Sunday the Twenty-second

Sorry for the lack of timely posting ... Here it is, albeit late. Irene knocked out power and internet.

ANTIPHON

I call to You all day long, have mercy on me, O Lord. You are good and forgiving, full of love for all who call to you (Psalm 85:3, 5).

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

My soul is thirsting for You, O Lord my God. (Psalm 63).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPTS

     “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).”

REFLECTION

"Dupe" is an interesting translation in the NAB Bible of the Hebrew ָּתָה, pathah. The Revised Edition of the NAB uses the verb "seduce," which is closer in meaning to the original. Either way, "dupe" or "seduce" do not seem appropriate ways to describe God’s manner of dealing with humanity, especially a person like Jeremiah who is doing God’s work as a prophet. One thing is certain here, Jeremiah is quite angry with God. In the verses leading up to this Sunday’s proclamation, we learn that Jeremiah had been arrested and put in stocks for essentially doing God’s work. Jeremiah appears confused - ‘I do the Lord’s work and this is the thanks I get?’ Isn’t this the same question many of ask when misfortune comes our way. ‘Why are you doing this to me God, I’m one of your ‘good ones?’

Jeremiah rightly terms his entrance into ministry as a seduction. Jeremiah sees, hears and senses a life and love that ignites a life within in a way that even he finds hard to explain. He know 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, most 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 does learn this lesson and sees in his lifetime that suffering can be redemptive.

Like Jeremiah, Peter still has a ways 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? In what seems to be an instant, Peter reverts to a purely human way of viewing the world. 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 back of God. 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 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 society but a community of people “bought back” from death to life eternal.

OPENING PRAYER

Almighty God,
every good thing comes from You.
Fill our hearts with love for You,
increase our faith,
and by Your constant care
protect the good You have given us.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and
the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Amen.

Sunday the Twenty-first

ANTIPHON

Listen, Lord, and answer me. Save Your servant who trusts in You. I call to you all day long, have mercy on, O Lord (Psalm 85:1-3).

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands (Psalm 138).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT

     “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).”

REFLECTION

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 text 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 beloved Dad and I visited Hermon Springs was hot (temperature was estimated at 102°F) and rather 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.

OPENING PRAYER

Father,
help us to seek the values
that will bring us lasting joy
in this changing world.
In our desire for what You promise
make us one in mind and heart.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday the Twentieth

Antiphon: God, our protector, keep us in mind; always give strength to Your people. For if we can be with You even one day, it is better than a thousand without You (Psalm 83:10-11)."

Responsorial Psalm: "O God, let all the nations praise you! (Psalm 67)"

Scripture excerpt: "Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour (Matthew 15: 21-28)."

The scene is familiar in Jesus' Public Ministry. A request is made of Jesus. At the end the request is granted, noting the faith of the person. Sound familiar? It is a pattern found in many of Jesus' healing works. The difficulty, if I may use the word, is neither the request nor the result. It is the dialogue leading to the conclusion, especially Jesus' words to the Canaanite woman that causes many to squirm. Initially, Jesus ignores her request. When she comes back at him, He all but says, 'because you are not Jewish, I cannot help you' (“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”). Her response causes Jesus to respond in a way that stops many of us dead in our tracks. Did Jesus refer to her as a dog? I once asked undergraduate students in a Gospel course their take on the episode if it were a person other than Jesus. Many used words such a bigot, racist and even a narcissist. But the reality is this Person is Jesus, and the literal sense of the Sacred Text (it is what it is) challenges us in a way like the woman challenging Jesus.

Let's step back a moment to Scripture 101, particularly Catholic Scripture 101 which is guided by the Church's teaching at Vatican II, Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation). In chapter 3 of the document (article 12) we read, "But, since Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written, no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith. It is the task of exegetes to work according to these rules toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture, so that through preparatory study the judgment of the Church may mature." What this means for us is that we seek, with the Holy Spirit, prayerful study/research and the judgment of the Church, the original intention of the account. We also listen and ponder the text, no less importantly, in the context of the Church's living Tradition. This Tradition celebrates and proclaims the sinlessness of Jesus as the One Who saves all from their sins (see Matthew 1 and Eucharistic Prayer IV). So while we affirm Jesus' true human nature, we also affirm His true divine nature in the unity of a single Divine Person Who is sinless. Where then does this leave us with Jesus ignoring a person and using what amounts to an ethnic slur?

