Week 29, Sunday. Year of Faith - Words of THE WORD

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“To You I call; for You will surely heed me, O God; turn Your ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of Your eye; in the shadow of Your wings protect me." (Psalm 17:6, 8)

COLLECT

Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. (Psalm 33:22).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Therefore, since we have (Ἔχοντες, Echontes)
a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast (κρατῶμεν, kratomen)
to our confession (ὁμολογίας, homologias).
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly
been tested in every way, yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”
(Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16.

REFLECTION

Today is World Mission Sunday and this is observed throughout the Church universal. Coming as it does only days after the opening of the “Year of Faith” and the “Synod on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith,” World Mission Sunday recalls specifically Jesus’ command: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).” Both the Synod and the “Year of Faith” have shed bright light on Jesus’ missionary mandate and brought into clear focus broad as well as specific dimensions of the Church’s missionary life that must be engaged in both the evangelizing of the World and the re-evangelizing of those who have been catechized in the Faith, but have drifted away from the encounter with the Person, Jesus.

How timely as the Letter to the Hebrews expresses concerns (some might say alarm) for those who have drifted away from the assembly and encourages them to return. Why? It is all about grasping the uniqueness of Who Jesus is as “the Great High Priest.” As the proclamation from Hebrews begins this Sunday, this is the joy, confidence and hope of the inspired authored: “we have (Ἔχοντες, Echontes) a great high priest.” The Greek verb ἔχω (echo) is appropriately translated “to have.” But a quick check of any Greek lexicon reveals that this verb has many, many shades of meaning. Many of those meanings historically developed as earlier languages, particularly Hebrew and other Semitic languages, did not have the verb “to have.” While there were certainly ways of describing possession without the verb “to have,” as this verb came into later languages of antiquity a distinction was made between the verb’s application to an object and the verb’s application to some aspect of human living. Bauer notes in his Lexicon that when referencing human life, ἔχω means “to stand in a close relationship to someone.” This is the grounding of the author’s confidence. Not an ideology. Not a listing of do’s and don’ts. Not a listing of teachings or principles. Simply, a Person – a unique Person Who is God-in-the-flesh.

Because of Who this Person is, Hebrews is clear about ‘holding fast’ to “our confession.” The translation, “let us hold fast,” is an apt rendering of κρατέω (kratwo) into English, yet antiquity and the context suggest examining the meaning of κρατέω further. While some uses of κρατέω suggest a violent grasping or seizing, others suggest “to use one’s hands to establish a close contact.” Once again, in a human context the image is more of relationship, connection, and encounter. This helps us to view “our confession (κρατῶμεν, kratomen)” not as heartless data stored somewhere in our psyche but rather an act of allegiance wherein each person commits the totality of herself or himself to another – in this case, the Person, Jesus.

For readers of this blog, much of today’s study of the Original Sacred Text echoes what has been seen in print (both the Lineamenta and the Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith) and what has been heard consistently from Pope Benedict and some bishop-participants at the Synod. They have echoed the words of Blessed John Paul II penned in an Apostolic Exhortation at the conclusion of another Synod called by his predecessor. “The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also to contemporary theology, “the mystery of Christ.” Catechizing is in a way to lead a person to study this mystery in all its dimensions: “to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery... comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth ...know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge ... (and be filled) with all the fullness of God.” It is therefore to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God’s eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of the signs worked by Him, for they simultaneously hide and reveal His mystery. Accordingly, the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity (Catechesi Tradendae, 5. 16 October 1979).” So important is this insight that it was repeated years later in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father. . .who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever.” To catechize is “to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God’s eternal design reaching fulfilment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of the signs worked by him.” Catechesis aims at putting “people . . . in communion . . . with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity (paragraph 426).”

Such is the missionary work we must all engage by virtue of our baptismal incorporation into Jesus Christ. Appropriately, the entire Church gives thanks for the many women and men both of previous generations as well as those who are heroically responding to the Lord’s call and work as missionaries in lands far removed from home and family. Also important this day is to know that while I as an individual may not be a Consecrated missionary in distant land, I am nonetheless impelled to reveal and never conceal the authentic face of Jesus Christ. Seize, therefore, opportunities in this “Year of Faith” to ‘continue being formed in the Faith, to speak always the Truth and to never be deficient in religious, moral or social living (Gaudium et Spes, 20).’

Week 28, Sunday. Year of Faith. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But with You is found forgiveness, O God of Israel." (Psalm 130:3-4)

COLLECT

May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and
follow after and make us
always determined to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!. (Psalm 90:14).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is living (Ζῶν)
and effective (ἐνεργὴς),
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating (διϊκνούμενος) even between
soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes
of him to whom we must render an account.”
(Letter to the Hebrews 4:12-13.

