Thursday, August 22, 2019

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Judges 11:29-39a; Matthew 21:1-14)

Human misunderstanding of God’s will is at least as old as the Bible.  In today’s first reading the Israeli judge Jephthah thinks that the sacrifice of a human person will somehow please God.  He defies both revealed and natural law in order to make one. Jephthah does not desist even when he discovers that the victim will be his only daughter. 

To many the wedding guest in today’s gospel parable is a victim of poverty.  They say that he should not have been punished because he was too poor to own a wedding garment.  However, wedding garments at the time were not a luxury but available to everyone.  The man is rightly seen as an ingrate who defies the graciousness of his host.  The parable may be seen as an allegory.  As one is obliged to wear proper dress to a wedding banquet, people must confess their sins to be admitted to heaven. 

Understanding God’s will is a matter of reflection and action.  We read the Scriptures to learn what God has ordained in writing.  Very important as well are the commentaries by bishops, especially the popes, and theologians.  We also must act on our conclusions.  If our interpretation of God’s will is on the mark, our action will bring about true good. 

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Memorial of Saint Pius X, pope

(Judges 9:6-15; Matthew 19:1-16)

“In the land where there are no eagles a grasshopper jumps and says, ‘I am an eagle.’” So runs an old Malay fable.  Fables are stories which dramatize animals or other non-human entities in order to deliver a moral message.  The reading from the Book of Judges today comprises a fable which approximates the one just mentioned.  The issue is the appointment of a king over Israel.  Useful trees like the olive and the fig refuse the honor of kingship so a buckthorn, which is no more than a large shrub, assumes the office.  The buckthorn represents Abimelech, the cutthroat son of Gideon.  He slaughtered seventy half-brothers to secure his throne and afterward burned alive the people of Migdal-shechem.  The reading anticipates the latter atrocity when it mentions fire coming from the buckhorn. 

The moral offered by the story is that Israel should not seek a king but accept the kingship of God.  Anything less will result in suffering for the poor as today’s gospel indicates.  Jesus begins the passage with the familiar statement, “The Kingdom of heaven is like...” He then proceeds to tell the parable of the workers in the vineyard.  Some of the workers, he says, grumble at the end of the story because the landowner -- the God-figure -- chooses to pay all his workers the same salary.  Although it may seem unfair, Jesus only relates the justice of God which allows every worker to provide for his family.  The grumblers, on the other hand, insist on a more exacting although less beneficial scale of compensation.

We have every reason to be wary of theocracies – that is, governments supposedly ruled by divine law.  We need civil government to regulate the material goods of a society.  But we should realize that civil governments must base policies on the common good.  This may sound simple but becomes technically complicated.  It assures the meeting of every person’s basic needs.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

 Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)

Religious life, much like secular life, is prone to excess.  Monastic orders have taken the vow of poverty very seriously since antiquity.  Yet, over time, members have grown accustomed to different comforts.  Benedictines, whose motto is “to pray and to work,” began to abandon at least manual work in the early Middle Ages.  A reform movement sprung up at the monastery of Citeaux in France.  Its most famous representative is St. Bernard whose feast is celebrated today.

Bernard believed deeply in living poverty as a means to follow Christ.  He understood implicitly Jesus’ comment in today’s gospel about the improbability of the rich entering the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom, he would say, belongs to those who trust in God and not in their material resources.  He undoubtedly would lament today’s facility for checking one’s wealth as well as its meager concern for an evangelical lifestyle.

Wealth is not bad in itself, of course.  But we should use it for the good of all, not selfishly spent on ourselves.  Cruises, expensive sports events, costly entertainment all seem superfluous.  But perhaps even these luxuries might be justified when occasional and purchased after we give due attention to the needy.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

The rich young man approaches Jesus with arrogant self-confidence.  He calls him, “Teacher,” despite the fact that Jesus has told his disciples not to use that title.  He also talks about “gain(ing) eternal life” as if it were a stocks acquisition.  He will learn that eternal life is not a business dealing.

Jesus quickly dispels the man’s pretentiousness.  He tells him that only God is good; that is, only God is without sin.  He also quotes from the “second tablet” of the Decalogue treating of relations with other people.  He concludes the list of commandments with his summary -- a variation of the “golden rule.”  Then he surprisingly equates gaining eternal life with “be(ing) perfect.” By this term he does not mean an obsessive perfectionism.  Rather he indicates that one can learn perfection in his company.  One finds eternal life in reorienting one’s life to follow himslef.

The rich young man is unwilling to make the sacrifice.  He insists like the “Great Gatsby” and other egotistical literary heroes, to do things his way.  Let us not make their mistake.  Rather we should want to submit to Jesus’ way.  Like him we are to bend to become humble, generous, and most of all loving.  In short, we are to give of ourselves for the good of others.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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

If we ask a Jew what is the first commandment, we are likely to receive a surprising answer.  She probably will not say, “I am the Lord, your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.” Nor will she say, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all you heart and soul.”  No, Jews regularly look to Genesis One for the answer to this question: “Be fruitful and multiply.”  For Jews God’s primary command is to marry and to have a family.  For this reason Jesus comments that his statement about celibacy in today’s gospel will be difficult to accept.

Jesus also goes back to Genesis in defending the indissolubility of marriage.  He extrapolates from Genesis Two which says that in marriage a man and a woman become one flesh.  His point is that this union is not to be fractured.  The Pharisees have inquired of Jesus exceptions to the rule about the indissolubility of marriage.  So far Jesus has indicated that there are none.  But now he makes an allowance.  One can be exempted from the obligation to marry and have children for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Does this mean that people who do not marry or become a religious are somehow defying God’s will?  We ask this question from concern of those who have never met “Mr. or Ms. Right.”  Jesus would not condemn them.  He would only urge them to live for the Kingdom of God by praying and assisting the needy.