Words of the Word

Jesus has set us a personal example

Bishop, Apostolic Church Father and Martyr

An excerpt from his letter to the Philippians

Tuesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Presbyters should be sympathetic and merciful to everyone, bring back those who have wandered, visiting the sick; they must not neglect widows and orphans, or the poor, ever providing for what is good in the sight of God and of men. They should refrain entirely from anger, human respect and prejudice; avarice should be wholly alien to them. Nor should they be rash in believing something said against another, nor too severe in judging others, since they know that we are all debtors through sin.

If, then, we pray to the Lord to forgive us, we must in turn forgive. For we live under the eye of our Lord and God, and we must all stand before the judgment seat of God, each to give an account of himself. Let us then serve God with fear and awe. The Lord’s command is also the command of the apostles who preached the Gospel to us, to say nothing of the prophets who foretold the Lord’s coming. Our observance of what is good should be meticulous, avoiding anything that might cause another to stumble; we must shun false brothers and those who assume the Lord’s name hypocritically and lead the unwary into error.

For anyone who does not confess that Jesus has come in the flesh is the antichrist. And anyone who refuses to admit the testimony of the cross is of the devil. Whoever perverts the Lord’s words to suit his own desires and denies that there is a resurrection or a judgment is the firstborn of Satan. So let us abandon the folly of the masses and their false teaching, and return to the teaching that was handed down to us from the beginning. We must be alert in prayer, constant in fasting; and in our prayers let us beg God, who sees everything, not to lead us into temptation. As the Lord has said: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

So let us persevere in the pledge of our righteousness and in our hope, that is, in Christ Jesus. In his mouth no hint of guilt was discovered; he committed no sin and yet bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Rather, he endured everything for our sake so that we might live in him. Let us then imitate his constancy; if we should suffer because of his name, let us give him that glory. For this is the personal example he has given us, this is the object of our faith.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Is it unfair? No, it is Kingdom living!

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?”

(Matthew 21:28-30)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

Welcome to the vineyard for another week. Welcome to yet another call “unfair,” this week courtesy of the Prophet Ezekiel. At first blush, one might dismiss this week’s Gospel episode as just a snapshot of a day in the ongoing fickle life of family living and expressive of the parent/child relationship. Yet when we look at this Sunday’s Gospel proclamation within the context of the Matthean Gospel, more is being sounded for living discipleship grounded in Jesus Christ.

Initial responses of the sons are interesting. The first son’s response is typical of a human knee-jerk reaction to any request that involves work. NO! I wonder if the son even ‘heard’ his father’s request. It is unfortunate, but let’s face it. When any of us is asked to do x, y or z our unreflective, uncritical response is “no.” This is what theology terms the “affects (influence) and effects (cause or result) of Original Sin. Life is all about me. This affect and effect ‘programs’ each of us to ‘look out for number one’ as an automatic response often devoid of any thought or depth.

Then there is the second son. One might see in him a bit more craftiness. I suspect that he truly knows that to say “no” to dad’s request would not put him in his father’s best graces. So what does he do? He gives the impression or appearance of being a ‘good son’ but that is exactly where he begins and end, the level of appearance. This too is both an affect and effect of the narcissism and relational disconnect known as Original Sin. The difference here is that there is a bit more calculation, a bit more conniving and certainly a bit more plotting. In other words, this son responds to his father’s request by intimating ‘how can I not do it while still looking good as if I were to do it?’ What a convoluted approach to life! What is the answer?

Back to the first son: what does he eventually or ultimately do? He does his father’s will. He has “changed” and “gone beyond” (Greek, μέτα) his mind (Greek, νοῦς). Jesus hails the first son’s ‘change of mind’ as a proper response to the father’s request. Yet what Jesus ultimately prizes in the first son is that he has ‘gone beyond his mind.’ In the biblical world of the New Testament, to ‘go beyond one’s mind’ is to move into the arena of the heart. The first son, after reflection, is moved from the heart to do what his father requests. “Changing” and “going beyond” (Greek, μέτα) plus “mind” (Greek, νοῦς) equals Jesus’ FIRST commandment: “μετανοεῖτε (metanoeite) be converted (Mark 1:15),” a message that John the Baptist sounds in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew as indispensable to recognize Jesus as Son of God, Savior. More importantly, however, Jesus applauds the first son for his eventual decision.