REFLECTION

As the beginning of the Year of Faith is noted this Sunday in many dioceses, s short and most appropriate passage from Letter to the Hebrews draws our attention to “the word of God.” Quickly, we hear that this “word” is “living (Ζῶν) and effective (ἐνεργὴς).” ζάω (zao) is the verb in the New Testament that often describes the unique life embodied in the Person Jesus. ζάω is distinguished from the Greek noun βίος (bios), also translated “life,” but life more on the level of natural metabolic processes such as circulation, respiration, digestion, etc. A number of scholars note that the New Testament usage and significance of ζάω as embodied in a person marks a noticeable difference between the two Testaments, with the Johannine usage not only echoing this meaning but sounding clearly, Jesus is ζάω.

Hebrews notes that this ζάω is ἐνεργής (energes), translated here as effective. The Greek word ἐνεργής is actually a compound of ἐν (en) meaning “in” (in the sense of localized presence) and ἔργον (ergon) meaning “work.” While wordy and somewhat awkward in English, ἐνεργής denotes a reality about ζάω that it is ‘a living that is a work (or act of labor) effected (being done) in the here-and-now.’ This underscores the dynamic quality of God’s word: it is impossible NOT to be impacted by the word of God. This is graphic imagery provided by διϊκνέομαι (diikneomai), “to penetrate” or “to pierce through.” Like ἐνεργής, διϊκνέομαι is a compound of two Greek words and when curiosity moved me to check some entries in a very old Lexicon, there are some references in Greek antiquity that viewed διϊκνέομαι as “cutting through that which is superfluous to arrive definitely at reality.” Yet another mouthful of words to describe 1 ancient word but the precision and image it offers in terms of Christian living is ‘priceless!’ For there is nothing more superfluous in life than sin itself and uncovering the reality of sin is at times as difficult as excising cancer from one’s body. We tend to hide from sin’s reality (certainly there is an echo of Genesis 3 in today’s proclamation), rationalize its appropriateness and go one with living life; at least we attempt to do such until we encounter a Person, the Person Jesus Who is ζάω and Whose very life is the embodiment of love and life.

It is vital to make this connection from the Sacred Printed Text to the Person Jesus. Paragraph 108 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a necessary insight for this Sunday’s Sacred Text: “Still, the Christian faith is not a “religion of the book”. Christianity is the religion of the “Word” of God, “not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living.” If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit,” open (our) minds to understand the Scriptures.” “…the word of God [that] is living (Ζῶν) and effective (ἐνεργὴς), sharper than any two-edged sword” is a Person and a Person Who sounds His very own Word that each of us may encounter Him and be blessed with the gift of a relationship with Him, a relationship that biblically is called Faith! We ought then, in light of Hebrews ask ourselves, how do I approach the word of God? Is the word of God merely pixels on a page or on a screen? Is the word of God simply one opinion among many that I may or may not consult prior to action? Or is listening to the word of God an encounter with a Person Who desires to know me and have me respond by daily conversion of heart, mind, body and strength?

Week 26, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON

“All that You have done to us, O Lord,
You have done with true judgement,
for we have sinned against You
and not obeyed Your commandments.
But give glory to Your Name and deal with us
according to the bounty of Your mercy.”

COLLECT

O God,
Who manifest Your almighty power
above all by pardoning and showing mercy,
bestow, we pray, Your grace abundantly upon us
and make those hastening to attain Your promises
heirs to the treasures of Heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. (Psalm 19:9).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

At that time, John said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ (ὅτι Χριστοῦ ἐστε, hoti Christou este),
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:38-48).’”

REFLECTION

Driving out demons, giving a cup of water to drink, not losing one’s reward, putting a milestone around someone’s neck not to mention cutting off a hand and foot while plucking out an eye: quite an array of actions all packed into a single proclamation. Not only is it difficult to discover a common thread among them all, many of the actions are rather gruesome, barbaric and hard to reconcile with a popular image of Jesus Who is often presented as being ‘a nice person.’ Recalling that we are listening to a section of the Marcan Gospel that many scholars view as core to the entire Gospel and having heard 2 distinct Passion ‘predictions’ over the past 2 weeks, it is safe to conclude that there is a vital point among apparent disparate actions that strikes to the core of the Gospel.

Initially, we are presented with actions involving service, particularly service that is done in Christ’s Name. These are actions that are impelled by deepening levels of unconditional love. The actions are not performed to ‘give back’ nor are they performed to get anything in return. Service in the Name of Jesus sees the need and acts practically without thinking to resolve that need. All of Jesus’ disciples are equipped not only to do this, but must do so. The fourth century saintly bishop of Nyssa, Gregory, put it this way in his Oration on Christian Perfection: “God never asks his servants to do what is impossible. The love and goodness of his Godhead is revealed as richly available. It is poured out like water upon all. God furnishes to each person according to his will the ability to do something good. None of those seeking to be saved will be lacking in this ability, given by the one who said: “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.” Yet difficulty remains, though, what vital point do these actions of service have in common with the ghastly actions of hacking at limbs and gouging out eyes that follows?

