, honest, caring, and wise.
(Sirach 6:5-17; Mark 10:1-12)
In the gospel Jesus not only crimps the male prerogative to divorce in accord with the original intent of creation, he also reverses the consequence of original sin. At their judgment God tells Eve that she will be dominated by Adam. Now, Jesus indicates, there will be equality again between the two. Behind this audacious move Jesus intends both to save women from the ignominy and poverty of being divorced and to urge husband and wife to become the best of friends.
The reading from Sirach indicates the value of such a relationship. A “best friend” listens to our venting to help us tolerate life’s vagaries. She or he also protects us from the consequences of rash action by proffering wisdom when we are angry or confused. Other friendships may be as deep as water on a tabletop. They only coax us to avoid responsibility and then offer platitudes in distress.
We want to encourage our young to look for a spouse who will be a true friend. Too often men marry women more from sexual attraction than from virtue. And women look for men for much the same reason as well as their capacity to provide life’s comforts. These values are out of line with the Kingdom Jesus preaches. If our young are to live as Jesus would have them, they will take as much care in finding a spouse as a Fortune 500 corporation in choosing a CFO. They will search for a person who is -- most of all – faithful, honest, caring, and wise.
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