I do not like using personal examples, as I am well aware of my own limitations, shortcomings and sins. But as I was driving for hours today as well as sitting in construction zones on a major Interstate (and not to mention a week of discussing this with priest and bishop friends on vacation), I could not help but think of an episode when I was undergoing the final examination for my theology license examination (an STL) in Rome. A panel of 3 professors (imposing as they sat on a dais in their Dominican habit) began with the first examiner critiquing and questioning my 45-minute theology lesson (what they call in Rome a 'lectio coram'). The next examiner 'put me through the ringer' on a variety of topics in Dogmatic and Patristic theology, in rapid-fire succession so much so that I could hardly breathe between my response and the next question. The examiner didn't even tell me if the response was correct or incorrect. When he was finished, I breathed a sigh of relief, as the next examiner was my beloved director. He and I spent many hours conversing about the Fathers of the Church. A true polyglot, Fr Ambrose Eszer OP (Ambrosius Eßer, may you rest in peace!), shared with me many of his works in various languages on the Church Fathers as well as conversation he had with Fr Irene Hauser, a giant in the world of Patrology many years ago. I thought to myself, this part of the examination would be a breeze. Well, Fr Ambrogio, with his heavy German accent, directed me to pages of Greek that I had translated in the tesina (for Americans, a tesina is a Master's thesis on mega-steroids). He opened by challenging my translation of a patristic Greek text. He then selected Greek words at random and wanted me to parse them, particularly the verbs. I began thinking to myself, ‘What is going on! He read the tesina, graded it and commended me on the insights. I knew going into the examination that I had more than 'passed' the tesina part of the examination.’ Then, in the midst of my thoughts, he pronounced, "You do not know the Greek and the conclusions are erroneous!" For a moment, I thought the ground beneath me shifted and I was floundering. There was an eerie silence in the room. I paused for a moment, collected myself and fired back that the translations were correct and I gave the reasons. After 10 minutes of retort that seemed an eternity, he looked at me with a smile and solemnly pronounced in German: "Gut gemacht (“Well done!"). As the examination ended, professors in the room went to my director – yes, my director – and told him “You have produced a fine student.” I stood there in amazement, grateful that it was all over but still wondering what had happened. An American professor came up to me and said, “You’re new to this, aren’t you? You see, Fr Eszer knew you had much and he pushed you to express it confidently and persuasively.”

Thus I offer one possible way of looking at this episode (would love to hear your take). Jesus truly knew the woman’s faith. Like another episode in the same Gospel involving foreign people, the Magi (Matthew 2) are presented as seekers who come to faith and do so in a bold way to travel “from the East” (in other words, so far East that these are super-Gentiles, super foreigners). No matter who the disciple or the person-coming-to-faith, Jesus will always challenge that faith so that the relationship may continue growing and maturing. There can never be anything static about the relationship called faith. Weak or strong, faith must grow and mature. For people like the Canaanite woman who certainly seems to ‘have her act together’ and appears as a very strong woman of faith, it takes more to push her in the way of maturity. As the masterful teacher and counselor, Jesus knew the limits to which He could push her. The fact that this woman is the ONLY person in Jesus’ Public Ministry who was able to spar with Him in such a witty way indicates to me that she knew Jesus was not using terms in a pejorative or demeaning way. She knew who she was in that Jewish world, an outsider - a dog, yet wasn't about to leave no matter what was said. Jesus' words are strong and appear startling to us. Each alleged 'jab' on the part of Jesus moves her to deeper resolve. Yes it looks as though Jesus is not 'nice' and seems downright cruel. But sit in a physical therapy room and watch a therapist stretch a knee or move an arm that has atrophied. The patient groans and complains but hangs in there with the knowledge that she or he is being pushed for the eventual goal of healing. The therapist knows how far to push, even though the patient (or observer) may think he or she cannot do it. Such were my own thoughts about a beloved mentor at a public examination until I learned what he was doing. Would I have liked a ‘nicer way?’ Sure. But I don’t think I would be in the ‘place’ where I am today.

