Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Judges 9:6-15; Matthew 20:1-16)

“Some people have all the luck,” we say when we wonder why others have better looks, bigger muscles, or more brains than we.  We are like the workers in today’s gospel who come to complain about the supposedly unfair pay they have received.  They want to do something about the matter.  People today think that they can do something as well.  They want to manipulate their genetic makeup so that at least their children may look better, feel stronger, and think more swiftly.

But even scientists warn that it’s a bad idea to try to determine future outcomes by genetic manipulation.  Human makeup is so complex that trying to improve one part of it may well result in injury to another.  Also, success in life is more than the sum of one’s looks, strength, and intelligence.  It is best to accept one’s genes for what they are and then strive to become the best person that one can be.

Jesus indicates as much in the parable.  Those who complain about the salary they receive are sent packing by the owner of the vineyard.  Meanwhile those who work hard and receive gratefully what they are given appear doubly blessed.  We are wise to take our cues from them.  Let us not worry about our shortcomings but make most of the talent given to us.  We are wise to thank God daily and ask His help to be His true daughters and sons.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Judges 2:11-19; Matthew 19:23-30)

“Bear” Bryant, the football coach, won the reputation of being a harsh and successful taskmaster.  His players were notoriously slim, not because they didn’t eat but because he trained them so hard.  Coach Bryant’s teams won six national titles in his twenty-five years as the head coach at the University of Alabama.  In today’s gospel Jesus presents himself similarly as the one who leads his disciples to their goal.

The passage challenges its readers.  It seems to indicate that the sure way to eternal life is to renounce wealth and follow Jesus.  It may be asked then, “Are only vowed religious guaranteed a place in heaven?”  An affirmative answer here is faulty on two levels.  First, it misses Jesus’ point that eternal life is not so much a matter of being destitute but of following him.  True, the young man in question is ostensibly called to poverty, but more generally the sine qua non of eternal life is adherence to Jesus, not forfeiting possessions.  Also, taking a vow of poverty or even living in radical poverty does not necessarily mean having a virtuous life.  Again, eternal life is a matter of taking one’s cues from Jesus.

But we should not be overly consoled by the understanding that renunciation of wealth is not absolutely necessary for eternal life.  The rich very often find their greatest satisfaction in what they can do for themselves and not in what God does for them.  Such a stance is incongruent with following Jesus.

Monday, August 23, 2017

Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Judges 2:11-19; Matthew 19:16-22)

We think of judges as magistrates who interpret laws and rules in public settings.  The judges of a dance competition, for example, determine which dancers best reflect the principles of agility, creativity, and clarity of expression.  But interpretation is not the principal function of the judges of the Old Testament.  Rather than sit back and decide, these men and women led the people forward by reestablishing righteousness when the ways of God were forsaken. 

Today’s reading from the Book of Judges indicates the difficulty that Israel’s judges faced.  The people were not given to keeping the Covenant which their ancestors made with the Lord.  Rather, they followed the heathen practices of their non-Israelite neighbors.  Their waywardness led to internal weakness and hence subjugation by foreign powers.  God raised up judges to stir ardor within the tribes of Israel to follow His ways.  Regretfully, however, the new righteousness was always short-lived.

The failure of judges to produce lasting goodness eventually gave way to the period of kings who consolidated the tribes and, at least initially, had some success in transforming the people’s errant ways.  Although this arrangement ultimately failed as well, it did bring the hope of a messiah who would bring about lasting righteousness throughout the world.  Jesus fulfilled this expectation by establishing not a political state but a holy people living in every land.  We make up part of this people today and try with all our soul to live up to Jesus’ righteousness. 

Friday, August 18, 2017

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Joshua 24:1-13; Matthew 19:3-12)

Once crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, I came to the toll booth and was waved on.  When I stopped to inquire why I didn’t have to pay, the toll collector said that the woman in the car ahead of me paid my toll.   I do not know the reason for the woman’s generosity. She did not know me.  Indeed, she could hardly have even seen me.  I presume that she felt grateful about something in her life and just wanted to help another person. 

As the woman was probably the recipient of a favor that she had received, Joshua reminds the Israelites in today’s first reading that their fortune is not their own doing.  Indeed, God has been their benefactor at every stage of their illustrious saga.  The point is that the people should be grateful to God by heeding His commands which are in good part directed to social solidarity.

We must beware that selfishness and greed does not allow us to forget God and neighbor.  All of us, as Joshua says, are beneficiaries of land that we did not till and cities that we did not build.  Richly endowed by our forebears, we are not so much to pay them back as to pay others forward.  That is, we are to give thanks by helping others.  We are to contribute to efforts which shape a society where everyone can live, grow, and prosper.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Joshua 3:7-10a.11.13-17; Matthew 18:21-19:1)

Thanks to Cecil B. De Mille most people know that the Bible depicts the Red Sea splitting in two so that the Israelites might escape the Egyptian charioteers.  Few, however, are aware of the Jordan River parting so the God’s Chosen Ones might enter the Promised Land.  The first reading today from the Book of Joshua tells this second story.  The responsorial psalm also refers to it.  This same psalm is part of the Liturgy of the Hours for Easter Sunday evening which helps us understand the meaning of the event in Christian eyes.

The Church reads the Old Testament as foretelling the person and mission of Jesus Christ.  Theologians call such a reading typology.  The story of the Ark of the Covenant leading the Israelites through the Jordan is a type for Christ’s bringing his followers into the fullness of God’s kingdom.  Jesus is for us the Holy of Holies whose death and resurrection make it possible for us to transverse the otherwise impassible gulf between earth and heaven.

If Jesus facilitates the crossing, then what must we do?  Our role in our salvation is both nothing and everything.  All that is required of us is to believe in Jesus by following his commands.  The gospel demonstrates the paradox of this challenge.  You would think it would be nothing for the servant whose master has just written off his large debt to forgive the small debt of a fellow servant.  But no, the servant – probably thinking “this is a different case” – punishes his counterpart.  We must not do likewise; rather, we are to open our hearts to those who genuinely ask forgiveness just as Christ has opened the way to our salvation.