The vital point? Simple. A Person, a Divine Person, the Person Jesus the Christ. He is the fulcrum point upon which the edifying and grotesque actions balance. Driving out demons, mighty deeds in His Name, doing because one belongs to Christ all flow from ‘belonging to Christ.’ The violent actions that leave us scratching our heads trying to make sense of their place in the Gospel are the heroic lengths one must employ to prevent ‘not belonging to Christ.’ Consider Jesus’ Words: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ (ὅτι Χριστοῦ ἐστε, hoti Christou este), amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” As far as this translation is concerned, the key is ‘belonging to Christ.’ ἐστε (este), translated here as belong is the Greek verb “to be, to exist.” Belong, while not an erroneous word to translate ἐστε, does seem a bit weak, especially how it is understood in contemporary culture. We as people belong to something or to some organization. To say that I or another belong to another person is somewhat awkward, even among married couples as I clearly learned a few days ago: “I am not hers!” my good friend protested until I asked, “Is she yours?” He suggested that the conversation was too deep to have over a beer, and the rib eye steaks were done. But the conversation was nonetheless revealing and it certainly had me thinking about this text. Do we really get what it means to belong to Christ? Belonging to Christ is not a decision that I make on my own and then sign-up. I do not ‘join’ Jesus the way I join a civic, fraternal or sororal organization. While I certainly contribute something to those organizations, I also intend to receive something in return – AND – when that organization is no longer useful, I decide to no longer belong.

We ought to consider rendering ἐστε as existing since it delivers a vastly different picture of the disciple’s relationship with Jesus. The disciple is essentially one “who exists because of Christ.” Who I am, what I do, etc… is all grounded in the reality that my existence as an individual and everyone else’s existence is because of Jesus Christ, period. That realization unleashes awe, reverence, treating the other as precious, treasuring life and creation since they exist because of Christ. Consciousness of this and the consequent actions springing from this develop, grow and mature over time. Adrienne von Speyr wrote in Mark: Meditations on the Gospel of Mark, “The question is: Are there degrees in this belonging to the Lord? I think we must answer in the affirmative. There is a lukewarm belonging: one knows in some fashion who the Lord is, one has views about him that do not contradict his teaching but that do not give rise to a full surrender to him. It is this surrender that is decisive in belonging to the Lord. A person can probably consider himself to belong completely to the Lord in every state, insofar as this state is chosen in a will to serve, in a striving to give over everything he has to the Lord—not just a glass of water, but his whole life. The Lord himself acknowledges that the disciples belong to him who were particularly called and who, at least at the moment when they came, did not yet know for what they were giving their lives. He reckons it as merit to those who likewise acknowledge him if they possess enough belief and insight to acknowledge that the disciples belong to him and, therefore, are not afraid to offer them something in his name. They try to do this, like the disciples, in the Lord’s name.”

It is precisely in this growing maturity of ‘existing because of Christ’ that one must adopt a ‘zero toleration policy’ of sin. While the intention of the Sacred Text is not a horrific, physical chopping of body parts, the Sacred Text is clear: there are times when each must employ downright heroic efforts to combat the ‘yes’ to sin that always weakens ‘existing because of Christ.’ Sin cannot be soft-pedaled. Sin cannot be described as a ‘necessary development task or issue.’ Sin cannot be rationalized. Sin must be acknowledged as the affirmation of self-existence, a solitary world of disconnected living in which relational living and love, built on the surrender of self to the Other and others, cannot exist let alone grow.

Thankfully, the words do not end here and in fact they cannot. As horrific as sin is to ‘existing because of Christ,’ sin does not have the final word. The final word belongs to “God the Father of Mercies” – God the Father Who we acknowledge as Almighty because of His limitless love in the forgiveness of our sins (today’s Collect). The only power sin has is the place and power each of us gives it in our lives. Breaking its power begins with a human expression of sorrow – not just a spiritual or mental act asking for forgiveness; not just a 'quickie prayer’ but a human expression – with our heart AND lips. The same Saint Gregory quoted above wrote to the flock of his day employing medical terminology as an analogy for Christian living. When it came to sin, he spoke clearly of the need to voice sorrow aloud to the priest or bishop because that was the way for sin to ‘get out’ just as the body vomits poison from the stomach (he also had some other graphic descriptions of the digestive system for expunging other sins from the body.) The point is that God our Father is waiting to forgive, desires to forgive and wants our word of sorrow – expressed humanly (soul AND body, heart AND lips) – so that the limitless mercy of His forgiveness can flood our lives (spiritually and bodily) and bring healing that each may live fully a life ‘existing because of Christ.’