‘Niceness’ at times can deceive and derail the challenge of the Gospel to embrace a mature faith. Human standards or perception of what constitutes being nice can ruffle feathers that are often fluffed by desires for complacency and comfort. The Gospel proclaimed, lived and embodied in Jesus is about His Father's Kingdom and its demanding way of living sustained by mature faith, not human perceptions or standards of 'niceness' that mask for "missing the mark" of Kingdom living.

Opening Prayer:
God our Father,
may we love You in all things
and above all things
and reach the joy You have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday the Nineteeth

Antiphon: “Lord, be true to Your covenant, forget not the life of Your poor ones for ever. Rise up, O God, and defend Your cause; do not ignore the shouts of Your enemies (Psalm 73:20, 19, 22, 23).”

Gospel excerpt: “Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost (φάντασμα [phantasma]),” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:24-31)”

     Scholars tell us that the "fourth watch of the night" is the period of time between 3 and 6 in the morning. This is a time of paradox. Around 3am, intense darkness engulfs all reality. On the Sea of Galilee, darkness is so intense that when you stretch out your arm, you cannot see your fingertips. Without light, it is easy to loose your bearings and wander off course. The heart pounds faster. Breathing quickens as fear of being lost takes hold of life. Add an unexpected storm that tosses a 30-foot fishing boat mercilessly at the whim of wind and waves and you have a recipe for disaster.

     Yet as time drifts closer to the 6am hour, the other pole of the paradox dawns. Not only does light gradually transform darkness, it does so with colors that are rarely seen in the brightness of noonday sun. Color, born of light and water, take hold of life where there was once fear. The captivating prism of light transforms fear to calm and brings a touch of ‘the wow’ to both body and soul. Water, darkness and light all combine to signal hope: the gift of a new day with all of its surprises and blessings.

     For a group of first-century Galilean fishermen, a particular day dawned like no other. In the midst of dealing with the wind and sea (traditional images of chaos in the Old Testament over which God alone has power to cause order [cosmos]), the unexpected sight of Jesus triggered fear. The Evangelist records the sight as a φάντασμα (phantasma) which is translated in the New American Bible as “ghost.” In the ancient world, people recognized that a phantasma could be real or imaginative. However real or imaginative, the perceiver or the viewer had no control over the sight. This is an important dimension of the ancient meaning of phantasma as it contributes to the human experience of fear. When we are not in control of life, we often sense that as a threat and instinctively the flight/fight mechanism engages with the hope of survival. Later in the Christian era, phantasma's Greek root is part of a larger group of words that eventually means a “showing of God” - an epiphany or a theophany.

     All of this - the “fourth watch of the night,” the paradox of time, the metaphor of water and wind for chaos and antiquity's meaning of phantasma - gives us much to ponder this Sunday as God’s Word is proclaimed. While the western mind may want to figure out and perhaps dismiss "walking on water" because it seems so disconnected from our lives, caution is strongly advised and needed. None of us can dismiss the reality of darkness in our lives. We wish we would not have to experience it yet maturity demands that each acknowledges times of aimlessness, confusion, and perhaps even despair that cast gradually intensifying darkness on and in our lives. The same fear that gripped the fishermen in the boat grips us and we look for a way out to experience perhaps just a glimmer, if not the rich colors of life. Faith memories instinctively move us to call out “God, come to my assistance!” as Elijah and the fishermen did. The difficulty is that we often block the God-showing in our lives and thereby run the risk of Jesus passing us by. We call out for help - AND - at the same time we want the showing of God and Divine Help on our terms, not on the Lord's terms. It is the ever-present struggle in our lives to be in control, to hold not only the remote-control but the batteries as well.

