Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

(II Samuel 7:4-17; Mark 4:1-20)

In an appeal for simplicity, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” a song John Denver made famous, calls life “a funny, funny riddle.”  In a similar way Jesus in today’s gospel explains that the secrets of life are revealed in parables.

Jesus’ usage of parable seems strange, even inimical.  At first hearing he makes them sound like riddles that are told so that people would have trouble understanding.  On the other hand, parables are known today as comparisons to help the simple-hearted believe in the mercy of God.  Which explanation is correct?  Unsurprisingly, both are.  The parables are indeed meant to help simple people trust in God.  Sophisticated people also may interpret them correctly.  But if sophisticates are driven by the thirst for power, pleasure, or prestige, they will dismiss parables as foolish folk tales and be unmoved by their wisdom. 

Jesus is asking that we prepare ourselves to be receptive ground for the word of God.  He wants us to make its understanding our priority in life, preferable to watching television, making money, or going to the gym.  To accomplish this goal we must read the word it slowly, ponder it carefully, and pray to God to enlighten its meaning. 

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest

(II Samuel 6:12b-15.17-19; Mark 3:31-35)

St. Thomas Aquinas was born nearly eight hundred years ago in a society very different from our own.  Yet his ideas, which were not unappreciated in his time, remain the source of rich inquiry today.  Science, which seems so thoroughly modern, can find in Aquinas’ philosophical speculations much food for thought.  The Big Bang theory, for example, once thought avant-garde in the twentieth century, rests well with Aquinas’ metaphysical conclusions about a Creator who preexisted creation and continues to uphold in existence every one of the billions of galaxies spread across the universe along with their components.

But Aquinas’ understanding of such a comprehensive Creator did not conflict with his attention to a personal God.  Like the relation between gargantuan stars and infinitesimal sub-atomic particles, Aquinas accepted the biblical insight that God loves each item in His creation, especially – it needs to be added – the human person.  It might be said that Thomas saw the human being as the hinge between the big and the small that comprise the universe, and Jesus Christ as the link between God and the human person. 

Most often images of Aquinas show a sun beaming on his chest.  That sun represents Thomas himself.  His thought has enabled humans to see more clearly the relation between the created order and the God of faith.  At times it shines so brightly that it blinds.  That is the profundity of his thought which can leave our minds perplexed.  But the warmth of its rays can also console.  That is his understanding of Jesus Christ which helps us to locate our final hope in him.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

(II Samuel 5:1-7.10; Mark 3:22-20)

Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?  No, that would be a contradiction for the all-powerful God.  And could there be a sin so bad that God could not forgive it?  No, that too would contradict the God, the Father of mercies.  Then what is this talk about the unpardonable sin in the gospel today?

Jesus comes to earth as God’s very forgiveness.  That is, to believe in him by becoming his disciple is to receive forgiveness.  To reject him, as the scribes from Jerusalem do by accusing him of collusion with the devil, is to deny God’s forgiveness.  It is like the old story of the man who drowned in a flood after refusing to get in a safety boat saying God would rescue him. 

Then can only Christians be saved?  Yes, but not only professed Christians.  The Holy Spirit acts in ways that seem strange to us.  Working from within, the Spirit moves many to Christ’s compassion and truth without their even knowing it.  If such people were on hand when Jesus walked the earth, they would never have rejected him.  We need to ask ourselves if we would have?

Friday, January 24, 2014

Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church

(I Samuel 24:3-21; Mark 3:13-19)

Vatican II’s proclamation of the universal call to holiness surprised many people who somehow thought it an innovation.  Of course, it was not.  The Scriptures claim it (cf., I Thessalonians 4:7), and spiritual theologians like St. Francis de Sales have made it a foundational principle.  Francis’ Introduction to the Devout Life gives insight to how people in different walks of life may come to know the Lord intimately.  Perhaps the misinterpretation of today’s gospel has caused the confusion over this important truth.

Jesus calls his apostles from the growing number of disciples who have followed him.  They are likely capable men with gifts of communication and tolerance to face the challenges of itinerant preaching.  Those he does not choose for the task remain people charged to “repent and believe in the gospel.”  In other words, they are still called to holiness even though, for one reason or another, Jesus does not specify their contribution to the Kingdom in the same way as the twelve.

Called to holiness by God, we endeavor to form a close relationship with Jesus.  We learn about him through studying the gospels.  We speak to him in prayer where we tell him of our love.  And we ask his assistance with all our needs.  His reply to us comes through our daily experience, especially the murmurings of conscience.   

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Samuel 18:6-9.19:1-7; Mark 3:7-12)

Every year from January 18 - 25 Christians of all stripes are asked to pray for Church unity.  The festival of prayer ends with the celebration of the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Of course, the apostle to the Gentiles not only championed Church unity but also expressed a willingness to sacrifice himself so that the majority of his fellow Jews would join the former pagans in accepting Christ.  For various historical reasons, unity is elusive, but today’s gospel hints at a good reason for cooperation among all Christians.

Throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus strives to keep his identity as God’s Son hidden.  In today’s passage he admonishes the unclean spirits, the only ones who are aware of whom he is, not to make him known.  His reasoning is not hard to fathom.  Jesus wants to demonstrate that God will save His people even more through suffering than through deeds of power.  In 1901 the Protestant scholar William Wrede published his idea of a “Messianic secret” to describe Jesus’ intention to hide his identity.  Wrede’s explanation has been refuted over the years, but his thesis has spurred study and reflection by Christians from different traditions.

Catholicism is indebted to Protestantism for the latter’s Scriptural scholarship as it owes respect to Orthodoxy for its attention to liturgy.  Other churches and faith communities can similarly look to Catholicism for ordered unity.  All Christians should share their different gifts so that God’s plan for His Church may be fully realized.  Of course, real unity cannot be achieved without a demand for truth.  But for that reason as well, we must not allow pride and prejudice to derail the quest.