“God the Fathers of mercies,

through the death and resurrection of His Son

has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the

Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.

Through the ministry of the Church may

God give you pardon and peace.

And I absolve you from your sins in the

Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

I know the joy experienced when these words are prayed over me as a penitent by a priest or bishop. I know also the joy of praying these words over people in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When was the last time you ‘heard’ these freeing words? God the Father of Mercies is calling you and there is a priest who can’t wait to pray them aloud over you as well!

Week 25, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON

“I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to Me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord for ever.

COLLECT

O God,
Who founded all the commands of your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

The Lord upholds my life. (Psalm 54:6).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching (διδάσκω, didasko) his disciples and telling (ἔλεγεν, elegen) them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.” (Mark 9:30-33.”

REFLECTION

In the chronology of the Evangelist Mark, much has happened between last week’s lesson on Jesus’ identity and this week’s announcement once again of what awaits Jesus in Jerusalem. Preceding today’s proclamation, Jesus took Peter, James and John atop “a high mountain” and was transfigured before them. Jesus gave those three disciples a glimpse, a peek into His glorified identity – an identity that would not be revealed until the Cross. Following this event, which had the three questioning, “what rising from the dead meant,” a man brought his “son possessed by a mute spirit.” The father explained that the disciples could not cure him and Jesus reminded all of the need once again to have faith, that radical and complete trust in the Person, Jesus. In a dramatic characteristic of the Evangelist Mark, the episode - filled with violence at one point, ends with Jesus peacefully returning him to his father. Jesus’ disciples then question why they could not cure the son and Jesus once again counsels them on the necessity of prayer.

All of this forms a backdrop for today’s proclamation that once again reminds the disciples of the events that await Jesus in Jerusalem.

The episode opens with Jesus “teaching his disciples and telling them.” Teaching and telling: is there a difference between these two actions? While we generally think of teaching involving some type of oral communication, διδάσκω (didasko) is “teaching that demonstrates, shows or reveals.” The activity of διδάσκω involves much more than speaking bits of information to others. ‘Showing how’ the teaching works in the person’s life is more at the core meaning of διδάσκω. The disciples, as far as Jesus was concerned, were not only to hear what was being said (teaching) but to see the ‘teaching’ or the lesson embodied in the Teacher Himself. This is a particular meaning of διδάσκω that is rather unique in the biblical usage of both Testaments. Sadly, the disciples missed the point and Jesus needed to re-present the lesson.
The event does speak volumes to all involved in the Church’s teaching ministry. In view of the upcoming Year of Faith and the work of The New Evangelization, what are we doing in Catholic ‘education’? Are we merely barking facts about Jesus and couching His moral teaching under the rubric of the ‘Good News of no you can’t’? The present concern of The New Evangelization is clear: the handing-on of the Person Jesus wherein the ‘seers’ and ‘listeners’ encounter a Person - Jesus and respond with lives of daily conversion and service to God our Father and one another.

Week 24, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full reference)

“Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for You, that Your prophets be found true. Hear the prayers of Your servant, and of Your people Israel. (Sirach 36:18)

COLLECT

Look upon us, O God,
Creator and ruler of all things, and,
that we may feel the working of your mercy,
grant that we may serve you With all our heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living (Psalm 114: 9).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Christ." Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:27-35)

REFLECTION

From a seemingly innocuous question, to an announcement of death and the command to take up one’s Cross each day, this episode in Mark’s Gospel opens what many scholars term the core of the Marcan proclamation of Good News. Mark 8:22 through 10:52 is unit within this Gospel. It opens at 8:22 with the healing of a blind man and closes at 10:52 with sight restored to another blind man, suggesting a lesson on the necessity to see clearly and properly as a disciple of the Kingdom. Many key and challenging teachings of Jesus regarding Kingdom living are sounded in this part of the Gospel according to Mark, not the least of which are three specific teachings on Jesus’ impending passion, death and resurrection that elicits various responses from disciples; disciples at this point in their lives who are apparently blind to the understanding and demands Kingdom living.

Hermon Springs, Israel. Like the disciples, I too recall spending a relaxing moment here with by beloved Dad and sipping very cool and refreshing water.

One might wonder what was in the minds of the disciples as they traveled to Caesarea Phillipi. Situated in the northern part of Israel, it is the place of Hermon Springs, the major source of water that, as it collects southward, empties into and forms the Sea of Galilee. It was and still is a place of rest and refreshment, with many people kneeling down and bringing a handful of cool spring water to their lips. Thus when Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I AM?” – perhaps the disciples thought this might be the introduction to some friendly chit-chat around the springs. They (and we) learned quickly that this was neither meaningless question nor a casual discussion. When Jesus posed the question even more seriously, “but who do you say that I am?” Jesus got to the very heart of the Gospel. This was a question the disciples began to wrestle with early in the Public Ministry (cf Mark 4: 35-41): just who is this Person in the boat with us?