     Faith in the Person Jesus always requires letting go of the false self. The paradox is that when we put our “hand in the hand of the Man from Galilee” life’s darkness is transformed bit by bit into dazzling colors enabling us to see, hear, speak and live as Galilee's famous Carpenter Who managed to teach fishermen a thing or two about life ... as He does so today for us.

Opening Prayer:
Almighty and ever-living God,
Your Spirit made us Your children
confident to call You Father.
Increase Your Spirit with us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday the Eighteenth

Antiphon: God, come to my help. Lord, quickly give me assistance. You are the One Who helps me and sets me free: Lord, do not be long in coming. (Psalm 69:2, 6)

Gospel excerpt: “Taking (λαβὼν, labon) the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing (εὐλόγησεν, eulogesen), broke (κλάσας, klasas) the loaves, and gave (ἔδωκεν, edoken) them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds (Matthew 14:19).”

A professor colleague and her family are members of an area Reformed Congregation. On her side of the family, many relatives are devout and observant. The Covenant and weekly Synagogue are among some of the important family activities. On her husband's side of the family, a number of relatives are devout Catholics and throughout the course of a year, each side of the family graces the insides of Synagogue and Church alike.
     We happened to see each other the other day and she had a question. "First Holy Communion - that is a 'big thing' for Catholics, correct?" Knowing how this event has become so commercialized over the years I said with caution, "Yes ... and may I ask why?" She went on to explain that her family had been invited to a relative's First Communion. "We went to the Church and the party afterward and I could not help thinking how 'passive' the whole event appeared." "Passive?" I inquired. "Well, compared to a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in our Congregation, First Communion seemed to me to involve so little."

     The 'Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes,' as the event has come to be known, has a singular distinction among the four Gospels. This is the only event in Jesus' Public Ministry that all four Evangelists narrate. Mark and Matthew take the event a step further by recording it twice in their respective Gospels. All of this suggests the importance the early Christians saw in this event as a foreshadowing of Jesus' total Gift of Himself in the sacrificial meal of the Most Holy Eucharist. Yet here is where things unfortunately get 'dicey' in the history of biblical interpretation and homiletic creativity. Many attempt, once again, 'to figure out' what exactly happened. Some, sadly, go so far as to say that the 'miracle' is not multiplication but sharing (anyone who has spent time in hot, humid Galilee knows that food stored in the fold of one's woolen garment is not suitable even for animals!). Even more tragic is that such an approach misses key actions that eventually help us to experience the Most Holy Eucharist as anything but passive.

     When the Gospels present this event, when Saint Paul speaks of the Lord's Supper and when the Eucharistic Prayer is voiced, 4 actions are central: taking, blessing, breaking and giving. These are central to the event proclaimed this Sunday because they are central actions in the life of Jesus Himself. He gives Himself to be taken by His Father for the mission of healing love. Jesus is pronounced blessed by His Father as the "Beloved" and then broken in death that He might be given to all for our salvation as the quintessential model of love.

     In this sense, the Most Holy Eucharist is quite an active event, especially when we grow more conscious of allowing ourselves to be taken, blessed, broken and given to others in the service of His Father's Kingdom. Pope Benedict summed it well: "the Eucharist can never be merely a kind of community builder. To receive, to eat of the tree of life thus means to receive the crucified Lord and consequently to accept the parameters of His life, His obedience, His yes, the standard of our creatureliness. It means to accept the love of God, which is our truth - that dependence on God which is no more an imposition from without than is the Son's Sonship. It is precisely this dependence that is freedom, because it is truth and love (In the Beginning, page 76)."

     So, how passive is this event?

God our Father,
gifts without measure flow from Your goodness
to bring us Your peace.
Our life is Your gift.
Guide our life's journey,
for only Your love makes us whole.
Keep us strong in Your love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Sunday the Seventeenth

Antiphon: “God is in His holy dwelling; He will give a home to the lonely, He gives power and strength to His people (Psalm 67:6-7, 36).”

