Monday, April 9, 2018

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

(Isaiah 7:10-14.8:10; Hebrews 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38)

A new coffee filter promises to make better coffee by filtering the water before it touches the coffee grounds.  Separating the good from the bad or the true from the false has always been a helpful exercise.  It is the essence of discernment which in turn is at the heart of today’s readings.

King Ahaz sounds pious when he rejects Isaiah’s offer for a sign in the first reading.  Actually he is refusing to engage in discernment so that he might enter into a pact with Assyria.  God expects obedience from His creatures, not sanctimony.  The Letter to the Hebrews shows Christ responding in the way God desires: “’…behold, I come to do your will, O God,” he says.  The four gospels are in accord that discerning and obeying the Lord’s will is a particular attribute of Jesus.  But he is not the only one who does God’s will.  Mary, his mother, proves herself similarly obedient.  In today’s gospel she discerns the sign of Elizabeth’s pregnancy as a sufficient indicator of what God expects of her.

We often have difficulty discerning God’s will.  Signs are ambiguous.  The probable results of proposed actions are unclear.  Prayer is helpful in such situations as is seeking advice of wise people.  We also have to questions our motives in doing one thing or another.  Then we act, never doing anything contrary to what we know to be God’s will and always praying for God’s assistance.

Friday, April 6, 2018

Friday within the Octave of Easter

(Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14)

Speaking truth to power often puts one in danger.  Martin Luther King, Jr., did it continually and died by an assassin’s bullet.  Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador also spoke up on behalf of the poor and likewise died a martyr’s death.  Both of these contemporary prophets no doubt were inspired by Peter’s speech in today’s first reading.

Peter is being harassed by Jewish authorities for having invoked the name of Jesus.  His persecutors want to suppress the cult of Jesus, but Peter cannot but proclaim what he experienced with Jesus’ resurrection.  As he says, God raised Jesus from the dead and there is no salvation other than in him.  Peter publicly pronounces Jesus’ salvation four other times in the Acts of the Apostles.  Although Acts does not tell of his martyrdom, his fate is sealed for so boldly declaring the primary Christian message.

All of us have opportunity to speak truth to power.  When we find ourselves confronting an injustice, we should prepare ourselves to speak well.  We want to make sure that what we say is true.  Sometimes the power we are addressing is not as evil as it appears.  Then we must be ready to endure repercussions.  However, if we know what we are talking about and say it with prudence, we may convince at least some of the powerful people who oppose us.  Finally, we want to pray for assistance.  Jesus promises his disciples his continued presence when they speak what he teaches.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Thursday within the Octave of Easter

(Acts 3:11-26; Luke 24:35-48)

During the Easter season the Church does not use the Old Testament in its liturgies other than the Psalms.  Its purpose is to emphasize how Jesus’ resurrection makes everything new.  But this does not mean that the Old Testament is entirely silent.  It is so inextricable to the Christian message that it will be continually found in readings selected from the New Testament.  This can be demonstrated in in today’s first reading.

After healing the lame man St. Peter explains the purpose of the miracle to the astonished people.  He says that God is using the healing to glorify Jesus in whose name it was performed.  Then Peter identifies Jesus as the prophet whom Moses anticipates in the Book of Deuteronomy.   Belief of this prophet, he indicates, brings salvation from one’s sins.  Not heeding him, Moses continues, will lead to being cut off from God’s people. 

The Jews to this day have never converted en masse to Christ.  This does that mean, however, that they have forsaken their heritage as God’s chosen people.  At Vatican II the bishops taught, citing St. Paul, that God is always faithful to his promise, that God will never withdraw his favor from Israel.  We pray that the Jews will be faithful to the Covenant made to Moses.  In this way they will help us to understand Jesus better.  He came to redeem all humanity, even those who do not acknowledge him as their savior.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Wednesday of the First Week of Easter

(Acts 3:1-10; Lucas 24:13-35)

As the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, falls the day after Christmas, today marks not just the fourth day of Easter but also the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  King should be seen as a contemporary martyr who daily risked his life until he was murdered.  The motive of the crime was racial bigotry which King prophesied against with heart, mind, and soul.

Today’s gospel shows Jesus’ disciples unable to recognize him as he explained to them the Hebrew Scriptures.  Fifty years ago many Americans had a similar blindness to King’s biblical denunciation of racism.  They had to be awakened to the evil by the murders of innocent children, civil rights workers, and finally the prophet King himself. 

We honor Martin Luther King today by examining our attitudes and actions to people of other social backgrounds.  Like Peter and John going out to the crippled man in today’s first reading we have to look in the eyes of men and women of other races, religions, sexual tendencies, and economic statuses and demonstrate our care for them.  Money was not the principal concern of the apostles nor is it ours today.  More than anything else, a greater commitment to social solidarity is needed among the different peoples who make up our society.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Tuesday of Easter Week

(Acts 2:36-41; John 20:11-18)

Deacon Luis is known as a happy fellow.  His smile beams just about all the time.  He is also kind and helpful.  One cannot tell from anything in his demeanor that he suffers considerable pain.  Arthritis pervades his bones and an injury that has been diagnosed as a cracked pelvis continually reminds him of its presence.  He takes a prescribed painkiller, but there appears to be more than that to give him such a gracious countenance.  Luis seems to have appropriated the joy of the resurrection which both readings today intimate.

In the gospel Maria is at first sad not only because of the traumatic ending to Jesus’ life but also because she believes that his body has been stolen.  When Jesus calls her by name, her tears turn into ecstasy.  She cannot help but cling to her teacher and friend.  In the reading from Acts Peter advises the Jews not to worry about having crucified God’s chosen one.  Rather, he tells them to be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit who not only forgives sins but also instills the hope of eternal life.

So why do some of us Christians today go about with heavy hearts and downcast faces?  Pope Francis has commented that many sport a “face of a funeral wake.”  It is probably so because they have a hard time accepting the fact that salvation is a gift and not something we earn.  Christ has done the work through his death and resurrection.  Now we accompany him in joy.