The question Jesus poses about His identity is essential for the disciple. Jesus certainly is not looking for a mindless, glib catechism answer that is belted out without any significance. The question is meant to shake the disciples (and us) from a self-creation of Jesus, a Jesus that is warm, fuzzy, comfortable – a ‘god’ on my terms. The various ‘images’ or ‘conceptions’ we have of Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit are images that must be continuously held up to the light of the Gospel and critiqued. Many involved in pastoral ministry and many believers will attest that the ‘faith question’ among many is not so much the existence of God but just exactly who (or what, sadly) is God. Is God the ‘divine police officer’ looking to nail you every time you sin? Is God the ‘sugar daddy’ who is able to leap tall buildings in a single bounce to give the pray-er whatever she or he wants whenever she or he calls out? Is God the ‘divine watchmaker’ who has constructed a complex creation, started the pendulum swinging then leaves us to our own devices to figure things out? Is God the ‘the force’ of goodness that pervades the universe as some etherial goo? These images have been formed in our lives over the years in response to a plethora of circumstances and experience as well as for reasons beyond counting. J. B. Phililips, in Your God is Too Small, put it this way, “Many men and women today are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish or, as the old-fashioned would say, “godless,” but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough to “account for” life, big enough to “fit in with” the new scientific age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently their willing co-operation.”

The task to grapple with Jesus identity is essential if we are to be true disciples as the original ones eventually came to be. Jesus’ identity must be accepted on His terms, not the individual’s because Jesus is clear as to Who He is: Son of God the Father Who is Love. As Son of the One-Who-Is-Love, Jesus knows acutely the result of selfishness and self-centeredness when it comes to Love: destruction. The only antidote to love in the way of the One-Who-Is-Love is the Cross. Jesus’ Cross is the singular way for authentic Love to blossom and for humanity to be remade in the image of the Son of God. This is why Jesus insists on denying oneself. It is not to make for misery, but to move us from the addiction to self and turn – in service – to the One Who Is Love, God our Father.

In this vein, the 6th century Bishop, Caesarius of Arles, counseled his flock in one of his Sermons: “When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out. To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven; there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair—by ourselves we can do nothing, but we have Christ’s promise. … One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ’s resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top — well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you — do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing.”

Week 23, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“You are just O Lord and Your judgment is right; treat Your servant in accord with Your merciful love. (Psalm 119:137, 124)

COLLECT

O God,
by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,
look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Praise the Lord, my soul! (Psalm 146:1).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”-- that is, “Be opened!” -- And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. (Mark 7:31-37).”

REFLECTION

This Sunday’s proclamation from the Gospel according to Saint Mark opens with Jesus traveling an impressible distance: from Tyre to the district of the Decapolis (click here to see a map) and once there, an event with meticulous and vivid detail unfolds. When Jesus got to the district of the Decapolis (an alliance of 10 Greek cities, south of the Sea of Galilee, formed to help preserve and advance their culture and commercial interests), nameless “people” brought to Jesus a “deaf man who had a speech impediment.” (Are you hearing any echoes of evangelization or The New Evangelization here?) Reminiscent of an episode earlier in Mark’s Gospel, the paralyzed man being brought to Jesus by 4 people, once again ‘others’ are instrumental in bringing people to an encounter with the Person, Jesus.

Interestingly, the people who bring the deaf man to Jesus want Him “to lay his hand on him,” a gesture certainly familiar to many people who witnessed various healings by Jesus. Yet this time, Jesus follows a different course of action by removing Himself and the deaf man from the crowd and using His fingers and spittle. Some scholars suggest that the Greek people of the Decapolis would have recognized these gestures as inherently healing, even though Jesus and the deaf man are off by themselves. But then there is the curious record of Jesus ‘groaning’ followed by 2 commands: “Be opened” and ‘tell no one.’

στενάζω (stenázo) is the Greek verb translated here “to groan” (and it can also be translated “to sigh”). There are certainly situations and circumstances that pop up in day-to-day living that cause one to groan or to sigh, many of them involving disappointment that a particular course of action did not result the way I thought it would. In the biblical world of the Gospels, though, στενάζω is often used as a response to oppression. Someone or something is actively preventing a person or people from living fully and another is needed in order to remove the oppression (for example, the Hebrew people caught in the slavery bondage of Egypt). στενάζω also signals to the people of the Decapolis that Jesus’ work is in no way associated with variants of Greek magical rites but a recognition of the reality of oppression that must be conquered. Jesus conquers the oppression here and, as the Cross looms ever present in His Public Ministry, He will definitely conquer all oppression and then command His disciples to freely and boldly speak of Him and His power to liberate humanity.