Gospel excerpt: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy (καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς) goes  and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:44).”

     Compared to the previous weeks, the parabolic proclamation for this Sunday is noticeably shorter. Unlike the previous weeks, Jesus does not explain the meaning of the words; probably due in part to the disciple's affirmation that they "understand all these things (Matthew 13:51)." Like the Gospel words of previous weeks, Jesus draws images from day-to-day living: buried treasure, a field, pearls, a net, fish of all kinds and buckets. Actions too are familiar to the listeners of Jesus' day: burying valuables (done especially in times of war or civil conflict to protect one's goods), finding, hiding, selling, buying, throwing, separating, and keeping; not to mention wailing and grinding of teeth to round out the picture. Even though the words are few quantitatively, much is offered for our formation this Sunday.

     In light of Solomon's prayer for "an understanding heart to judge Your people and to distinguish right from wrong," we can look at Jesus' parable and the disciple's response as a moment of wisdom. Through a variety of images, Jesus has catechized his followers in the ways of His Father's Kingdom. Such catechesis releases wisdom into the world whereby humanity has the resources to live in a manner always respecting the dignity of the other as a child of God. This type of wisdom, when taken to the heart, transforms not only individuals but the world. The "understanding heart" receives reality as gift thus experiencing freedom from the enslavement of entitlement that always demeans human dignity by selfish manipulation, attempting to impose one's agenda on reality.

     Then, there are the hope-filled words of God spoken and penned by Saint Paul: "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)." Many of our Bibles naturally open to Romans 8 because we read that chapter often, especially when things are not going so well in life. These comforting words remind us not only how big the big-picture of things really is, but that each of us is known and loved infinitely by the One Who is Love. Experiencing this love leads precisely to the unnamed people of this Sunday's parable.

     Why did the person sell all and buy the field? Why did the merchant sell all and buy the pearl? Why the hard work of selecting good fish? It all comes down to 1 word: JOY (χάρις, cháris). The evangelist is clear in recording the reason for these actions of buying: "out of (or "from") joy." Joachim Jeremias (a preeminent biblical scholar whose specialty was Jesus' Parables), commenting on the treasure and pearl states: "When that great joy, surpassing all measure, seizes a man, it carries him away, penetrates his inmost being, subjugates his mind. All else seems valueless compared with that surpassing worth. The decisive thing in the twin parable is not what the two men give up, but reason for their doing so; the overwhelming experience of the splendor of their discovery. Thus it is with the Kingdom of God. The effect of the joyful news is overpowering; it fills the heart with with gladness; it makes life's whole aim the consummation of the divine community and produces the most wholehearted self-sacrifice. What is the quality of a life which has been overmastered by this great joy? It is to follow Jesus. Its characteristic is the love whose pattern is to be found in the Lord who has become a servant. Such a love finds its expression in silent giving with no sounding of a trumpet; it does not lay up treasure on earth, but it entrusts its possessions to God's faithful hands" thereby setting us free from anxiety and worry.

Alternative Opening Prayer
God our Father,
open our eyes to see Your hand at work
in the splendor of creation,
in the beauty of human life.
Touch by Your hand our world is holy.
Help us to cherish the gifts that surround us,
to share Your blessings with our brothers and sisters,
and to experience the joy of life in Your presence.

Welcome, Archbishop Charles Chaput

   As the noon bells of the Angelus tolled in Saint Peter’s Basilica this past Tuesday (19 July, 6:00am our time), Pope Benedict XVI named the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput as Philadelphia’s new Archbishop. Archbishop Chaput has served as the archbishop of Denver since 1997. He was previously the bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. One of America’s most publicly engaged Catholic bishops, he frequently addresses the intersection of religious faith and political life, as he does in his book, Render Unto Caesar.

     Archbishop Chaput is a member of the Capuchin Franciscan order of religious priests and brothers. A registered member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe, he is the second Native American to be ordained bishop in the U.S., and the first Native American archbishop. Raised in a small farming community in central Kansas, Archbishop Chaput felt called to the priesthood from a young age. Except for a childhood interest in growing up to be a film director (or a stunt man; the archbishop is a great movie buff and voracious reader), he has wanted to be a priest for as long as he can remember.