The fact that Jesus applauds the first son for his “change of heart” is not just a comforting reality but also a challenge. Jesus’ approval of the son’s change of heart gives each of us hope knowing that He – Jesus – offers us an opportunity to change. It is imperative to change when we sense – however slightly – the call to change. If we say to ourselves, ‘I will get to it next Monday,’ there is the possibility that the fervor will evaporate by then. Procrastination is truly an enemy in the spiritual life. You and I both know that we have truly known what to do in a particular situation or in answer to a prayer. Yet we have said to ourselves and to the Lord, ‘I will get to that next week.’ Next Monday is too late. Next week is too late. Tomorrow is too late. Now is the time to act.

But what exactly is the necessary action that I must do now? The answer is simple. As I want the Lord of Mercy to offer me an opportunity to “change” and “go beyond my mind,” I MUST offer that same opportunity to people who ‘press my buttons.’ This is the challenge of the first son’s change of heart. We have to admit that there are people in the world who we believe have been created for the sole purpose of making my life uncomfortable and miserable. They are on the road, cutting us off in the construction zone. They are in the express line at the supermarket with an order triple the checkout line’s maximum number of items. We meet them at work. They offer comments just when you think the meeting is over and it will now drag on for another half hour. They are the people who have the name husband, wife, brother, sister, friend – and the list goes on. Jesus’ delight in the first son’s response is a challenge to each of us as his disciple to offer one another the same latitude.

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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

“For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.” (I Timothy 6:10.)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa (part 2 of the background of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is found here) offers the following insight on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“The tree, then, from which comes this fruit of mixed knowledge is among those things which are forbidden. Its fruit is combined of opposite qualities, and therefore for this reason perhaps has the serpent to commend it. For the evil is not exposed in its nakedness, thereby appearing in its own proper nature; for wickedness would surely fail of its effect were it not decked with some fair color to entice to the desire of it him whom it deceives. But now the nature of evil is in a manner mixed and thus keeps destruction like some snare concealed in its depths and displays some phantom of good in the deceitfulness of its exterior. The beauty of the substance seems good to those who love money.” (On the Making of Man, 20.)

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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Twenty-four Sunday in Ordinary Time

“... So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” (Matthew 18:35.)

In commenting on this verse from today’s Gospel, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“In anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.” This means forever, since he will never pay it. For since you did not become better by receiving blessings, it remains for you to be corrected by punishment. For since you have not become better by the kindness shown to you, it remains that you will be corrected only by vengeance. Although it is said that the blessings and gifts of God are irrevocable, our recalcitrance may frustrate even this intention of God. For what, then, can be a more grievous thing than to be vengeful, especially when it appears to overthrow so great a gift of God. The text does not simply say they “delivered him” but “in anger delivered him.” For when he had earlier commanded him to be sold, his were not the words of wrath but, rightly understood, a moment of great mercy. He did not in fact show wrath at that point. But in this case it is a sentence of great anger, punishment and vengeance. So what does the parable mean? “So also my heavenly Father will do to you,” he says, “if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” Note that he did not say “your Father” but “my Father.” For it is not proper for God to be called the Father of one who is so wicked and malicious.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 61.)

Collect

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Correct, yes - but ONLY after LISTENING!

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens (ἀκούσῃ, akouse) to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen (ἀκούσῃ, akouse),
take one or two others along with you,
so that ‘every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
If he refuses to listen (παρακούσῃ, parakouse) to them, tell the church.
If he refuses to listen (παρακούσῃ, parakouse) even to the church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17).”

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

The Gospel pericope proclaimed this Sunday (as well as a few from previous Sundays) forms part of what scholars term Jesus’ address on Church order. Jesus knew well the difficulties His Church would face. They would come not only from without but also from within. Even during His Public Ministry, Jesus had to pull the 12 aside on numerous occasions and referee arguments among them concerning human concerns such as power, prestige and one’s place in the community. Many times the difficulties ‘in getting along’ start with seemingly petty issues but quickly escalate into all out battle between and among people, often involving people that we love very much.