Week 22, Sunday. Words of THE WORD

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You all the day long. O Lord, You are good and forgiving, full of mercy to all who call to You. (Psalm 86:3, 5)

COLLECT

God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, and,
by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord. (Psalm 15:1).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Humbly (πραΰτητι, prauteti) welcome (δέξασθε, dexasthe) the word that has been planted (ἔμφυτον, emphuton) in you and is able to save (σῶσαι, sosai) your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:21b-22, 27)”

REFLECTION

With the return to the continuous proclamation from the Gospel according to Mark this Sunday, another blessing befalls us in listening to the Word of God this Sunday: all three proclamations center on the authentic reception of the Lord’s Word and translating that reception into proper action. Deuteronomy records Moses’ instruction concerning the “statues and decrees” and how blest Israel is in knowing exactly how to respond to the Lord’s providential care and blessings of all the needed resources especially the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. James not only echoes the Commandments but hits the core of them by reminding his listeners of the imperative to care for the vulnerable among us in a proper way. In a similar way, Jesus’ instruction to the crowd addresses distortions that crept into living the Commandments and what exactly defiled a person in the eyes of God. While all three of these proclamations take up a similar lesson this Sunday, it is important to look at another dimension of ‘doing’ the Commandments: just how are the Commandments being lived? To gain some insight to this question, we turn to God’s Word from the Letter of James.

In the translation we listen to this Sunday, we are told to “Humbly welcome …” πραΰτης (prautes), translated “humbly” in the Text, is generally understood as “mild,” “meek” or “gentle” in antiquity. It describes an attitude or demeanor regarding the presentation of oneself to another. πραΰτης actions are devoid of anger and harshness. In some usages in ancient texts, πραΰτης refers to how a person expresses himself or herself in speech: generally, very softly so as to be able to listen to the word of the other. More typical though, πραΰτης expresses a twofold action characterized by a balance between gentility in reception coupled with strength and conviction to accomplish that which has been received. In other words, πραΰτης is not about being “mild, meek or gentle” to the point of people walking all over you. πραΰτης is not suggesting that a person must become a doormat or never stand up to injustice or oppression; quite the opposite! The human tendency though is to rush head-on into life, a take-charge attitude that sometimes is the equivalent of a stream-roller flattening everyone and everything in the path because I have a job to do. As far as the Letter of James is concerned, there is certainly a job that needs doing: “to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Doing that work, as important and as necessary as it is, must be done in a certain way and this is where the older, less frequently translated meaning of πραΰτης (softly speaking so as to listen to the other) is helpful.

When Jesus chides the Pharisees for how they have observed religious practices, notice what Jesus says. The various practices in themselves are not bad or evil. At the hands of the Pharisees, Jesus has a problem with how the practices are accomplished. One can say that they are not being done in the sense of πραΰτης: there is no “mild, meek or gentle” receptivity on the part of the Pharisees. This is an attitude of ‘let’s get this done, let’s get this over with – let’s get this out of the way (a point heard by some concerning Worship on Sundays …).’ The needed gentleness to listen to the voice of the Other, in this case the Lord Himself, is essential to prevent ‘religious works’ from being ‘corrupting’ or even ‘scandalous works.’ At all times, the disciple of Jesus must listen and be attentive to the Word of God not only to know what needs to be done, but how.

Week 21, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Turn Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in You my God. have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You all the day long. (Psalm 86:1-3)

COLLECT

O God, Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant Your people to love what You command
and to desire what You promise,
that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard (σκληρός, skleros); who can accept (ἀκούειν, akouein) it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock (σκανδαλίζει, skandalizei) you? … We have come to believe and are convinced (ἐγνώκαμεν, egnokamen) that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:60-61. 69)”

REFLECTION

After being fed and taught at length about the meaning of the feeding, it does come down to a decision. Jesus’ Self-proclaimed identity, “I AM the living bread come down from heaven,” is a make-it or break-it: it is a life changer. As Jesus saw the disciples leaving, He had every opportunity to stop them and ‘change’ His words to a more poetic or metaphoric meaning. He didn’t. True, to the Jewish ear of Jesus’ day, one can certainly appreciate where many of them are coming from. The Kosher dietary laws strictly forbade the consumption of another being’s blood. Many cultures that ‘rubbed shoulders’ with Israel in her ancient history practiced blood drinking. Drinking the blood of a bull or an ox was thought to endow a person with that animal’s remarkable strength. For Israel, blood was sacred because it was believed to be the ‘carrier’ of the Divine Life Breath that made each being a living being. So culturally, one can appreciate where the disciples are coming from when they tell Jesus that His teaching is “hard.” Not only did Jesus mean what He said, there is another piece to the puzzle worth considering.