     Archbishop Chaput earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Fidelis College Seminary in Herman, Pennsylvania, and studied Psychology at Catholic University in Washington D.C. He holds a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Capuchin College in Washington D.C., and a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of San Francisco.

     I am sure you join me in welcoming our new archbishop. As parishioners of a parish, we are part of a larger experience of the local Church, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese is part of the Universal Church, the Body of Christ. The appointment of a new shepherd for our Church comes in the midst of times that are both exciting and challenging. Like it or not, “times are a changin” and the way we are Church will take on new expressions (note the word will, not might). In light of this Sunday’s Gospel (17th Sunday) about the “instructed scribe,” we can say that the bishop “is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

     Much awaits our new shepherd (you may want to read John Allen’s interview of the Archbishop). Exciting ways to continue sounding the message of Jesus Christ that are both old and new remind us once again that hope springs eternal. Yet these opportunities will require decisions - tough and difficult decisions - that ultimately rest on the shoulders of the bishop and impact all of us. For that reason, we as members of the body of Christ must pray fervently for our Church and our bishop seeking opportunities to be less passive and more educated in matters of the Faith. We must read and listen with critical eyes and ears what the media has to say about our beloved Church realizing that because we are baptized, we all have an obligation to build up Christ’s Body the Church in unity and to continue responding to the Holy Spirit’s work of holiness in how each of us thinks, speaks and acts.

God, eternal shepherd,
You tend Your Church in many ways,
and rule us with love.
Help Your chosen servant Charles as
pastor for Christ, to watch over Your flock.
Help him to be a faithful teacher,
a wise administrator, and a holy priest.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Sacramentary, “Mass for the Bishop”)

Sunday the Sixteenth

Antiphon: “God Himself is my help. The Lord upholds my life. I will offer You a willing sacrifice; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for its goodness (Psalm 53:6, 8).”

Gospel excerpt: “Jesus proposed another parable (παραβολὴν, parabolen) to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field... (Matthew 13:24)””

Last week, the sower went forth and that work yielded a variety of results. This Sunday, an enemy sowed weeds all through the wheat and the results were expected. Additionally we hear about mustard seed and yeast. Next Sunday, we go on on excursions to dig for treasure and cast nets on the Sea of Galilee. Common among all these and other similar texts is that they are parables. Next to the healing narratives, Jesus' parables are among the best known Gospel texts. Even people not familiar with the Gospels have heard of the Good Samaritan.

As popular as parables are, describing them is a bit more challenging. Many define a parable as 'just a story to teach a lesson or impart a moral teaching.' Not a bad description, except for the 'just a story' part. No matter how technical a description may get, it is vital to know that in the end, how the parable forms our living is crucial. On the other hand, 'just a story' is a phrase that is helpful to omit when approaching the sacred text. Current Western culture translates 'just a story' into a tale that is fabricated or made-up. Some go so far as to say that if the 'stories' in Scripture are 'made up,' I can 'make up' my own stories. Worse still, 'just a story' - in suggesting 'made up' - challenges the very credibility and foundation of Sacred Scripture for Christian living. (See last week's entry on the literal and spiritual senses of Sacred Scripture.)

Those who have studied the parables may be familiar with scholars such as Dodd, Jeremias and Beech to name only a few very quickly. In the world of Dodd, parables have been described more or less as 'similes or metaphors drawn from day-to-day living that arrest the listener by their vividness or strangeness thus teasing the mind and heart into active reflection concerning parable's insight to living the Kingdom of God.' While not a direct quote from Dodd (over the years I have made some humble additions), the elements of metaphor, strangeness and teasing that Dodd cites are operative in all the parables, albeit in varying degrees. Dodd and company have opened the horizons of our minds and hearts to experience a richness when it comes to living the Kingdom of God.