Like so many aspects of Kingdom living, Jesus’ approach to matters human is marked by a quality of difference or “being set apart.” For example, when He teaches the disciples about the constitutive elements of greatness in the Kingdom, Jesus refers to greatness among the Gentiles. He goes onto to say to His disciples that it cannot be that way with you. In other words, living the Kingdom requires a different approach to the things of this world. Anyone can serve the needs of others and many people who are not Christian do a great job of tending to the needs of people in peril such as we are witnessing in Texas, Mexico and soon to be Florida. So what does it mean to serve the needs of others in the Name of Jesus Christ? Many people are kind, loving and hospitable. So what does it mean to be kind, loving and hospitable in the Name of Jesus Christ? I am not advocating a false dichotomy here but often within Christian circles, we go about tackling the problems of life without ever seeking the wisdom of the Gospel and docility to the Holy Spirit. Sure we may open a gathering or a meeting with a prayer thinking that such an action will guarantee Kingdom results. Does it?

This Sunday’s Word not only invites but commands us to examine how we deal with the common difficulties of conflict between 2 or more persons. Simply, Jesus pronounces a singular action to address conflict: LISTEN. Courtesy of a number of influences in culture, the American use of English notes a difference between the ‘act of hearing’ and the ‘act of listening.’ Hearing is often understood as a passive operation that may or may not involve attention, focus or consciousness on the part of the hearer. Listening is often understood as an active operation involving not only attention, focus and consciousness but also a sense of ‘being present to the person and the moment with the totality of one’s being.’ In this distinction, listening requires far more work and energy than hearing. It is not uncommon when 2 (or more) people are trying to iron out their differences for one of the persons to say, “Darling, you’re not listening to me!” only for the other to retort, “Sweetheart, I hear every word you are saying.”

The English translations of the Hebrew and Greek verbs use “to hear” and “to listen” interchangeably and as synonyms. When the Word of God commands one “to hear,” it is understood in the American English sense of “to listen.” This is an important point about the biblical verbs because some attempt to soft-pedal the challenge of Jesus’ Word. For example, the Psalm for this Sunday, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts,” uses the verb “to hear” in the English translation. In this example and in others like it in the Scriptures, “to hear” means “to listen.” But there is another reason that underscores the proper meaning of “to listen.”

Throughout the pages of the New Testament, building on the Covenant experience of the Old Testament, the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouo) conveys the sense of attention, focus, consciousness and presence to the other. ἀκούω (akouo) also expresses the act of listening to the Word of God in the midst of the event. What this means is crucial for Christian living as it brings that element of “difference” to bear on the situation. Why the Christian is called “to listen” to the other person or persons - AND - fundamentally to listen to God, is that in the exchange of person-to-person, the Word of God can break into the situation. Imagine Divine Wisdom invading our arguments and perhaps even spoken by one who has managed to ‘press our buttons’ at the moment. Shocking, yes - and it makes so much sense when we consider this in the context of Christian life.

By virtue of Baptism, we are constituted priest, prophet and king. Baptism into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus enables us to offer sacrifice to God our Father (priest), to speak on behalf of God our Father (prophet) and to have power over sin (king). The listening that Jesus prescribes this Sunday for the ailments of relational living go beyond the necessary attentiveness to the moment and the person. Listening, as far as Jesus is concerned, is the consciousness of the Word flooding the spaces of human living with Divine Wisdom, Divine Life and Divine Love. That difference when brought to situations that tug at our heart and cause queasy stomachs is truly a Gift that brings good order to one’s life, others’ lives, our world and our Church.

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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Get behind me Satan!

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“You duped (פָּתָה, pathah) me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.” (Jeremiah 20:7).

“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind (ὀπίσω, opiso) me, Satan (σατανᾶ, Satana)! You are an obstacle (σκάνδαλον, scandalon) to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “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 will find it.” (Matthew 16:21-35.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

Jeremiah terms his entrance into the prophetic ministry as a seduction. (“You duped (פָּתָה, pathah) me, O LORD...) Jeremiah sees, hears and senses a spark that ignites a life within in a way that even he finds hard to explain. He knows the pleasure of speaking on God’s behalf (technically what the Hebrew word nabi [prophet] means) yet has not come to grips with the fact that this proclamation of the Word requires some very important lessons, notably the distinction between message and messenger. The misfortunes, detours and derailments of life are products of a fallen, yet redeemed world. None of us gets a pass. We are in the world and the setbacks - both the unexpected and the ones-seen-coming - are part of life. The person and persons in covenant relationship with the Lord of Life are challenged to learn the lesson that only God has the final word, not the things that go wrong. In time, Jeremiah learns this lesson and sees in his lifetime that suffering can be redemptive.