σκληρός (skleros), the Greek word translated here as “hard,” has another facet of meaning especially in the first-century world of the Gospel. We might be tempted initially to say that the disciples’ declaration is a knee-jerk response to their cultural background. Yet σκληρός, especially in the Gospels, addresses a level of responsibility on the part of the receiver. In other words, Jesus’ teaching is “hard” – not just because of their background but also because, on some level, the disciples have chosen not to receive the teaching. To go a bit further – the disciples not only say that Jesus’ teaching is “hard,” but they pose a question, “who can accept it?”

Translated here at “accept,” ἀκούειν (akouein) is the Greek verb that fundamentally means “to listen.” This is an action that goes far beyond the physics and biology of ‘noise’ hitting the tympanic membrane and registering as some comprehensible or incomprehensible sound to a person. Biblically, ἀκούειν is intimately involved in ‘coming to Faith (Saint Paul)’ and is the necessary action to understand the “signs” that Jesus performs. One might argue that the disciples have become ‘hard’ to Jesus’ teaching because they have not listened (Sound familiar, it’s what happened in the Garden and we keep doing it). So what is needed “to listen” in such a way that one receives Jesus’ teaching?

Saint Augustine chimes in with insights penned in one of his many homilies: “He [Jesus] teaches us that even the act of believing is by way of being a gift and not a matter of merit: “As I told you,” he says, “no one can come to me but whoever has been given it by my Father.” If we call to mind the earlier part of the Gospel, we shall discover where the Lord said this. We shall find that he said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me drags him.” He did not say “leads” but “drags.” This violence happens to the heart, not to the flesh. So why be surprised? Believe, and you come; love, and you are dragged. Do not regard this violence as harsh and irksome; on the contrary, it is sweet and pleasant. It is the very pleasantness of the thing that drags you to it. Isn’t a sheep dragged, or drawn irresistibly, when it is hungry and grass is shown to it? And I presume it is not being moved by bodily force but pulled by desire.”

Is this to say that God the Father ‘selects’ or ‘predestines’ people to belief in His Son, Jesus? I think not for our Tradition is quite clear: God our Father desires the loss of none! On the human side of the equation it does come down to an act of humility expressed in an old Jewish prayer: “God is God, I am not. God is God, we are not.” While we have been given an intellect and that intellect can be in the service of Faith (Saint Anselm, “Faith seeking understanding”) there comes a point where, like Peter, we accept the Words of Jesus, period. HE IS JESUS – He does not have to explain Himself – His disciples (us!) have “to listen” in a way that involves cooperating with all that the Father has done that we may, like Peter boldly proclaim: “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Week 20, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Turn Your eyes, O God, our shield; and look on the face of Your anointed one; one day within Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. (Psalm 84:10-11)

COLLECT

O God, Who have prepared for those who love You
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of Your love,
so that, loving You in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats (φάγῃ, phage) this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat (φαγεῖν, phagein)?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat (φάγητε, phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on (τρώγων, trogon) me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) this bread will live forever.”

REFLECTION

Do not eat or eat? Eat or eat? These are two questions at the heart of Jesus’ blunt teaching about Who He is and how His followers are to act. Let’s take a look at the first question.

Do not eat or eat? The question is simple and the response: a common sense, emphatic declaration, “Yes (otherwise, we - as humans - die)!” But to gain a bit more insight on this question, we must turn our attention to Genesis 3. Why  ... given that Deuteronomy, not Genesis is the First Reading this Sunday? Part of the answer lies with the Evangelist, Saint John himself. The Gospel that bears his name opens, “In the beginning,” a clear signal that as far as he is concerned the saving, sacred record of Jesus that is about to unfold in the Text is a New Creation. Much in the Gospel according to Saint John presents a New Creation and this is important for us this Sunday because in the Creation account, eating plays a significant (quite an understatement) role in humanity’s relationship with God and the world.

In keeping the question ‘Do not eat or eat?’ before us this Sunday, it is clear in the Creation Account that humanity is not given carte blanche to eat anything. Boundaries are placed on what humanity can and can not consume in the Garden. The question of what to eat becomes important because we learn through Eve’s dialogue with the Snake that the Creator has imposed at least 1 restriction on food and Eve (along with Adam for that matter), while she may not have known the exact reason why the food is prohibited, she knows that it is forbidden to eat.

(As a slight aside, I want to stress here that this food prohibition is not whimsical nor capricious on the part of God nor are any of the episodes of this Sacred Account of the Beginnings to be casually declared ‘just a story’ that can be dismissed because ‘we know better.’ We don’t. There is much bound with the fruit and the entire Garden experience that is crucial for grasping what it means to have been created in the “image and likeness of God.” Such a creation has implications, not only for the rest of Creation, but very importantly for the relationship of God of humanity.)