A number of years ago, I was intrigued by a number of "bolein" verbs in Scripture and theology. "Bolein" is the Greek verb that means to throw. It forms the basis for a number of important words in theology such as symbol, diabolic and yes, parable. Depending on the nouns referenced, the Greek prefix para can mean "with" or "besides." "Para" coupled with the Greek verb "bolein" yields an awkward literal English rendering "throw with" or "throw besides." So how does this shed light on Gospel parables? Professor C Clifton Black authored an article a number of years back in the biblical journal, Interpretation. Professor Black notes another literal meaning of parable from the Greek, "thrown alongside." He goes on to present that this "thrown alongside" that characterizes Jesus' parables is a collision between the world and the Kingdom Word pronounced by Jesus. It is not a collision in the sense of an 'us-against-them,' but a world that is still 'being created' daily to mirror the beauty and glory of the Creator. "When everyday reality is pierced by divine revelation," says Black, "a parabole has happened; a parable has been uttered." A parable, while technically a noun, is essentially an action: the action of the Creator's ongoing work of creation. Professor Black contends that the parable "is nothing less than a life-giving encounter between human hunger and Godly nurturance."

Alternative Opening Prayer:
Father,
let the Gift of Your life
continue to grow in us,
drawing us from death to faith, hope and love.
Keep us alive in Christ Jesus.
Keep us watchful in prayer
and true to His teaching
till Your glory is revealed in us.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Sunday the Fifteenth

Antiphon: “In my justice I shall see Your face, O Lord; when Your glory appears, my joy will be full (Psalm 16:15).”

Gospel excerpt: “On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow (σπείρειν, speirein). (Matthew 13:1-3)””

From my office at the university, I look out on modest suburban farm. Early in the morning, a variety of John Deere equipment travels back and forth, up and down preparing the ground for various seeds to produce a cornucopia of tasty fall vegetables. In contrast to this large-scale scene, I visited a friend a few months ago who said to meet her in the backyard. When I arrived, I saw her in the garden with 2 tape measures, 3 rulers, an old tray used to count-out prescription drugs along with a small shovel and bucket of water. I understood the shovel and water for planting, but ‘what is this other stuff?’ I asked her. "Oh, the 1 ruler is set for the diameter of the hole, the other is for the depth of the hole, the other for the spacing to the next hole, the tape measure for the length of the row and the other measure for space between rows. The tray is to count the right number of seeds for each hole.” I needed a nap just listening to the preparatory and measuring work and so I asked her, why not plant the seeds like the sower did in the Gospels? Her look said volumes.

It is difficult to choose a particular theme or word from the abbundanza given to us this week. The effectiveness of God's Word (Isaiah), the profound hope freely offered to us (Saint Paul), mystery, parable and Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel) are all necessary aspects of the journey that must be pondered. Seeing the efficiency of modern-day farming techniques (definitely, a good thing) and the ‘meticulousness’ or ‘exactitude’ (I can think of a few other words, but I will be charitable) of my friend in planting her garden, I wondered about the ‘sower who went forth to sow.’ The Gospel text says nothing about efficiency nor proper measurement of the holes; not to mention the number of seeds in each hole. In fact, the Greek verb σπείρειν (speirein) often meant “sowing seed by scattering it over the ground.” While this approach to farming is more my style, it does raise a concern about being haphazard. After all, seeds do cost money and one certainly wants to be a good steward of resources. If you know that seed will not grow in a particular area, it seems to make sense not to waste the precious resource.

Many centrist Scripture scholars note that the use of σπείρειν is used allegorically in the Gospels. This does not mean that we omit the literal sense and usage of σπείρειν. The literal sense (in this case, “to sow,” “to sow by scattering over the ground”) is and must always be our starting point with any episode recorded in Sacred Scripture. With the literal sense of Scripture as the starting point, we also hold that Scripture has a richer meaning, a meaning beyond the literal that does not contradict the literal. These are the moral, allegoric and anagogic Spiritual senses of Sacred Scripture (the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a quick summary of these Senses). While much can be said about each of these Spiritual Senses, we will take a look at the allegorical use of “seed” because it is the way Jesus Himself teaches the disciples the meaning of the parable.