Like Jeremiah, Peter has a way to go in being formed as the Master’s disciple. Last week’s proclamation saw Jesus Himself rejoicing in the work that His Father was doing in the life of Peter and how Peter was cooperating. Peter has come to faith that Jesus is the Christ. Wonderful. But what exactly does it mean to confess Jesus as the Christ? When Jesus speaks about His suffering that will be redemptive, Peter’s knee-jerk reaction is to literally ‘stand in front’ of Jesus and “trip” Him in His journey to Jerusalem. Note carefully the text. When Peter balks at Jesus’s words, Jesus commands Peter to “get behind (ὀπίσω, opiso).” What has happened? Peter lost his sense of where he is to be relative to Jesus. The disciple is always behind the Master. Recall Moses and his incessant plea to God to see the Divine Face. When Moses was eventually permitted to gaze upon God, the choreography was quite clear. Moses was placed in a cleft (a cut-out) in the rock, God’s hand covered Moses and withdrew in time to see only the Divine back. When the disciple is anywhere except behind the Master, the disciple becomes a scandolon (scandal, obstacle). Scandolon in Jesus’s day was graphically and tragically described as ‘putting a rock in the path of a blind person.’ The horror of that picture fills us with indignation. And yet that is precisely the stinging word that Jesus addresses to Peter.

This background is important to understand Jesus’s address to Peter as “Satan.” There is no soft-pedaling this one. Even from a linguistic point of view, Jesus addressed Peter as Satan (the vocative case in Greek). The difficulty is that when many people hear the word “Satan,” images abound. Some think of the red, hoofed creature wielding a pitch fork against a backdrop of sky and ocean wrapped in sulphuric fire. Some might think of Satan in terms of the ‘litte bad voice’ on one shoulder competing with the good angel on the other shoulder prompting us to do certain things. Some may recall the 1970's comedian Flip Wilson and his famous quip, "the Devil made me do it” or more recently Dana Carvey’s portrayal of "Church Lady" and her propensity to make Satan responsible for all evil. All of these fall short of the Gospel presentation of Satan as the one who hinders the plan of redemption by attempting to remove the Cross from reality. Sadly, when Satan is confined in our lives to ‘the bad voice,’ Satan actually accomplishes more as the deadly work of twisting our minds and hearts to weaken the Cross and its necessity alters the Christian Gospel and hinders the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus in no way sugar-coats His words to Peter. They are blunt and stinging which probably left Peter thinking, ‘what just happened? I thought I was doing something nice for my friend, wasn’t I?’ Admittedly the Cross is not attractive and its pain is repulsive to life. Yet the Cross does stand in a Christian center. Without the Cross, there can be no transformation because the ‘work’ of the Cross is essentially the first commandment Jesus gives at the start of His Public Ministry, “Be converted (μετανοεῖτε, metanoeite [Mark 1:15]).” The Cross draws one from self to Other, not just in actions but also in words and thoughts. Thinking, speaking and acting gradually become less self-centerred and more focused on the other — AND — as good as this truly is, the Cross of Jesus redeems all. Yes, a world of greater selflessness would be wonderful, but that selflessness can only occur as the fruit of redemption, a redemption won by Christ, Christ crucified. Jesus’ insistance on the Cross is not to create a utopian, prosperous society but a community of people “bought back” from death to life eternal in loving communion with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

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,
You may nurture in us what is good
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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

