Thursday, August 8, 2013

Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest

(Numbers 20:1-13; Matthew 16:13-23)

“’You are thinking not as God does but as human beings do,’” Jesus tells Peter in the gospel today.  The lead disciple has just denied that Jesus will have to suffer and die because he is the Messiah.  He wouldn’t say the same thing to Dominic as a young cleric.

Dominic was studying in Palencia, Spain, when the region underwent a famine. The poor were perishing, but few rich people or the authorities came to their assistance.  Dominic could not bear the sight.  He gave away all his possessions to the poor and even sold the parchments he had for study with the proceeds going to feed the hungry.  Eventually Dominic founded his order based on radical poverty.  He did not mean to burden anyone but to preach that peace comes from trusting in God.

It may not be prudent to empty our bank accounts on behalf of charity. But it is certainly unjust to horde money or to spend it lavishly while people suffer want.  We should pray for the gifts of wisdom and generosity that we may come to think and live as God would have us do.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Numbers 13:1-2.25-14.1.26a-29a.34-35; Matthew 15:21-28)

The movie “Chariots of Fire” features the men of great heart who composed the 1920 English Olympic track team.  In one scene their American rivals demonstrate technical excellence in training.  They do warm-up calisthenics as if they were jet engines tuning up for take-off.  In the end, however, the Americans are bettered by the determined Brits.  Such heart seems in short supply among the Israelites as they hear the reports of the inhabitants of the Promised Land in the first reading.

The Israelites fail to see that they have God on their side.  He has saved them from Pharaoh’s mighty army and provided for their needs in the desert.  Still the people cower after hearing of formidable enemies. They should know by now that it is not any physical advantage that would provide the margin of victory but God’s presence on their behalf.

When we face long odds, we best redouble our prayers.  It is not that we expect to triumph in every challenge, but we can pray that we emerge from the contest wiser, more gracious people.  Win or lose, we remain children of the unbeatable God.  In the end He will be our winning margin.  

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

The Transfiguration of the Lord

(Daniel 7:9-10.13-14; II Peter 1:16-19; Luke 9:28b-36)

In commenting on the Transfiguration in the Gospel of Luke, Pope Benedict XVI notes that it occurs when Jesus is praying.  He says that it is the interpenetration of Jesus with God the Father that produces the sensation of pure light.  Jesus becomes, as John’s gospel declares, “light from light.”

In prayer Jesus recognizes that God is calling him to suffer.   He can glimpse the cross awaiting him in Jerusalem, the “Exodus” which Moses and Elijah mention in the passage.  The vision does not deter him but compels him forward because he knows that it is the Father’s will.  Meanwhile, the disciples are being prepared for the shock ahead.

We should see a similar eventuality for ourselves in the future.  Whether we suffer through old age or face death in an instant, the experience will not be easy.  Like Jesus we should place our trust in God.  Like him we will be giving positive example to our associates.  Like him we will come to know God’s glory.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Numbers 11:4b-15; Matthew 14:13-21)

When a commodity becomes plentiful and cheap, people are likely to look for more costly alternatives.  At one time chicken was most families’ favorite fare mostly reserved for Sunday dinner.  Today, by contrast, with mass (and inhumane) methods of poultry farming, it has become relatively inexpensive, and many families prefer steak or salmon on special occasions.  In the first reading something similar is brewing.

The Hebrews have grown tired of manna.  Having to eat it every day, they return to Moses with the complaint that they should have stayed in Egypt.  Moses goes to the Lord with the dilemma.  He may think that the people should be grateful to have sustenance along with their freedom, but he knows that they are still not holy, still not truly the Lord’s.   Perhaps Moses himself betrays the same rebellious spirit as he attempts to weasel out of God’s service.

Holiness is a matter of being different.  But the difference is not being individualistic.  Holiness is going against the grain of human sinfulness that hankers after pride, pleasure, and power.  It is overcoming the tendency to see ourselves as all-important, thanking God as the source of our blessings, and then becoming a blessing to others.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Leviticus 23:1.4-11.15-16.27.34b-37; Matthew 13:54-58)

In one of his novels Larry McMurtry tells the story of an antique collector who buys a precious item from the owners of a second-hand store.  The owners ask a price many times below the object’s value because they do not know its real worth.  In the gospel today the townspeople where Jesus grew up similarly do not recognize Jesus for who he really is. 

The people of Nazareth think that they know Jesus because they know his family.  They cannot comprehend that he is the long awaited Messiah who comes to save Israel.  Even his miraculous cures and his wonderful teaching do not convince them but just confound them more.

Some of us may likewise be scandalized by the ways that Jesus dominantly makes himself present today.  He does not come in a grand banquet which we have to pay thousands of dollars to attend.  No, he is present in the simple hosts and the inexpensive wine that we bring to the altar.  His teachings promising eternal life are also neither complex nor enigmatic.  No, they contain the straightforward message that we are to love God above all and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  We must be careful not to reject Jesus as his townspeople do in the gospel.  Quite the contrary, we must be ever grateful that he makes himself available to us and to all.