The Greek root of the word “allegory” means “to speak (or express, obtain) another.” In other words, an allegory points to another person, place or thing. For Jesus, the seed is the “word of the Kingdom.” It is in this sense that the seed (“word of the Kingdom”) must be scattered liberally, without any limiting decision on the part of the person spreading the word. It is not within a person's, minister's or the Church's purview to decide who gets to hear the Word of God. No doubt anyone in ministry knows this to be intellectually true. Yet in the daily living of life, we make all sorts of decisions about other people based on what we think they can handle or accomplish. In essence, we decide for another. The Sower, Jesus Himself, demands that the gifts given be given freely to others with His eyes, not our eyes of efficiency or exactitude.

Alternative Opening Prayer:
Father,
let the light of Your truth
guide us to Your Kingdom
through a world filled with lights
contrary to Your own.
Christian is the Name and the Gospel
we glory in.
May Your love make us what You have
call us to be.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.

Sunday the Fourteenth

Antiphon: “Within Your Temple, we ponder Your loving kindness, O God. As Your Name, so also Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is filled with justice (Psalm 47:10-11).”

Gospel excerpt: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke (ζυγόν μου) upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke (ζυγός μου) is easy, and my burden light (Matthew 11:29-30).”

In an undergraduate Gospel course, a student posed a question after reading these verses: “What do eggs have to do with Jesus?” The question initially caught me off guard until I realized the student’s reading of and connection with yolk as opposed to yoke (ζυγός, zugos).

I certainly could not fault the student. After all, how many times had she seen a yoked ox grazing in a Northeast Philadelphia backyard? For a good number of people, such a sight is confined to a zoo or a farm many miles from home. Yet in many parts of Africa, Central and South America as well as Asia, a yoked animal is the way to till the earth in preparation for sowing seed. (After telling this story to a colleague and her knowing my fondness for airplanes, she said I’m surprised you didn’t think of yoke in terms of a control lever for an aircraft.)

This does raise some interesting questions about the use of Sacred Scripture in our time. Some of the images used by Jesus, Saint Paul, and the Prophets – to name only a few – are images that reflect the historical context of their time. While some might want to quickly re-write the Sacred Text in the name of the cultural god of relevancy, we in our day accept the Text as both sacred (in Hebrew qadosh or qedesh meaning “different” or “set apart”) and inspired (from the Greek meaning God-breathed). Our task is to receive the Sacred Word with humility and gratitude. Then in the light and grace of the Holy Spirit, the work of sacred study leads us to the intention of the original author. With insights gleaned from this work, we are better able to appreciate the original image, make proper connections with the present and rejoice in the gift of God’s Word.

So what can we make of yoke in this Sunday’s proclamation? Jesus’ audience would certainly have had questions for him because a yoke is anything but easy. Particularly in poor areas of the world and no doubt in the world of Jesus, a yoke is a bulky, clumsy looking device that appears to be quite uncomfortable if not a somewhat torturous device. Then there is the task of putting this on an animal that weighs anywhere between 1 and 2 tons! Remarkably, the animal ‘accepts’ this device with little fuss for the most part and then permits some human to use the device to guide the its movement, particularly when it comes to plowing the field.

Jesus commands His followers to take His yoke (yes, He does command. The verb take is imperative). The difficulty is that since we are, for the most part, smarter than oxen, we tend to weigh the pro’s and con’s of other putting anything on us that will direct our lives. We enjoy our independence, even if it gets us in trouble because we follow our own selfish drives. The irony of Jesus’ teaching is that even on a weekend that celebrates American independence, He is asking that we freely choose to surrender our independence to Him (the highest exercise of freedom). He promises that dependence upon Him for the direction of our lives will always yield a burden that is manageable throughout life’s journey.

Opening Prayer:
Father,
through the obedience of Jesus,
Your Servant and Your Son,
You raised a fallen world.
Free us from sin
and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.