“To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately ...” (Matthew 25:15.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“The man who is the landowner is actually the Creator and Lord of all. The Word compares the time the landowner spends away from home in the parable to either the ascension of Christ into heaven or at any rate to the unseen and invisible character of the divine nature. Now one must conceive of the property of God as those in each country and city who believe in him. He calls his servants those who according to the times Christ crowns with the glory of the priesthood. For the holy Paul writes, “No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God.” He hands over [his property] to those who are under him, to each giving a spiritual gift so that he might have character and aptitude. We think that this distribution of the talents is not supplied to the household servants in equal measure because each is quite different from the other in their understanding. Immediately they head out for their labors, he says, directly indicating to us here that apart from the procrastination of one they are fit to carry out the work of God. Surely those who are bound by fear and laziness will end up in the worst evils. For he buried, Jesus says, the talent given to him in the earth. He kept the gift hidden, making it unprofitable for others and useless for himself. For that very reason the talent is taken away from him and will be given to the one who is already rich. The Spirit has departed from such as these and the gift of the divine gifts. But to those who are industrious an even more lavish gift will be presented.” (Fragment 283)

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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Do not adorn the church and ignore your afflicted brother

Saint John Chrysostom

Bishop and Father of the Church

An excerpt from Homily 50

Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Do you want to honor Christ’s body? Then do not scorn him in his nakedness, nor honor him here in the church with silken garments while neglecting him outside where he is cold and naked. For he who said: This is my body, and made it so by his words, also said: You saw me hungry and did not feed me, and inasmuch as you did not do it for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did not do it for me. What we do here in the church requires a pure heart, not special garments; what we do outside requires great dedication.

Let us learn, therefore to be men of wisdom and to honor Christ as he desires. For a person being honored finds greatest pleasure in the honor he desires, not in the honor we think best. Peter thought he was honoring Christ when he refused to let him wash his feet; but what Peter wanted was not truly an honor, quite the opposite! Give him the honor prescribed in his law by giving your riches to the poor. For God does not want golden vessels but golden hearts.

Now, in saying this I am not forbidding you to make such gifts; I am only demanding that along with such gifts and before them you give alms. He accepts the former, but he is much more pleased with the latter. In the former, only the giver profits; in the latter, the recipient does too. A gift to the Church may be taken as a form of ostentation, but an alms is pure kindness.

Of what use is it to weigh down Christ’s table with golden cups, when he himself is dying of hunger? First, fill him when he is hungry; then use the means you have left to adorn his table. Will you have a golden cup made but not give a cup of water? What is the use of providing the table with cloths woven of gold thread, and not providing Christ himself with the clothes he needs? What profit is there in that? Tell me: If you were to see him lacking the necessary food but were to leave him in that state and merely surround his table with gold, would he be grateful to you or rather would he not be angry? What if you were to see him clad in worn-out rags and stiff from the cold, and were to forget about clothing him and instead were to set up golden columns for him, saying that you were doing it in his honor? Would he not think he was being mocked and greatly insulted?

Apply this also to Christ when he comes along the roads as a pilgrim, looking for shelter. You do not take him in as your guest, but you decorate floor and walls and the capitals of the pillars. You provide silver chains for the lamps, but you cannot bear even to look at him as he lies chained in prison. Once again, I am not forbidding you to supply these adornments; I am urging you to provide these other things as well, and indeed to provide them first. No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments, but for those who neglect their neighbor a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire and torment in the company of the demons. Do not, therefore, adorn the church and ignore your afflicted brother, for he is the most precious temple of all.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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Prayer "For an End to Storms"

As disciples of old called upon Jesus for His help while on the waters of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41), we carry in prayer and offer whatever assistance possible to all our sisters and brothers in Texas.

SCRIPTURE

“He hushed the storm to silence, the waves of the sea were stilled!” Click for full Psalm.

COLLECT

(This prayer is taken from The Roman Missal, “Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions, #37: For an End to Storms”)

O God, to Whose commands
all the elements give obedience,
we humbly entreat You,
that the still of fearsome storms
may turn a powerful menace
into an occasion for us to praise You.
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.

Eliakim and Peter - trusting that God will establish ...

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority” (Isaiah 22:18-20).”

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

Admittedly Shebna, Eliakim and Hilkiah are not household names. Hopefully these names will not be too difficult for lectors to pronounce properly. But when you hear their names, what goes through your mind? Do you know them? Is it important to know them? While the simple answer to that question is “yes,” it is important to know why we need to know them and their story when it comes to following Jesus Christ. Time for a brief lesson in Old Testament History.