Physiologically, as food deals with what we choose to put into our bodies and consequently our lives, in Genesis 3 fruit is food AND a whole lot more! Even our doctors and nutritionists remind us, ‘you are what you eat.’). Hence we were told not to eat of a particular food in the Garden. So long as humanity did the work that was entrusted to them by the Creator and did not eat of a particular fruit, Genesis teaches that Divine Harmony - Original Justice - flourished. But when humanity choose to grasp (as opposed to receiving graciously) for that which Divinity forbade, life took a noticeable turn, to say the least, and the relationship that humanity enjoyed with God changed utterly. That which was forbidden (for our own good) was grasped, taken and consumed. Adam, Eve and the whole of humanity were filled with shame and alienated from the Loving God because the command “Do not eat!” was ignored.

Out of love, the Creator sounded the ‘first Gospel (known by the Fathers of the Church as the Protoevangelium, [Genesis 3:15])’ and promised healing. Since the wound and the rupture were so grave, healing would take time because the human heart, caught in the addiction of selfishness and doing things ‘my way,’ took (and continues to take) a long time to be healed and to re-fashioned. It is interesting to note that as Salvation History unfolds, food plays a role in God healing humanity’s relationship with Him - the covenant meals, the hospitality meals, the Passover, the Messianic Banquet envisioned by Isaiah, and the meal prepared by Wisdom: food plays a role in the healing of relationships, Divine and human.

This brings us to the Person, Jesus. In the Garden, humanity was instructed ‘not to eat of a particular food.’ Now, Jesus commands the consumption of a particular food: HIMSELF! Because humanity ingested that which was not of the Creator’s Will, humanity is now commanded to consume the Body and Blood of Christ that He - JESUS! - says is true food and true drink. The path from the rupture of the Garden to new life as children of God requires the consumption of His Body and His Blood. Hence it is no longer “Do not eat” but “Eat!”

Now this raises the second question, “Eat or eat?” It is an important question because the Evangelist John employs two distinct Greek verbs in this Sunday’s proclamation - and both of them are translated into English as “to eat.” In the first part of this Sunday’s pericope, the Greek verb ἐσθίω (esthio) is used. ἐσθίω (esthio) refers to a physical act of eating and it is the verb used to translate the Hebrew אָכַל (ʾakal) that appears in Genesis 3. אָכַל (ʾakal), while its primary meaning and principle usage is the physical act of ‘food into mouth,’ it can refer – on occasion – to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating’ that is akin to ‘taking in a lesson or a message.’ The Greek ἐσθίω (esthio) functions in a similar way. In its major uses, ἐσθίω (esthio) is the physical act of eating but on occasion it can refer to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating.’

But then there is the other verb in Greek that is translated into English “to eat,” the Greek verb τρώγω (trogo). Interestingly, in antiquity this verb did not specifically refer to the action of eating but rather how one ate: gnawing and chewing … and the gnawing and chewing were often accompanied by sound. In other words, τρώγω (trogo) is an exceptionally graphic action, often used to describe how animals and barbarians ate, not the way our moms and dads taught us to eat and behave at the supper table! What τρώγω (trogo) does here in the text is TO REMOVE any hint or suggestion that Jesus is speaking about a metaphoric, poetic or solely spiritual eating. The action is quite physical. The action is quite messy – AND – it points directly to the Cross. The only way that anyone can consume the flesh and blood of a living being is for that living being to be dead. Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a specific way: τρώγω (trogo) is a declaration of giving Himself completely in fidelity to the Father’s Will that results in His Sacrifice on the Cross that we may live fully.

Thus the “do not eat” of Genesis is replaced by Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a very particular way: τρώγω (trogo).

Biblically, this is a significant Text in the Church’s teaching of Jesus’ Real Presence, a teaching and experience that requires sound catechesis as upwards of 60% of practicing (yes, practicing Catholics) have become quite lukewarm (to be charitable) on this fundamental and privileged Gift to Encounter the Savior Who heals us of what went wrong in the Garden. At the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Hippo some 1600 years ago, Saint Augustine addressed the newly Baptized and Confirmed prior to the reception of Holy Communion for the first time, “Become Who you consume.” In the Garden, our nature ingested a poison; our nature welcomed sin into our very being – not just into our spiritual nature, our physical nature as well. We are in need of an antidote for the ingested poison: spiritually and physically (sacramentally). No wonder that Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Gregory of Nyssa referred to the Holy Eucharist as a Sacred Drug! Saint Ignatius wrote of the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality” and Saint Gregory wrote of the Eucharist as the antidote for poison of sin swirling around in our souls and bodies.

Graciously coming before our Lord, receiving (not taking) with hearts open to His Real Presence is our healing and our strength for the journey - a healing that we can receive no where else and from no one else.