Psalm Sunday – Cycle A (April 13, 2014)

First reading: Is. 50: 4-7

“The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.  Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.  I gave my back to those who heat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”

Second reading: Phil. 2: 6-11

“Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Gospel reading: “THE PASSION ACCOUNT” Mt. 27: 11-54 (Short form)

Due to its length the text will not be provided.  Please refer to your own bible for the book, chapter and verses listed above.  Thank you.

 

Introductory theme summary:

The common theme of today’s readings is best characterized by the word forbearance.  In the first reading we have the foretelling of the Messiah who, though gifted with great oratory skills, will persevere without retaliation despite being subjected to horrible abuse.  In the second reading we have the clear declaration of Christ knowing His own divinity, yet choosing humility and accepting the condition and fate of lowliness even to the point of death.  And then, of course, we have the retelling of the supreme act of forbearance – undergoing a punishment in no way deserved, but choosing to accept it on our behalf. 


Reflection:

Forbearance!  The forgotten virtue!!  So much so that it has become the “Holy Grail” of Christianity!!!  How terrible it is for the essence of Christianity to become so overlooked and dispensed with that it would seem no longer a part of our understanding of practicing faith.  We must never forget, our Lord’s sacrifice is an example for us to follow as well as the means for accomplishing our salvation.  Yet how many of us are unwilling to refrain from claiming an entitlement; unwilling to exercise patient endurance and self-control; unwilling to abstain from the enforcement of a right according to justice?  As if this forgetfulness wasn’t bad enough, we actually use Christianity to justify these assertions.  In the end, rather than turning the other cheek we have right fighting against right, all in the name of religion.  How ridiculous!  Yet, that is precisely what our world has become. 

The question then begs; where does justice fit in, aren’t we supposed to practice justice?  It would be a mistake to interpret the practice of forbearance as a contradiction to the principal of justice.  We are always called to practice justice in all our affairs of life, and defend the justice of the weak and powerless whenever we are presented with such an opportunity.  Failing to respond to the need of justice in these situations are themselves sin.  It is on our own behalf that we must not seek our right in order to practice forbearance.  In the moment one seeks his/her own right the opportunity to practice forbearance has been missed. 

So why then?  What is so important about practicing forbearance?  There are two groups of Christians; those who respond completely to our Lord’s call “so be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48), and those who do not while sustaining their belief in Him.  Those who respond completely to this call are accepting the invitation to advance the cause of salvation by joining their sufferings to the Lord’s, and in doing so they take their place as members of Christ’s body hanging on the cross.  They succeed in becoming able to do so by the grace they receive through the Eucharist.  It becomes Christ who accomplishes all that they do by His indwelling presence within them.  It is only by this distinguishing characteristic that we can know we truly are children of God.[1]

So, come, let us show ourselves as true children of God and practice forbearance for the cause of salvation.

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[1] “But what I tell you is this: Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can you be children of your heavenly Father…”  (Mt.5: 44-45 REB) 

Seventh Sunday of Ordinary time – Cycle A (February 23, 2014)

First reading: Lv. 19: 1-2, 17-18

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.  You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.  Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him.  Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.  You shall love you neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord.’”
 

Second reading: 1 Cor. 3: 16-23

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

“Let no one deceive himself.  If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their own ruses,’ And again: ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.’  So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, Paul or Apollos or Kephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.”

Gospel reading: Mt. 5: 38-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.  When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.  If anyone wants to go to law with you over a tunic, hand him your cloak as well.  Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.  Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate you enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?  Do not the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that?  Do not the pagans do the same?  So be perfect, just as you heavenly Father is perfect.”

Introductory theme summary:

Clearly, the running theme for today’s readings relates to us being holy as God is holy, thus we are reminded of the need to avoid sin, even, and most importantly, in circumstances where our fellow brothers and sisters sin against us because that is how we show ourselves to be true children of God.

Reflection:

Paul gives us the image of being the temple of God to stress our unique dignity in all creation.  He does so in the context of instructing us on our responsibility to ourselves in regard to that dignity.  We are the ones who are being charged with the responsibility for not destroying our own representation as the temple of God.  There is only one way for us to do that and that is to perpetuate a life of sin by neglecting to repent our sins and sinfulness.  Simply committing a sin is not the issue, but rather the complete disregard for the perpetual need for repentance, whenever we do sin, in order to continue the reformation of our lives to convey the holiness of being a temple of God, is.  However we may fall, we must never throw in the towel and give up, or worse, rationalize our sins as if to excuse ourselves from that responsibility.

The most important aspect of this observation concerns our relationships with those who could rightly be consider our enemies.  They distinguish themselves as such by deliberately set themselves against our ways of faith without us having done anything to provoke them, other than simply practice our faith.  It is never justifiable to oppose anyone simply because of faith.  Even should one disagree on any of the many principals of faith, a respectful acknowledgement of difference in order to foster a mutually accepting environment is still required by everyone.  No one can claim an authentic faith in God without also perpetuating peace.  This should be a condition for all claims of faith to be considered authentic in any religion.

When faced with these great challenges, we are given the rare opportunity to participate in furthering the salvation of the world.  As Catholics we recognize that the Lord sacrifice on the cross is a continuous one, and when we are confronted with these opportunities to suffer as he did, we can join our sufferings with his and, as Paul says,[1] make up for what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.  When we do this we are fulfilling our role as a member of His Body, and there-by show ourselves as true children of God.  This is why ‘true’ children of God must: turn the other cheek, give up their coat, go the extra mile, give when asked, and lend if compelled so.  In all ways we are to show ourselves to be truly like God who provides for the life of all, even the evil and disobedient.

Come, let us be true children of God and accept the responsibility to live our faith, even in these greatest of challenges.

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[1][1] Col. 1: 24  “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church.”

Second Sunday in Ordinary time - Cycle A (January 19, 2014)

First reading: Is. 49: 3, 5-6

“You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.  For now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!  It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

Second reading: 1 Cor. 1: 1-3

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gospel reading: Jn. 1: 29-34

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  He is the one of whom I said, a man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.  I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.’  John testified further, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.  I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, on whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’  Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

 

Introductory theme summary:

In both the first and second readings we have clear evidence of the universal significance of the messiah, which was to go beyond the reaches of Judaism to include all the people of the earth.  In the gospel, however, we have the proclamation of Jesus being ‘the Lamb of God,’ which holds tremendous significance to understanding what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ.

 

Reflection:

Amidst the present day discussions of all Christian believers being members of the Body of Christ, the question begs to be asked: How, specifically, is the Body of Christ to be understood as a metaphor?

To begin, the metaphor of “The Lamb of God” draws our attention to the crucifixion itself when Christ offered himself as a sacrificial “lamb.”  Christ’s body hung on the cross as the sacrificial offering of his life for the salvation of the world through the forgiveness of sins, which Christ alone won by his perfect sacrifice.  From this there are many things for us to see, but only three will be addressed in particular.  The first is the dimension of him being a victim.  The second is what makes his sacrifice perfect.  The third is whether or not we are willing to participate in his sacrifice.

These days it would seem people either exaggerate their sufferings to ‘play the victim’ or they ‘refuse to be a victim.’  Concerning our membership in the Body of Christ we must be willing to accept the role of victim when we are put in that position, but no one can falsify actually being a victim.  To do so attempts to deceive God and his people.  Christ is perfect, so there is no place for impenitent fraud.  Getting back to accepting the role of victim, in most cases it is either pride or fear that causes a person to deny the role of being a victim when one has become so.  Though it might seem that fear is acceptable, it isn’t.  There will be no place for the fearful in the kingdom.[1]  As for pride, our Lord is more than humble, he is humble of heart, so there is no place in the Body of Christ for a pride so impenitent that it isn’t willing to accept the role of victim Christ’s sake.

One could assert that what made Christ’s sacrifice perfect was him being free from all sin, but that is what makes him a perfect victim and not what perfects his sacrifice.  What perfects his sacrifice of laying down his life is his perfect love for God and man.  His being free from all sin is certainly part of the equation, which is why we who would participate in the membership of his Body must purify ourselves from our sins, but more important than this purification is becoming so for the love of God and man.[2]  If we do not have charity we are nothing,[3] and if we fail in charity how could we be a member of the Body of Christ?

Finally, participating in Christ’s sacrifice is a simple as putting these two elements together for the purpose of contributing to the salvation of the world.  Whenever we are caused to suffer sin or injustice we are to accept the role of victim, praying for the salvation of those who harm us, believing that by join our sufferings with Christ perfect sacrifice it will contribute to his purpose of saving the world.  Are you willing to do these things to be a member of the Body of Christ?

Come, let us show ourselves as true members of the Body of Christ by forbearing the injuries of sin and injustice and join our sufferings with Christ to further the salvation of the world.

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[1] Rev. 21: 8  “But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshippers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1822: “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.”

[3] 1 Cor. 13: 2  “If I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love (charity), I am nothing.”