In the first 39 chapters of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, life is very uncertain for many of the Israelites, especially those living in what was known then as the Northern Kingdom. This area bordered Assyria (part of modern day Syria) and tensions ran high between the people of the Northern Kingdom and the people of Assyria. In the context of this uncertainly, the Prophet Isaiah called the people continuously to “trust in God.” It was hard. They could not eyeball God yet they could easily see (and hear!) the might of the Assyrian military machine. Some of Israel's leaders decided to take matters into their own hands and prepare for war and make alliances with others to help when war broke out. Enter Shebna.

Scholars are mixed as to what his exact job was in the empire. Minimally, it was some type of steward or treasury official in the government. No matter the position, Shebna was a powerful person in the empire who answered only to the king. There is some scholarship that suggests Shebna (whose name linguistically appears to be more Egyptian than Hebrew) was attempting an alliance with the Egyptians. Earlier in Isaiah 22, mention is made of a rather ambitious building campaign (including quite an ornate burial place for himself) that results in some type of scandal and betrayal of his master (an extremely serious offense in the Ancient Near Eastern world), though the Text is silent about the scandal's details. The Scripture is quite clear about the consequences of the scandal: “The LORD shall hurl you down headlong, mortal man! He shall grip you firmly and roll you up and toss you like a ball into an open land to perish there, you and the chariots you glory in, you disgrace to your master’s house (Isaiah 22:17-18).” In the portion of the chapter proclaimed this Sunday, we learn of Shebna's public humiliation and the loss of his government position to Eliakim (whose name, interestingly, means “God establishes”).

So what does Old Testament History 101 have to do with this Sunday's Word? The biblical mandate uttered by Isaiah, “trust in God,” is for the good of one's life and the lives of others. Disaster occurs time and time again in Isaiah when leaders, who ought to know better, decide to orchestrate the life of the kingdom based on their own agenda. This agenda, which attempts a ruse of concern for one’s subjects, is nothing more than a ploy for patrimony, power and perpetuity which increases the ego, hurling one deeper and deeper into the abyss of narcissism. Shebna thought he was smart in abandoning the covenant and the Word of God delivered by the prophet. He poured massive resources of Israel's life into shoring up defenses (which really were not all that sound, but apparently benefitted him) and building a marvelous mausoleum as a perpetual testimony to his life, which also backfired in the end. Failure to listen to the prophet results in a loss of profit on so many levels of life.

The ‘rocks’ of Caesarea Philippi including the entrance to a seemingly bottomless pit... in antiquity, rock formations near and on the entrance gave the appearance of foreboding jaws (gate) leading to the nether world. This was also the site of the ancient cult of the pagan god, Pan. Not far from here are the cool, fresh-water springs that combine and form southward flowing streams contributing to the Sea of Galilee. The day my Dad and I visited Hermon Springs was hot (temperature was estimated at 102°F) and very humid. Kneeing down and sipping the spring water was quite a treat.

Contrast all this with Peter. He does no campaigning, not that he would have even known what was coming by responding to a simple question from the Master. He does no manipulating of the crowds, fellow disciples or even Jesus. Out-of-the-blue Jesus declares him “Rock!” and invests him with keys (an Old Testament image used to sum up all civil and religious authority exercised by leaders. In Judaism, the ‘power of the keys’ also referred to the Rabbi’s teaching authority) and solidifying his authority with the power to bind and to loose. As the “key of the house of David” was placed upon Eliakim's shoulders, so Peter is given the Keys of the Kingdom. Peter gets the keys and binding/loosing power precisely because God establishes this, not himself. Peter responds to Jesus’ question in such a way that it is clear Peter is open to the Father’s revelation. Peter, in this context, is an Eliakim. So long as the one called “Rock” lives his ‘Eliakim roots’ he will never become ‘Rocky.’ Peter will come to learn that much vigilance is required as the letter “y” can easily be appended to his stone name (next week’s lesson). A rock that provides a sure foundation can become unstable in the blink of an eye. Ask anyone who has lived through an earthquake. Similarly, life quickly becomes ‘rocky’ when “trust in the Lord” no longer grounds the foundation of life. The laws of physics are quite clear: nature abhors a vacuum. Something or someone is always waiting to pounce and fill a void. “Trust in God” keeps life filled with proper direction, energy and liveliness. Its absence results automatically in “trust in self” along with consequences that never builds-up but only tears-down. Gospel joy and peace await all who allow God to establish life even when times are humanly uncertain and rocky.

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.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen